THE National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) is promoting Islamic finance in the country to encourage the greater economic participation of Muslim Filipinos.
NCMF Bureau of Muslim Economic Affairs Director IV Aleem Siddiqui Matabalao Guiapal said Islamic finance is expected to spur commercial activities by attracting Islamic funds and investments, particularly from Muslim countries.
“The main principles of Islamic finance are interest-free financial transactions, risk-and-return sharing, socially responsible investments, and prohibition of activities deemed not permissible in Islam,” he said.
He cited reports, which showed that global Islamic financial assets have been growing rapidly and is now estimated at $2 trillion. The Halal food-and-beverage market has grown to a $1.1-trillion industry in 2013, which indicates increasing support and awareness worldwide.
He said NCMF is holding its first International Islamic Finance Conference dubbed “Bringing the Muslim Filipinos to the Asean and the Muslim World” slated on March 25 and 26, at the New World Hotel.
An initiative of NCMF Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao, the conference aims “to enjoin Muslim Filipinos as partners in economic growth not only within the nation and the region but also across the wider Muslim World amid the perennial challenges caused by conflicts in Muslim Mindanao.”
The conference will focus on opportunities for developing Islamic financing, Halal market, Awqaf (endowment); Hajj (pilgrimage); Islamic microfinance, cooperatives, and small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines.
Included are Islamic finance and industry experts from Zilzar, Tabung Hajj Alam Bhd. University Utara Malaysia (Awqaf) and International Council of Finance Educators (Malaysia); Korea United Muslim (South Korea); Global Market Access Middle East (Dubai); the World Bank Global Islamic Finance Development Center (Istanbul, Turkey); the World Bank Office Manila, DOST 12 and the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines.
Event participants are expected to include national government officials, the international community, the private sector, civil society, academe, and various Muslim organizations, including the Bangsamoro Development Agency, Bangsamoro Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The conference is organized in partnership with Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the ARMM and Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman of the Anak Mindanao Party-list, and with support from the International Commitments Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs.