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This project paper aims to explore the utilisation of ISF instruments to fund orphans for tertiary education in Malaysia in achieving reduced inequality. Orphans in Malaysia often face significant obstacles in accessing higher education due to their financial circumstances, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality. The three main purposes of this study are (i) to study the challenges faced by orphans in Malaysia to obtain tertiary education to achieve SDG No. 10 (Reduced Inequalities); (ii) to analyse the role of Islamic finance in other countries in eliminating financial challenges faced to provide tertiary education to orphans; and (iii) to explore the potential of ISF in providing financing opportunities for orphans' tertiary education in Malaysia. ISF provides a framework for using socially responsible financial instruments to address social issues and promote equity. The qualitative research methodology has been identified as the main methodology throughout this research. The findings suggest that ISF can be an effective means of funding tertiary education for orphans in Malaysia as the financial burden on orphans can be alleviated, while also promoting social responsibility among the broader community. This project paper highlights the potential of ISF as a tool for promoting equity in education and addressing social issues in Malaysia. The findings can provide guidance to the policymakers, educators, and ISF institutions on the effective implementation of ISF to fund tertiary education for orphans, thus promoting inclusive growth and development.

Since the introduction of LIWF by the LFSA in 2015, it has garnered tremendous interest from various interest from various parties for its flexibility, sustainability, and governance features. Relevant guide allows Malaysian founder or assets situated in Malaysia to be endowed into the LIWF, subject to obtaining necessary approval from the SIRC. Though the governing charter for such establishment is the Waqfiyyah itself, it has to take into consideration various ongoing issues and discussion on the forum of convenience to hear, try, and decide on dispute related to the Waqf, special position of the SIRC as the sole Mutawalli in the states in Malaysia ...

The agony of poverty in the world is rather a perplexing one, despite the growth of global economies and advances in science and technology yet over 700 million people live in extreme poverty globally. While donor organisations, researchers and governments have recommended and implemented orthodox policies to solve this conundrum. It is only fair to explore the potentials of Islamic social financing, which can complement the global efforts in eradicating poverty on the face of mother earth. This study employed an Error Correction Model (ECM) and OLS technique to empirically analyse the nexus between agricultural investment and productivity. Using a time-series data of 27 years annually, we estimate six different regression models in determining the causal effects of the following explanatory variables; Fertiliser, Pesticide, Land availability for agricultural activities and government aid to farmers on the six dependent variables such as; Vegetables, Paddy Rice, Groundnut, Maize, Millet and Sorghum. The results indicate a positive relationship between investment in agricultural input and productivity, however, fertiliser has a negative relation with Paddy rice, Groundnuts, Maize, Millet and Sorghum, this could be explained as a result of the inadequate supply of fertilisers by the government to farmers. Thus, as a proxy of poverty in this study, productivity is empirically established to be affected by the quality and amount of investment in agricultural inputs. Through Islamic social financing, the study proposes an Integrative Waqf Model to fund agricultural investment for women farmers in The Gambia. This model describes a sustainable funding structure for women farmers in The Gambia, as they account for about 78% of the active population in the agricultural sector. Hence, the paper recommends the establishment of a Waqf Institution in the Gambia to complement the efforts of the state in the battle against poverty alleviation amid the post-COVID-19 recovery strategic planning.

Islamic financial instruments differ from conventional instruments because of their risk sharing and justice factor. Talking specifically about fund raising instruments, Sukuks are the most vital and demanded instrument. Despite of its risk sharing and equity feature, Sukuk defaults yet happened which eventually raised several questions on the viability of these instruments and their treatment in a distressed situation that provides us with another avenue of research on these instruments. In this paper, we analysed five major Sukuk defaults that happened recently in the aftermath of the 2007 global financial crisis ...

This study aims to analyse the most preferred financing type among Malaysian Islamic banking consumers and the preferred Islamic banking contracts by Islamic bankers during COVID-19 pandemic. This paper also examines whether Malaysian Islamic banks are better off with debt-based portfolios during COVID-19. The methodology for this study is qualitative approach, using survey and interview as primary data and literature study as secondary data. The findings of this paper show that Malaysian Islamic banking consumers preferred variable-rate financing/instruments and Islamic bankers preferred debt-based contracts such as Tawarruq and Ijarah. Thus, debt-based financing with variable-rate mechanism is the most preferrable and practicable during COVID-19. The implication for regulators and industry players are to strengthen the policy with regards to debt-based financing and review all the Islamic finance contracts related policy document to include the clauses related to moratorium and economic crises associated with pandemic.

