Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha (TMR Media Sdn Bhd, 2019)
The Islamic banking and finance (IBF) sector appears to be at a crossroads. Over the last three decades, growth has been impressive, with total assets estimated at about US$2 trillion (RM8.32 trillion). Looking back, this impressive early growth appears to have been the low hanging fruit. Rapid growth came from filling an existing latent demand. Geographically speaking, even this early growth has been uneven. Growth had been most impressive in countries such as Malaysia and Bahrain, but slower in larger nations such as Turkey, Indonesia and even Saudi Arabia, where it has only recently begun to make an impact. In much of the Arab world, countries like Egypt, Tunisia and the like, IBF is yet to make a serious presence. Where IBF has succeeded, government support and favourable policymaking has made the difference.
