Page 71 - SC SCAR 2023 ENGLISH Flipbook

PART 3 STRENGTHENING THE SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS OF THE CAPITAL MARKET
BROADENING AND DEEPENING THE ICM
The SC remains committed to chart its strategic direction to expand its reach and value proposition, aiming to propel a more inclusive and broader ICM. In these efforts, the SC is dedicated to facilitate a more diversified Shariah-compliant offerings, amplifying its societal and environmental impact in line with sustainability principles, and strengthening the landscape of Islamic social finance. This is aligned with the SC Capital Market Masterplan 3 (CMP3) where ICM is further leveraged to widen its reach to broader stakeholders of the economy.
The SC will continue to undertake initiatives focusing on Shariah governance in various phases, to facilitate the orderly development in shaping the ICM landscape, while enhancing the country’s global standing position in Islamic finance.
Harnessing the Potential of Waqf
The SC recognises the transformative potential of waqf in addressing critical socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and inadequate funding for essential sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. As such, the SC has actively sought to
tap into the potential of waqf within the ICM. Efforts include the release of the SC’s first book on waqf in 2014, covering themes on innovation, governance, and opportunities within the ICM. Waqf assets were also incorporated as one eligible projects under the revised SRI Sukuk Framework issued in 2019. The developmental efforts by the SC then extended to enable more diverse market offerings when the SC rolled out the Waqf- Featured Fund Framework (WQ-FF) for unlisted funds in 2020. Subsequently, the WQ-FF was expanded to encompass listed funds including Islamic ETFs and REITs in 2022.
The application of waqf in ICM products, such as Shariah- compliant funds and equities, has demonstrated its ability to generate positive and inclusive social impact for society. In this spirit, the SC facilitated the convening of the first regulator-led Waqf and Islamic Capital Market Conference in July 2023, providing a platform for stakeholders to discuss and propose solutions to unlock waqf’s full potential. Building on the efforts over the past decade, further initiatives are underway to expand waqf’s scale and reach. These include, among others, the continuation of the SC’s annual waqf conference, ongoing engagements with key stakeholders and industry players and the drafting of the second edition of the waqf book.
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