Islamic liquidity instruments advancing but remain fragmented: Fitch
However, the sector remains fragmented due to differences in regulatory frameworks and interpretations of shariah principles, according to Fitch Ratings' Islamic Finance Survey 2025.
The firm said Islamic financial institutions continue to face structural challenges in managing short-term liquidity, mainly due to the limited pool of compliant instruments and uneven market adoption.
"The development of ILMI is crucial for the stability and growth of Islamic finance, as they enable institutions to meet short-term funding needs without compromising Sharia principles," it said.
The report highlighted that cross-border transactions remain limited, with a lack of regulatory harmonisation and standardised instruments hindering wider acceptance.
"Greater collaboration between regulators, standard-setting bodies and financial institutions is essential to improve standardisation and develop a more integrated Islamic liquidity framework," Fitch said.
Still, it acknowledged ongoing efforts by national regulators and market players to expand the ILMI ecosystem.
"The evolution of ILMIs is a necessary condition for enhancing the resilience of Islamic financial systems, particularly as the industry grows in complexity and scale," it added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Johari: RM1.4b over five years to replant ageing oil palm trees
JOHOR BARU: Under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), the government is expected to allocate RM1.4 billion over the next five years to support smallholders in replanting ageing oil palm trees. Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said today that the initiative aligns with the government's goal of strengthening Malaysia's position as the world's second-largest palm oil producer. "The parliamentary debate on the 13MP begins tomorrow, and we expect valuable feedback from members of parliament." Johari added that the ministry is making a strong push to assist smallholders with replanting. He said about RM1.4 billion will be required over five years — not annually — to encourage smallholders to rejuvenate aging plantations with higher-yielding varieties. He said this after officiating the Umno Johor Baru conference here, accompanied by division chief Datuk Yahya Jaafar. He was responding to questions about the 13MP, which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. While tabling the 13MP, Anwar reaffirmed the government's resolve to revitalise strategic sectors, including agricultural commodities, the halal industry, and Islamic finance, by boosting productivity in palm oil, rubber, and cocoa through modern technologies such as mechanisation, automation, robotics and targeted R&D. Johari, who also serves as the natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, said an aggressive replanting initiative would boost Malaysia's export potential and strengthen its global market share. "Malaysia's commodity exports stand at about RM115 billion, and this replanting initiative is expected to contribute to our export growth. "If we can upgrade and replant large areas of ageing oil palm trees, it will boost our capacity and competitiveness in the global palm oil market."
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Digital bank: A promising start, with more to unfold
Bank Negara governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's digital banking journey is making good progress and has great promise in addressing unserved and underserved segments, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour. In an exclusive interview with Bernama, the central bank governor said licensed digital banks have just begun operations, with most now focusing on growing their deposit base. "We have been seeing very good progress with deposits coming in from both underserved and unserved segments,' he said. On the financing side, Abdul Rasheed said most digital banks have yet to fully roll out their credit products to the general public. "In fact, the digital banks are still at the 'foundational phase', where they are subject to asset size limitations. It's still too early to come up with an assessment. "Products are gradually being introduced, with some being offered mainly to target groups, such as staff and families, before the full public rollout. "We will consider all the key data from the digital banks to come up with an assessment as to whether digital banks meet our ultimate aim of serving the underserved and unserved," he said. Malaysia has five licensed digital banks, namely GXBank, AEON Bank, Boost Bank, KAF Digital Bank and Ryt Bank. The five digital banks were awarded their licences on April 29, 2022 by BNM after being approved by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Of the five, four have commenced offering their products to the public, providing a range of digital financial services, including personal banking, business solutions and Islamic banking products. GX Bank, the Grab-led digital bank, was the first to receive approval to begin operations on Sept 1, 2023. This was followed by Boost Bank, a digital banking venture formed by Boost (Axiata) and RHB Banking Group, which commenced operations on Jan 15, 2024, and AEON Bank, Malaysia's first fully Islamic digital bank that was officially launched and commenced operations on May 26, 2024. MoF granted KAF Digital and RYT Bank licences to commence their operations on Dec 20, 2024. KAF Digital is the operating entity established by an Islamic digital bank consortium, comprising Carsome, MoneyMatch, Jirnexu and StoreHub, with KAF Investment Bank Bhd at the helm. Meanwhile, YTL Digital Bank Bhd -- formed through a joint venture between YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd and Sea Ltd to operate as Ryt Bank -- provides a suite of services, including single-text input fund transfers and tailored financial insights, via its artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped platform. - Bernama
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Digital bank: A promising start, with more to unfold
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's digital banking journey is making good progress and has great promise in addressing unserved and underserved segments, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour. In an exclusive interview with Bernama, the central bank governor said licensed digital banks have just begun operations, with most now focusing on growing their deposit base. "We have been seeing very good progress with deposits coming in from both underserved and unserved segments," he said. On the financing side, Abdul Rasheed said most digital banks have yet to fully roll out their credit products to the general public. "In fact, the digital banks are still at the 'foundational phase', where they are subject to asset size limitations. It's still too early to come up with an assessment. "Products are gradually being introduced, with some being offered mainly to target groups, such as staff and families, before the full public rollout. "We will consider all the key data from the digital banks to come up with an assessment as to whether digital banks meet our ultimate aim of serving the underserved and unserved," he said. Malaysia has five licensed digital banks, namely GXBank, AEON Bank, Boost Bank, KAF Digital Bank and Ryt Bank. The five digital banks were awarded their licences on April 29, 2022 by BNM after being approved by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Of the five, four have commenced offering their products to the public, providing a range of digital financial services, including personal banking, business solutions and Islamic banking products. GX Bank, the Grab-led digital bank, was the first to receive approval to begin operations on Sept 1, 2023. This was followed by Boost Bank, a digital banking venture formed by Boost (Axiata) and RHB Banking Group, which commenced operations on Jan 15, 2024, and AEON Bank, Malaysia's first fully Islamic digital bank that was officially launched and commenced operations on May 26, 2024. MoF granted KAF Digital and RYT Bank licences to commence their operations on Dec 20, 2024. KAF Digital is the operating entity established by an Islamic digital bank consortium, comprising Carsome, MoneyMatch, Jirnexu and StoreHub, with KAF Investment Bank Bhd at the helm. Meanwhile, YTL Digital Bank Bhd -- formed through a joint venture between YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd and Sea Ltd to operate as Ryt Bank -- provides a suite of services, including single-text input fund transfers and tailored financial insights, via its artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped platform.
