Published: Tuesday December 15, 2009 MYT 4:40:00 PM
Dr M blasts OIC for failing to unite Muslims
By FLORENCE A.SAMY
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has lambasted the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) which he said had failed to unite Muslims.
“It often serves to emphasise divisions within the Muslim world. The disagreements between member countries are so obvious as to expose their disunity,” he claimed on Tuesday.
Dr Mahathir, who was the prime minister when Malaysia chaired the OIC in 2003, said the problem was that it was an organisation of governments of countries whose interests took precedence over the religion.
“As an organisation of governments, the OIC is unable to consider anything purely on the basis of religious injunctions or the interest of religion.
“Even the injunction of Islam that all Muslims are brothers could not override certain other national priorities,” he said in his keynote address at the Second International Muslim’s Unity conference.
The OIC, he added, worked on a basis of consensus which was not conducive to organisational decision making.
He suggested setting up a chain of Muslim non-governmental organisations in Muslim communities and countries to restore the brotherhood and unity of Muslims regardless of sects or differences.
Using such NGOs as the vehicle for Muslim unity, he said, should be focused on the promotion of Muslim brotherhood, reducing misunderstandings or suspicions, acquiring knowledge and skills, and pushing for better education systems, among others.
Muslim NGOs, he added, must also launch a concerted campaign to stop the “revenge mentality” which leads to blind retaliation.
“Muslims are very angry. And in anger, they lash out at everyone, including other Muslims. They blow themselves up in revenge, killing at random, not so much their enemies as they do their own people.
“After they have lost their lives, what have they gained? Basically nothing that will stop their enemies from continuing to oppress and kill them,” he said.
Muslims, Dr Mahathir said, must work out plans and strategies with the objective of achieving success in their struggles.
“One should be prepared to accept partial unity if total unity cannot be achieved as much can still be done,” he said.
“Today, Muslims are deeply divided into many different sects which often are violently pitted against each other.
“Lethal suicide bombers of different sects direct their attacks against each other, killing hundreds of Muslims each time. They may believe they will become martyrs and go to heaven but can we really believe they will when they go against the injunctions of the Quran that Muslims must not kill Muslims?
“True practising Muslims must stop the fighting, reduce the divisions and restore brotherhood and unity,” he said.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Ancaman Krisis Kewangan Baru
26 Ogos - Ancaman Krisis Kewangan Baru
KRISIS kewangan semasa dijangka berakhir tahun depan, tetapi satu lagi krisis sistemik dijangka berlaku dalam dekad akan datang sebelum pasaran benar-benar pulih, kata Ketua Pegawai Operasi Principal Global Investors, Barbara McKenzie.
Beliau berkata, risiko krisis dalam dekad baru itu juga dijangka berkaitan kredit yang mungkin diterajui pasaran Amerika Syarikat.
“Krisis ekonomi semasa berkaitan tekanan kredit dan tekanan ini tidak akan benar-benar pulih hingga tahun depan dan perkara ini masih diberikan tumpuan oleh pihak pembuat dasar dan bank pusat.
“Jika inisiatif yang diambil sebelum ini dengan melambakkan kecairan di pasaran dan berharap kredit akan bergerak semula, tetapi banyak petunjuk yang jelas menunjukkan lambakan itu hanya kecairan biasa dan tidak menjana sumber kredit.
“Inilah antara satu daripada risiko dan cabaran besar yang akan dihadapi pihak pembuat dasar dan bank pusat sepanjang tahun depan hingga membawa ke dekad baru termasuk memikirkan satu pendekatan terhadap kredit yang benar-benar boleh memanfaatkan pengguna,” katanya pada taklimat media mengenai hasil kaji selidik yang dikendalikan bersama antara Principal Global Investors, Citi Group, Financial Times dan Create-Research mengenai ‘Masa Depan Pelaburan: Apakah Langkah Seterusnya’ di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Turut hadir Ketua Eksekutif CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, Datuk Noripah Kamso dan Pengarah Urusan Principal Global Investors (S) Ltd Asia ex Japan, Kirk West.
Kaji selidik itu mendapati 49 peratus daripada responden menjangkakan krisis akan berakhir dalam separuh pertama 2010.
Namun, 25 peratus daripada 225 responden yang terdiri daripada pengurus aset dan dana pencen dari 30 negara berpendapat krisis akan berakhir lebih lewat daripada tempoh berkenaan.
Umumnya, McKenzie berkata, kaji selidik itu memberi petunjuk terhadap satu perubahan tindak tanduk pelabur yang mana mereka tidak akan mengulangi kebiasaan tindakan lama dan lebih berhati-hati.
Dengan kata lain, katanya pelabur akan ‘beli apa yang mereka faham; dan faham apa yang dibeli’.
Selain itu, beliau berkata, pelabur juga dijangka memberi tumpuan kepada produk pelaburan kualiti, ringkas serta selamat dan mereka mahukan pulangan yang diselaras dengan risiko yang konsisten.
Mengenai apakah tumpuan yang akan diberi pembuat keputusan selepas krisis, McKenzie menjangkakan pertimbangan dan tumpuan akan diberikan untuk meningkatkan peraturan terhadap dana lindung nilai dan dagangan derivatif atas kaunter.
Ini kerana, banyak aktiviti daripada kedua-dua pasaran berkenaan yang menyebabkan masalah, tetapi sebab ia berlaku tidak dapat dikesan.
Sumber: Berita Harian
..
KRISIS kewangan semasa dijangka berakhir tahun depan, tetapi satu lagi krisis sistemik dijangka berlaku dalam dekad akan datang sebelum pasaran benar-benar pulih, kata Ketua Pegawai Operasi Principal Global Investors, Barbara McKenzie.
Beliau berkata, risiko krisis dalam dekad baru itu juga dijangka berkaitan kredit yang mungkin diterajui pasaran Amerika Syarikat.
“Krisis ekonomi semasa berkaitan tekanan kredit dan tekanan ini tidak akan benar-benar pulih hingga tahun depan dan perkara ini masih diberikan tumpuan oleh pihak pembuat dasar dan bank pusat.
“Jika inisiatif yang diambil sebelum ini dengan melambakkan kecairan di pasaran dan berharap kredit akan bergerak semula, tetapi banyak petunjuk yang jelas menunjukkan lambakan itu hanya kecairan biasa dan tidak menjana sumber kredit.
“Inilah antara satu daripada risiko dan cabaran besar yang akan dihadapi pihak pembuat dasar dan bank pusat sepanjang tahun depan hingga membawa ke dekad baru termasuk memikirkan satu pendekatan terhadap kredit yang benar-benar boleh memanfaatkan pengguna,” katanya pada taklimat media mengenai hasil kaji selidik yang dikendalikan bersama antara Principal Global Investors, Citi Group, Financial Times dan Create-Research mengenai ‘Masa Depan Pelaburan: Apakah Langkah Seterusnya’ di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Turut hadir Ketua Eksekutif CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, Datuk Noripah Kamso dan Pengarah Urusan Principal Global Investors (S) Ltd Asia ex Japan, Kirk West.
Kaji selidik itu mendapati 49 peratus daripada responden menjangkakan krisis akan berakhir dalam separuh pertama 2010.
Namun, 25 peratus daripada 225 responden yang terdiri daripada pengurus aset dan dana pencen dari 30 negara berpendapat krisis akan berakhir lebih lewat daripada tempoh berkenaan.
Umumnya, McKenzie berkata, kaji selidik itu memberi petunjuk terhadap satu perubahan tindak tanduk pelabur yang mana mereka tidak akan mengulangi kebiasaan tindakan lama dan lebih berhati-hati.
Dengan kata lain, katanya pelabur akan ‘beli apa yang mereka faham; dan faham apa yang dibeli’.
