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interview
Market makers
Maybank Investment in Malaysia has been actively involved in the vibrant
Malaysian Sukuk market space over the last year, and was ranked as the
top Sukuk manager by Dealogic for the last 12 months. The investment
bank, a subsidiary of the largest bank by assets in Malaysia; Maybank
Group, is a force to be reckoned with in the Islamic capital markets space.
Tengku Dato’ Zafrul Aziz, CEO of Maybank Investment Bank shares his
insight on the Sukuk market and the bank’s vision moving forward.
The Malaysian Islamic capital market space is ranked as
one of the most competitive Sukuk markets in the world.
With over 60% of the global Islamic deals originating from
the country in 2012, the global Islamic banking and finance
fraternity have ardently watched the Malaysian market, and
aspires to achieve the heights that the country has scaled.
According to Tengku Zafrul, one of the reasons for Malaysia’s
success in the Islamic issuance space is because of its firstmover
advantage. “Although Islamic finance has been made a
focus of attention for a lot of countries since the global financial
crisis of 2008 and commendable steps have been taken towards
Islamic finance, none of Malaysia’s Asian peers have been
able to achieve a full framework which achieves the synergies
required. What sets Malaysia ahead of its peers in Asia is the
solid framework it has which makes it conducive and facilitative
for both Sukuk issuers and Sukuk investors. Malaysia is home to
one of the deepest and sizeable local currency bond markets in
Asia (ex-Japan) for its sound regulatory, legal, tax and Shariah
framework which co-exist seamlessly.”
The Malaysian government
has always been supportive
of the country’s Islamic finance
initiatives, creating a conducive
environment for the
industry to thrive
In terms of Maybank’s strategy as a group to maintain its lead in
the Islamic banking and finance space in Malaysia and abroad,
the bank has taken to launching its own intiative, dubbed the
“Islamic First” strategy to promote its Islamic products and to
make Malaysia the world’s Sukuk hub.
Commenting on the strategy, Tengku Zafrul said: “This
underlying philosophy, combined with our continuous efforts to
be quick and nimble to adapt to market trends has allowed us
to establish and maintain a leading position in the Ringgit Sukuk
market. Not only do we aim to assert ourselves by number of
deals and volume, but also by delivering innovative solutions to
match the unique funding requirements of our clientele with the
needs of the market. Furthermore, we endeavor to be a holistic
solution provider through continuous development of our Sukuk
origination, structuring and execution capabilities. By working
closely with Maybank Islamic, the largest Islamic banking group in
the Asia-Pacific region we are able to tap their Shariah expertise,
research and development, and distribution network to enhance
our services.”
International player
The Malaysian government has always been supportive of
the country’s Islamic finance initiatives, creating a conducive
environment for the industry to thrive. Recently, Bank Negara
Malaysia, the country’s central bank announced that it will
introduce a new comprehensive act, dubbed the Islamic Finance
Services Bill 2012 to create more internationalization and to
further drive the country’s Islamic banking sector.
Tengku Zafrul believes that this initiative is imperative in
making Malaysia a major global player and Sukuk originator:
“Under Malaysia’s existing framework, Malaysia has already
demonstrated that it has been successful at attracting foreign
issuers to the Ringgit Sukuk market with issuers from the likes of
South Korea and the Middle East coming to Malaysian shores.
The Islamic Financial Services Bill 2012 (IFSB) is intended to
provide a strengthened regulatory and legal regime to meet the
challenges and developments of an increasingly sophisticated
and internationalized Islamic finance industry.”
He added: “By consolidating and repealing two of the major
Islamic finance acts in Malaysia – that is, the Islamic Banking
Act 1983 and the Takaful Act 1984, the act will be a piece of
legislation for the regulation and supervision of all key financial
institutions, payment systems, Islamic money markets, and
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