KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Higher digitalisation and financial technology (fintech) collaborations can help strengthen the Islamic finance industry’s resilience and open new avenues for growth, said Bursa Malaysia Bhd chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar.
He said technology is also being increasingly used towards enhancing financial literacy, which has a positive relationship with financial inclusion.
Increasing financial literacy could certainly increase participation in the Islamic financial system and the adoption of Islamic financial products and services, he said.
“Despite the challenging environment that affected the Islamic finance industry’s growth in 2020, Covid-19 offers an opportunity to accelerate and unlock its long-term potential.
Najar says the main driver for his investment decisions is religious. I cannot do the other way, it s just impossible. Even if there is money to be made I cannot make it that way, he said from Vancouver.
The money he invests must do no harm and be beneficial for society. Usaries are forbidden because the Qur an says Muslims aren t allowed to profit from lending money, so earning interest from an individual or bank is prohibited.
Socially responsible investing, including those based on religious beliefs, is a growing trend in Canada with assets under management surging to $3.2 trillion last year, up from $2.1 trillion in 2017, according to the Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report.
Ross MarowitsCanadian PressIE Staff
Ahmed Najar only started investing two years ago after discovering a way to do so that aligns with his Muslim values.
The 36-year-old lab researcher turned to Halal investing that screens out forbidden investments such as pork, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult entertainment and the biggest no-no of all: debt, bonds or interest.
Najar says the main driver for his investment decisions is religious.
“I cannot do the other way, it’s just impossible. Even if there is money to be made I cannot make it that way,” he said from Vancouver.
The money he invests must do no harm and be beneficial for society. Usaries are forbidden because the Qur’an says Muslims aren’t allowed to profit from lending money, so earning interest from an individual or bank is prohibited.
TORONTO - Ahmed Najar only started investing two years ago after discovering a way to do so that aligns with his Muslim values.
Jesse Reitberger, left, and Sheraz Ali pose for an undated handout photo. Reitberger and Ali founded Canadian Islamic Wealth, in Winnipeg, to help Muslims invest their money according to their religious values. Faith-based and socially responsible investing are growing trends in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, MANDATORY CREDIT
TORONTO - Ahmed Najar only started investing two years ago after discovering a way to do so that aligns with his Muslim values.
The 36-year-old lab researcher turned to Halal investing that screens out forbidden investments such as pork, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult entertainment and the biggest no-no of all: debt, bonds or interest.
Ups and downs of that sort can spark emotional buying and selling responses. Prompted by the thought of losing all our money, we exit our investments to cut out losses – often only to repent at leisure when markets recover. Between 1986 and 2015, for example, the US S&P returned 10.35 per cent annually, but the average investor only made 3.66 per cent per year, according to investor behaviour analysts Dalbar.
But what if an external fiscal partner prevented us from such ad hoc choices by keeping our investments in line with our more rational values? Historian and author Yuval Noah Harari described the concept in a seminal 2019 TED interview, suggesting that artificial intelligence could work as a benign second brain to stop us from acting against our preferred risk profiles. Data proves that algorithms make superior decisions to humans, Mr Harari explained – something that may not be beneficial in romance or politics, but is certainly welcome in finance.