Standard Chartered Malaysia: Islamic banking likely to reach 25% market share this year

Malaysia's Islamic banking is expected to achieve a market share of more than 25% in terms of banking assets this year, said Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd CEO/global head for Islamic consumer banking Wasim Saifi.

He said the Islamic banking industry in the country had grown twice as fast as its conventional counterpart with a compounded annual revenue growth of 22%.

"With the continuous double-digit growth momentum, and with the regulatory framework that Bank Negara has put in place, the target for Islamic assets is to make up 40% of Malaysia total financial market by 2020. This is easily achievable," he said.

Saadiq’s syariah-compliant products, currently offered at 10 dedicated Standard Chartered Saadiq branches, would now be made available at Standard Chartered Bank's conventional branches.

"For a start, the Islamic banking windows have been introduced in the Klang Valley, Seremban, Alor Star, Johor Baru, Butterworth, Kuching, Kuantan and Kota Kinabalu, and plans are underway to cover all 33 conventional branches over the next two years,” he added.