The internal control system is designed as comprising technical practices to prevent or detect accounting errors or loss of assets. However, the scandals and collapse of the financial institutions in recent years has asserted the importance of the internal control system. This study aims to develop an internal control framework that can be applied to the Islamic financial transactions. COSO framework is a regular internal control designed for the financial organisations commonly to realise their objectives about the effectiveness and efficiency, reliable financial reporting and compliance with the laws and regulation ...

With the development of Islamic banking and finance in most Muslim countries, money market became necessary for financial institution to solve the liquidity problems. However, there is much criticism of Islamic banks and financial products for their pegging to the interest rate. Islamic money market is based on the same PLS principle with other Islamic financial products, if such products are pegged to their rate of interest, then they are not PLS. More correctly, they are based on well-and sometimes not so well-hidden conventional or interest-based contracts ...

Theoretically, a monetary policy intervention of a central bank in form of exchange rate devaluation will make exports of such a country cheaper with a resultant increased competitiveness. However, should developing country such as Nigeria that is mostly import-dependent adopt the same approach? Will a greater focus on the structural and developmental changes be a better option? In a long-run, what is the lead-lag relationship between exchange rate and the Balance of Payment (BOP)? These are issues this project paper sets out to empirically investigate through a multivariate vector error correction framework ...

Despite the global upward trend of the Islamic fintech industry, the size of the Islamic fintech offering is still embryonic in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region considering the number of Islamic fintech providers. However, the growth potential of Islamic Fintech in the WAEMU member countries is real in light of (i) the high percentage of Muslim population in the region, (ii) the ongoing initiatives of the decision makers, intended to improve and finetune the Islamic banking regulation and financial inclusion, (iii) willingness of the regulator to establish an efficient regulatory framework for fintech to address customer's expectations/needs and (iv) the positive impact of framework for conventional fintech on Islamic one, notably in terms of infrastructure and regulation. As part of its initiatives to promote financial innovations and inclusion, the Central Bank of the West African States (BCEAO) has implemented some initiatives aiming at promoting the harmonious development of fintech industry in WAEMU. However, considering the achievements observed so far from the relevant policy makers, it is appropriate to examine whether the initiatives involve Shariah compliant fintech or not, before addressing potential Shariah governance issues of fintech. Despite the encouraging improvement of the financial inclusion, most of the population does not have access to the basic financial services, such as payment, transfer money, etc. As of today, the use of digital financial services has become the most appropriate way to serve the populations excluded from the traditional financials services, considered as challenging and unaffordable by the poor population, either because of onerous conditions (high lending rate), limited offers or religious believes (prohibition to be funded as per the conventional financing products).

The paper examines the level of awareness of the people in the Kyrgyz Republic about Islamic Banking and Finance and whether they are willing to adopt an Islamic financial system in the country. It also attempts to explore population's opinion of the mechanism of the banking business in general. Questionnaire forms were developed and distributed among 300 nationals. It has been found that while a small proportion of the practicing Muslims have some notion of Islamic Banking and Finance, non-practicing Muslims and non-Muslims almost completely lack in this field of knowledge ...

This paper examines the existence of behavioural finance aspects among Malaysian fund managers. We identify behavioural biases of loss aversion, disposition effect and illusion of control. We also study the endowment effect and mental accounting which rooted in the Prospect Theory. We developed two-parts experiments i.e. investment-related decisions and general behavioural questions. The study revealed that Malaysian fund managers are prone to behavioural biases in investment decisions and general aspects as well. We also analysed the data in comparison with demographical information such as age, gender, years of experience and investing style. We find that the younger fund managers tend to experience behavioural biases more than the elders. Female fund managers prone to loss aversion and disposition effect than male fund managers, while male fund managers experience a moderately higher percentage in illusion of control than the female counterpart.

