Bank Negara Malaysia, on behalf of the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) Executive Committee, is pleased to announce that His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfur-lah, Sultan of Perak Darul Ridzuan has graciously consented to the role as the Royal Patron for Malaysia's Islamic Finance Initiative.

Under the patronage of His Royal Highness, it is envisaged that Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace will continue to further strengthen the goodwill and strong bilateral relationships the country has established with other nations. Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace has emerged as one of the key destinations in Islamic finance, particularly in Islamic banking, sukuk, Islamic equities and takaful markets. The marketplace is today characterised by a robust regulatory, supervisory, Shariah and legal framework, a deep primary and active secondary sukuk market, an efficient price discovery mechanism, a diverse talent base with global capabilities, and an efficient system for multi-currency clearing and settlement.

His Royal Highness was proclaimed as the 35th Sultan of Perak Darul Ridzuan on 29 May 2014. He is Chancellor of the University of Malaya; Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxford, and of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge; member of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford; Royal Patron of the Merdeka Awards Trust; Eminent Fellow of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies; Royal Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security. Prominent positions previously held include the President of the Perak Council on Islam and Malay Custom and Malaysia's Special Envoy to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Conference. His Royal Highness obtained a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.

The MIFC Executive Committee was formed in mid-2006 to provide strategic direction and drive implementation of policies and strategies towards achieving the national agenda of developing Malaysia as a premier international Islamic financial marketplace.

Bank Negara Malaysia
17 September 2014

About Malaysia's Islamic Finance Marketplace

Since its introduction more than 30 years ago, Islamic finance in Malaysia has developed into a comprehensive and sophisticated Islamic finance marketplace. The marketplace is characterised by a robust regulatory, supervisory, Shariah and legal framework, a deep primary market and active secondary sukuk market, diverse players and talent base with global capabilities and connectivity for business deals anywhere in the world, product innovation, breadth and depth and an efficient system for multi-currency clearing and settlement. Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace is open to global industry players and market participants to collaborate with and mutually benefit from a highly conducive business environment of innovation, expertise and deal flow.

Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace is served by the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) Community, founded on the launch of the MIFC initiative in 2006. The MIFC Community is a network of the country's financial sector regulators, including Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia), Securities Commission Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority and Bursa Malaysia, Government ministries and agencies, industry players from the Islamic banking, takaful, re-takaful and Islamic capital market industries, human capital development institutions as well as professional ancillary services companies ranging from legal firms and Shariah advisories to tax and audit firms and research companies.

For more information on Malaysia's Islamic finance marketplace, please visit www.mifc.com.