Best Practices Guidelines in Islamic Stockbroking Services launched today

Bursa Malaysia Berhad today urged stockbroking companies to offer Islamic stockbroking business or services in an effort to broaden the development of overall Islamic financial services in Malaysia as well as bring in new global funds to the capital market.

The new Bursa Malaysia's Best Practices Guidelines in Islamic Stockbroking Services is a set of voluntary guidelines that outline key areas covering the operations and compliance aspects of an Islamic stockbroking business. The framework sets out the recommended best practices in carrying out stockbroking services in accordance with Shariah principles.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad's Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Yusli Mohamed Yusoff commented, " The establishment of the Best Practices in Islamic Stockbroking Services further affirms Bursa Malaysia' s drive in positioning itself as a destination for the global Islamic investment dollars. The availability of high-quality intermediation services is critical to the next phase of growth of the Islamic capital market. Therefore, it is imperative for the intermediaries to offer a comprehensive suite of services that cover both conventional and Islamic trading. The expertise that they will develop can go a long way in helping to expand the size of the global Islamic capital market."

Dato' Yusli added, "As announced in Budget 2008, existing stockbroking companies which set up Islamic stockbroking business on a full-fledge basis will be granted tax exemption. It is hoped that with this tax incentive, stockbrokers in Malaysia will take the opportunity to attract more investments from global investors, including the Middle East, who are keen on Shariah-compliant investments in Asian markets."

The Best Practices in Islamic Stockbroking Services can be used to assist intermediaries in setting up Islamic stockbroking businesses through either a full-fledge basis or 'window' basis. It is widely recognized that over 86% of listed securities on Bursa Malaysia are classified Shariah-compliant. The Islamic securities form a market cap of RM615.04 billion or 62.45% of total market capitalization.

"This positions Malaysia as having great potential to be a world-leading Islamic financial hub as we already lead the way in the development of Islamic finance in ASEAN. These developments certainly give market players more opportunities to meet investors' needs on the Islamic front, both local and international," added Dato' Yusli.

For those interested in knowing more about Bursa Malaysia Best Practices in Islamic Stockbroking Services, please visit our website at www.bursamalaysia.com for further details.