China is currently building a network with more than 80 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania initiating "One Belt and One Road". The main focus of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in infrastructure transportation, and energy. Countries with majority of Muslim population are involved in BRI and in some ofthese countries Islamic finance is being adopted. The public-private partnership (PPP) model is an important way of infrastructure financing which has potential in reducing government financial pressure by improving operation efficiency, service quality and societal benefits. World Bank report (2018) has discussed flexibility of Islamic financing and the cracking potential of PPP to incorporate with Islamic finance. Existing financial institutions , such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank have accumulated rich experience in the field of PPP mode of infrastructure financing. However, the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIlB) dedicated to the development ofinfrastructure for the supporting of BRI has still not established a model in line with Islamic finance principles. China and Islamic countries can seek common cooperation based on PPP models consistent with Islamic financial system. This paper aims to contribute to the literature for a better understanding of the great potential of China link with Islamic countries to help to boost BRI ...

The current global market is not seeing enough investment products catered to impact investing strategy, especially in the public equity context; this gap needs to be addressed as the construct of their massive size and relationships across the supply chain would implicitly cause social and environmental impacts at every level. Thus, investors seeking to impart positive changes beyond mere financial returns must also assess the positive and negative impacts oftheir public equities portfolio as the bulk of their capital's impact lies there. In assessing non-financial impacts, big data could be leveraged to materialise these impacts. The study explores the big data ecosystem and suggests ways of incorporating them towards impact investing strategy applied to the asset management context. This includes establishing the current trend of utilising big data in academic and industry context, and identifying best practices to act as a reference.

The topic of poverty and inequality is still a central discussion among the economist. The current efforts in fighting poverty and inequality, which are considered unsuccessful, has motivated the economist and policy makers to find new ideas and strategies in combatting poverty and inequality. At the same time, the area of economic freedom is increasingly being discussed and linked with other major economic areas. This paper aims to examine the relationship between economic freedom and poverty as well as inequality ...

The alignment of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), introduced in 2015, with the objectives of Maqasid Shariah, particularly in the realms of poverty alleviation, hunger eradication, and enhancing well-being, forms a critical intersection in the context of Islamic social finance (ISF). This congruence lays the groundwork for leveraging Islamic financial practices, such as zakat, to support achieving SDG targets in Indonesia. Effective collaboration between key Indonesian entities, such as Bappenas (the Ministry of National Development Planning) and BAZNAS (the National Zakat Agency), is imperative for this integration. Clear and specific regulations are essential to guide this process, ensuring that zakat practices are aligned with and actively contribute to the SDG targets. Leadership from the highest governmental levels, especially from the President, is pivotal in this context. Such leadership ensures that the efforts to achieve the SDGs are in harmony with Indonesia's unique religious values and socio-economic priorities. The recent legal developments, like Presidential Regulation 112 of 2022, demonstrate a commitment to supporting these endeavors. These legal frameworks provide a structural basis for integrating ISF with SDGs, offering guidelines and formal recognition of this collaborative approach. The study delves into the relationship between ISF and the SDGs, exploring how ISF can support achieving these global goals. It examines how ISF can facilitate this support, relying on qualitative research methods such as interviewing critical leaders in ISF and SDG implementation. These interviews provide valuable insights into the perceptions and strategies of those at the forefront of these sectors.

Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia or history of AIM is closely linked to the establishment of Grameen Bank. It all began when Prof. Dr Muhammad Yunus, Economic lecturer at Chittagong University of Bangladesh conducted a study in 1976 with a sample of poor community that rarely engage in the banking world. From his study, these poor people are not able to improve their standard of living due to lack of capital. Therefore, Prof. Yunus suggests that capital injection is a basic human right and shall be given to the poor people in helping them to improve their social and economic welfares ...

The economic situation in Nigeria needs intervention from various sectors to achieve sustainable results. One sector that has been proven to have a round effect on the economy is Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs). The cash waqf linked sukuk has recorded huge success in jurisdictions that have practiced it, hence it is worth implementing in other jurisdictions. This research aims to study the applicability of cash waqf linked sukuk in promoting SMEs in the southwestern region in Nigeria. The research employed the qualitative approach through the use of interviews to professionals in the field of Islamic social finance in Nigeria. Using the thematic analysis to analyse the data, the research found out that indeed SMEs are very important to the economy, they currently have problems with financing and that cash waqf linked sukuk can serve as a viable and effective alternative and sustainable source of financing to the SMEs. The implementation will be successful if there is proper awareness and management, trainings of staffs to handle the cash waqf and proper and workable framework. The study found that the culture and religious factor of the region will enhance the acceptability of cash waqf linked sukuk and also identified possible challenges such as lack of regulation and policies for the implementation of cash waqf linked sukuk. The study concluded by proposing a workable framework for the implementation of cash waqf linked sukuk taking into consideration the findings of the research done.

