IslamicFinance.de

The Malaysian government announced new incentives for "ethical" Islamic bonds and home loans in the 2016 budget which was delivered in parliament on Friday, as Prime Minister Najib Razak doled out populist incentives to shore up support. Najib said Malaysia would cut taxes on issuance costs of SRI sukuk, and also that sharia-compliant loan instruments would be given a 20 percent stamp duty exemption when they were used to finance home purchases. Other initiatives for the Islamic finance sector will be announced later, Najib said without elaborating. Attracting private sector firms has become more important this year because the central bank has shifted away from selling its own sukuk.