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KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) --
Malaysia and Arab Saudi have remained the largest two markets in the world for
Islamic asset management which stands at US$1.34 billion (RM4.35 billion)
currently.
Overall, syariah based investment funds in the Gulf States
and Middle East have hit US$267 billion (RM868.15 billion), a report in the Arab
Saudi newspaper, Dar El Hayah, said.
The report was based on the Ernst
& Young Islamic Funds and Investment Report 2008 (IFIR) published Wednesday
in conjunction with the World Islamic Funds and Capital Markets Conference held
in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain.
The report said that more than
500 funds fulfilling the conditions of Syariah were managed throughout the world
as of March 31 this year.
It said there were 134 Islamic mutual funds in
Malaysia, representing 10 percent of the total asset management funds in the
country, while in Saudi Arabia there were 120 funds or 55 percent of its total
funds.
"Yet, both the markets will need to differentiate and become more
creative in arranging their investment strategies," it said.
"While in
Saudi Arabia, Islamic financial products are still an alternative to
conventional financial products, in Malaysia they have been more widely
accepted. Meaning, investors are ready to trade in both types of the financial
products," the report said.
"What is interesting is that the
diversification of Islamic assets sector in Malaysia has created an Islamic
investment environment that is competitive and capable of attracting more
investors including non Muslim investors," the report said.
Meanwhile
the head of Financial Services Ernst & Young Bahrain, Sameer Abdi said
although the Islamic funds sector in the Gulf countries was growing, more
diversification was required to attract more foreign investors.
--BERNAMA
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