Talent deficit in Islamic finance affects quality #sukuk issuance

The shortage of high-quality sukuk in the Islamic finance market is a result of the deficit in virtuous talent, according to Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Former Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) president. He also said there was a lack of safe assets at present, leaving issuances by the government always oversubscribed. He added that the opportunity now existed for sukuk issuance from Indonesia, which has a lot of infrastructure plans such as to build more roads, have trains, ports, better airports and others. In a recent Bank Negara strategic paper, the central bank revealed that the annual growth rate of the Islamic finance industry had slowed from 24.2% in 2011 to 8.2% last year. Mohammad Faiz said MIA has launched the Mini Pupillage Programme to create a pool of knowledgeable and specialised talents in the area of Islamic finance.