Banks in Singapore are allowed to offer Murabaha investment products from Monday, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Heng Swee Keat announced on the day.

"We hope this will further expand the range of Islamic products available for both private and institutional Islamic asset management in Singapore and the region," Heng said at the International Islamic Finance Forum Asia held here Monday.

The move followed the exemption of Murabaha financing from the MAS' restriction on banks regarding the engagement in non- financial trading activities in September last year.

Heng said in his speech that Singapore would like to collaborate with other financial institutions and central banks in developing Islamic financing, adopting appropriate supervisory practices, as well as cultivating Islamic finance expertise.

The city state will also work in close partnership with the industry to review regulatory and tax practices to create and maintain a conducive environment for the growth of Islamic finance, Heng added.

Moody's Investors Services estimated that there are about 300 Islamic financial institutions globally with more than 250 billion U.S. dollars of assets, growing at 10 percent to 15 percent annually, according to Heng.

So far, Singapore has launched several Islamic products and services including Shariah-compliant real estate funds, Islamic securities funds and the FTSE SGX (the Singapore Exchange) Asia 100 Shariah Index.

Source: Xinhua