This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 15, 2019 - November 21, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia continues to lead in the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI) this year, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2019/20.

Now in its seventh edition, the report, published by DinarStandard in partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), SalaamGateway.com, and Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, focuses solely on the continued global growth of the Islamic economy, encompassing halal products, Islamic finance and related lifestyle sectors.

Other countries in the top five of the GIEI — out of 73 countries —are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Malaysia’s top scoring in the GIEI is attributed to its strength in global Islamic finance development and continuous focus on the halal product ecosystem, according to MDEC in a statement yesterday.

MDEC chief executive officer Surina Shukri said the agency actively engages with regulators like the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia to ensure there is a collective commitment in efforts to develop the country’s Islamic economy.

These efforts include bringing together industry players, such as capital drivers, venture builders/accelerators, and syariah advisers to proactively engage and contribute towards the development of Malaysia’s Islamic digital economy.

“Malaysia continues to lead and drive forward the development of Islamic finance, especially the Islamic digital economy. Beyond topping the GIEI for this year, other accolades include obtaining the third place for Muslim Digital Commerce Spending in 2014, investing an estimated US$521 billion, and producing 394 prominent consumer-facing Digital Islamic Services, as per the Digital Islamic Economy Report 2015 that Thomson Reuters produced in collaboration with DinarStandard,” she said.

There are still major opportunities to consider for increased real marketplace impact, MDEC added.

“To date, there are no Malaysia brands from the halal products and services space operating on a global scale.

“Malaysia’s strong technology ecosystem within OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)-member countries can provide a strong platform to become the hub of Islamic digital economy.”