18  June 2015
VISIBILITY of the Maybank brand

VISIBILITY of the Maybank brand in the global financial space has always been paramount to the Group and key to this, is of course the involvement of the management of Maybank Islamic in major events or international speaking platforms.

In May, Maybank Islamic sponsored two international events, namely the 12th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Summit, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 20-21, and the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation - Alliance Forum Foundation (AFF) Roundtable 2015 which was held in Tokyo on May 26.

Head of Corporate and Investment Banking En Arshad Ismail was one of the panellists at the IFSB Summit’s Business Forum themed “Internationalisation of Islamic Finance.” 

The discussion centred on Islamic finance as an alternative financing solution for infrastructure development in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, especially for Kazakhstan which is in the process of passing laws and regulations to facilitate Islamic finance.

During the Forum, he spoke on the scope for Islamic finance in Kazakhstan, emphasising on the potential for Sukuk in Kazakhstan and the region.

At the WIEF Foundation - AFF Roundtable 2015 in Tokyo, Chief Executive Officer and Head, Group Islamic Banking En Muzaffar Hisham was invited to be a panellist on the topic “Islamic Banking and Finance in Japan: Prospects for Growth”.

During the roundtable discussion, Muzaffar promoted the added value for Japan corporates to tap the sukuk market for their expansion in Southeast Asia and the OIC countries. He pointed out that Sukuk offers a diversification of funding as well as tapping into a new set of investors.

The roundtable was attended by leading Japanese corporates interested not only in tapping Islamic markets but also in participating in the Islamic economy, notably the halal industry.

The WIEF-AFF Roundtable is a gathering of international investors and business leaders from countries interested in exploring the opportunities in Japan in prospective areas including Halal business, as well as Islamic banking and finance.

The event was graced with the presence of Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.