Centre of Islamic finance launched to aid growth of human capital

THE Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (CIBFM) was launched yesterday at the Empire Hotel and Country Club, to help with the development of human capital in the nation.

Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah attended the official launching of the centre and for CIBFM's first professional programme, Fiqh Muamalat Professional Programme.

In his opening speech, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Bahrin Abdullah, acting Minister of Finance II stated that the CIBFM will be essential in realising the country's aspiration to be a serious player in the field of finance and contributing towards the future development of the field.

"In the bigger scheme of things, prioritising human capital development in the field of business finance and management, are integral in the nation's diversification strategy and executing action plans to gain traction," he said in his speech.

The acting Minister commended the Centre for offering and conducting "unique, continuous learning" and development programmes that will contribute towards nurturing and expanding the pool of talent in banking, finance and management.

The centre reports to a Board of Directors comprising of the Permanent Secretary (Policy) of the Ministry of Finance as the Chairman, and the Managing Director of the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), as Deputy Chairman. Other members include the Deputy Managing Director (Regulatory) and a representative from the AMBD, Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) from the Ministry of Education, a member of the Syariah Financial Supervisory Board, representatives from four major domestic banks, and a representative from the Brunei Darussalam Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The Board of Directors provides strategic directions pertaining to the policy matters and governance of CIBFM.

In his opening speech, Dato Bahrin underscored the collaboration of the centre and the contribution in the form of funding by the banks and financial institutions in Brunei Darussalam, in the operations of the centre. "They are also represented in the board of directors and make up the executive committee of the centre," stated the press release issued by CIBFM.

"I would like to call on financial institutions to keep pace in continually upgrading their expertise and consistently investing in the enhancement of the skills and competencies of their human capital," he said. He also highlighted that to further strengthen the effort to "broaden and deepen" the Islamic financial markets in Brunei, there is a need to leverage on combined collaborative efforts between industry players, Shari'ah Scholars, researchers and academicians to establish a strong platform for "knowledge and skills enhancement with insightful practical applications".

"The tremendous potential for this nascent sector to grow is supported by the fact that today, with over 1.3 billion Muslims all over the world, the market penetration of Islamic banking and financial products and services still remain relatively low compared to conventional finance," said Dato Bahrin, who added that Syariah compliant accounts worldwide are said to be growing at a 10 to 15 per cent clip per year.

"Given this early traction, it is in our interest particularly for the Islamic world, to nurture this healthy growth with a view to ultimately mainstream this external mode of financing," he said. He said that to expand the pool of talent for the development of the financial industry, it is crucial to not just give players a firm grounding of the key concepts and theories, but also the "tried and tested practical applications to real life situations".

He added that as a nascent field, Islamic finance is currently in a state of flux, benefiting in a major way by learning and adapting experiences, knowledge and expertise gained from conventional finance. He also shared that the centre plans to target 50 programmes for 800 participants this year.The Brunei Times