Malaysian institutions urged to explore Islamic wealth management potential via int'l cooperation

Malaysian financial institutions are urged to seek international cooperation to boost their Islamic wealth management services.

As a leading power in global Islamic finance industry, local institutions should seek the possibility of forging partnerships and joint ventures with world-class asset management companies to explore the potential in this segment, said Malaysia's Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

Addressing the 14th Malaysian Banking Summit 2010 here on Thursday, he said that the Islamic wealth management could be regarded as one of the strongest emerging capabilities in the country's Islamic financial industry as the asset management has become one of the fastest growing businesses in the financial services sector.

Handing up with globally-famous asset management firms could help local institutions to improve their branding on the global stage, he said.

According to Husni, the combined wealth of the Asia Pacific and the high net worth of individuals in the middle east is expected to keep an annual increase of 8.8 percent and 15.6 respectively until 2018, indicating great potential in the asset management sector.

Source: Xinhua