The annual SC–OCIS Roundtable on Islamic Finance was held in Malaysia this year and focused on ‘Influencing change in finance and society.’ As before, the Roundtable drew participants from a range of highly experienced scholars, academics, regulators and industry participants. The meeting was inaugurated by HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah, Ruler of the State of Perak and the Royal Patron for Malaysia’s Islamic Finance Initiative. His keynote address stressed the importance of an enabling environment to incentivise the growth of Islamic finance.

Discussion centred on the mechanisms needed to enable the Islamic finance industry to realise its potential as an alternative financial intermediation system. The particular goals of Islamic finance were identified as improved financial stability together with a stronger commitment to balancing economic growth and poverty reduction, wealth creation and wealth distribution, financial policies that were inclusive as well as expansive. Particular attention was given to the need for regulatory policies and legislative changes to provide impetus for growth and to remove impediments to unlocking the potential of the industry, especially with regard to extending the reach of Islamic finance into parts of the economy not adequately serviced by conventional finance.