The main purpose of this study is to conduct a time-series analysis to investigate empirically the causal relations among economic growth, trade liberalization and income inequality in Bangladesh between 1985 and 2018. Upon deciding the order of integration through running the stationarity test, Vector Error Correction Model has been estimated, followed by the co-integration test for determining the long-run relationship among the variables. Significant long-run relationship has been found among the variables in addition to some evidence on bi-directional causal relationship in between economic growth and income inequality and between trade liberalization and economic growth. Moreover, the most relevant endogenous variables have been picked up using the Variance Decomposition test, the results of which are presented graphically through Impulse-response Function. However, little evidence has been found regarding trade affecting income distribution significantly. Furthermore, evidence strongly recommends that investment is highly significant for trade.

This paper aims to investigate whether Shari'ah stock index, exchange rates and macroeconomic forces in Japan have any long run relationship or not. If the relationship exists, does the Shari'ah stock index lead or lag? The paper is likely to be the first study that investigates the causal relationship of aforementioned variables and the Shari'ah Index in Japan. Current literature on the topic in different countries gives either contradictory or inclusive results. This study will try to fill two gaps, one relating to Japan, and another relating to Islamic Indices. It employed quarterly data from 2007 to 2017. Auto-Regressive Distributed lag (ARDL) time series technique is applied to conduct the study. This technique is free of major limitations of the conventional cointegrating tests as they suffer from the pre-test biases involved in the unit roots and cointegration. The empirical evidence tends to suggest that both in the short- and long-run, money supply, exchange rate, and GOP have a significant relationship with Japan's Shari'ah stock prices ...

Islamic microfinance provides an alternative model for a significant number of underprivileged people who are not served by conventional microfinance. In order to give access to sustainable services to a greater extent, the Islamic microfinance is in paramount need of the adoption of innovative business models and sound practices into the industry. To this end, the research seeks to provide theoretical basis, operational framework, and empirical support for the establishment of Islamic microfinance institutions. The theoretical discussions and empirical evidence will emphasize on the importance of social financial intermediation to finance microenterprises and a need to develop specialized model to do the same. Problems facing by conventional micro finance institutions include non-graduation from poverty, debt trap, high dropout rate, asymmetric information and economic visibility of the project. The study finds that waqf based microfinance institutions can play an important tole inter alia in financial inclusion and developing socio-economic conditions of the poor and underprivileged people in society.

In Indonesia, the implementation of the hajj pilgrimage is managed in two aspects, which are implementation of the hajj pilgrimage carried out by the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia and the financial management of the hajj carried out by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH). This study evaluates the hajj financial management system by BPKH with challenges that have the potential to impact the financial sustainability of hajj funds; assesses the effectiveness of implementation of the hajj fund subsidy system associated with the financial sustainability of the hajj fund; and proposes solution to overcome the hajj financial management system and hajj fund subsidy system. In this study, document review and interviews were conducted. The results of the analysis show that there are challenges in the hajj fund management system in terms of regulation, which are the issuance of the Law Number 8 of 2019 about the management of hajj and umrah that regulates different things for the same substance in Law Number 34 of 2014 about hajj financial management. This resulted in the unclear relationship and flow of hajj financial management related to the implementation of the hajj pilgrimage between two related institutions, which are the Ministry of Religion and the BPKH. In addition, regarding the financial sustainability of the hajj in the practice of providing subsidies for the implementation of the hajj, it can be stopped gradually. If the subsidy system is to be continued, it will make hajj finances unsustainable and not in accordance with sharia principles and justice. Recommendations needed include increasing Hajj Travel Costs (Bipih) and distributing the value of benefits to virtual accounts of prospective hajj pilgrims along with the gradual reduction of subsidies for future hajj costs. In addition, recommendations for changes and harmonization of BPKH legislation and the Ministry of Religion related to the mechanism for determining BPIH, BPIH efficiency, and accountability for reporting on the implementation of hajj as well as improving coordination in the planning process and accountability for reporting on the implementation of hajj. The expected outcome of this research can be used as material in submitting recommendations and/or designs improvement of regulations/policy of hajj in Indonesia.