Selain itu, beliau berkata, pelabur juga dijangka memberi tumpuan kepada produk pelaburan kualiti, ringkas serta selamat dan mereka mahukan pulangan yang diselaras dengan risiko yang konsisten.
Mengenai apakah tumpuan yang akan diberi pembuat keputusan selepas krisis, McKenzie menjangkakan pertimbangan dan tumpuan akan diberikan untuk meningkatkan peraturan terhadap dana lindung nilai dan dagangan derivatif atas kaunter.
Ini kerana, banyak aktiviti daripada kedua-dua pasaran berkenaan yang menyebabkan masalah, tetapi sebab ia berlaku tidak dapat dikesan.
Sumber: Berita Harian
..
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Paypal perkenal dua jenis khidmat kewangan
Paypal, anak syarikat eBay Inc yang berpusat di Amerika Syarikat memperkenalkan 2 khidmat barunya di Malaysia iaitu pembayaran dalam Ringgit Malaysia (RM) dan ciri pemindahan wang daripada akaun paypal terus ke akaun wang di Malaysia untuk pengeluaran tunai.
Kedua-dua perkhidmatan baru ini memberi pilihan kepada PEMBELI dan PENJUAL untuk membayar serta menerima bayaran dalam matawang tempatan bagi urus niaga domestik, khususnya di kalangan syarikat yang terbabit dalam perniagaan internet antarabangsa.
Pengurus Besar Paypal bagi India dan Asia Tenggara, Mario Shiliashki, berkata, paypal menyediakan akses cepat dan mudah kepada penjual tempatan dan peniaga yang terbabit dalam perniagaan internet untuk menguruskan perniagaan syarikat.
Katanya, langkah itu bertujuan memudahkan peniaga melaksanakan perniagaan internet mereka dalam persekitaran yang lebih selamat, diyakini dan komprehensif.
“Menerusi perkhidmatan mengeluar wang di bank, kami yakin akan membantu meringankan beban anggota Paypal Malaysia, sekaligus sebagai langkah pengembangan operasi syarikat di sini.
“Ia bukti pelaburan kami di seluruh Asia, sebagai komitmen untuk memperkenalkan penyelesaian inovatif yang yang lebih selamat dan mudah di Malaysia.
Paypal adalah kaedah pembayaran wang dalam talian (online) yang cepat, selamat dan membantu dalam urusan pembayaran secara online.
Menerusi perkhidmatan ini, pemegang akaun Paypal berupaya menghantar wang tanpa mendedahkan maklumat kewangan mereka, yang turut disokong kemudahan pembayaran ke dalam akaun atau kad kredit.
Ia sekaligus membolehkan anggota Paypal yang melaksanakan perniagaan internet antarabangsa menggunakan khidmat mengeluar wang di bank tempatan bagi memperolehi tunai Ringgit Malaysia dan membantu meningkatkan aliran tunai dalam urus niaga harian mereka.
Berita Harian – Selasa 15 Disember 2009 – Ruangan Ekonomi – M/S 25
Kedua-dua perkhidmatan baru ini memberi pilihan kepada PEMBELI dan PENJUAL untuk membayar serta menerima bayaran dalam matawang tempatan bagi urus niaga domestik, khususnya di kalangan syarikat yang terbabit dalam perniagaan internet antarabangsa.
Pengurus Besar Paypal bagi India dan Asia Tenggara, Mario Shiliashki, berkata, paypal menyediakan akses cepat dan mudah kepada penjual tempatan dan peniaga yang terbabit dalam perniagaan internet untuk menguruskan perniagaan syarikat.
Katanya, langkah itu bertujuan memudahkan peniaga melaksanakan perniagaan internet mereka dalam persekitaran yang lebih selamat, diyakini dan komprehensif.
“Menerusi perkhidmatan mengeluar wang di bank, kami yakin akan membantu meringankan beban anggota Paypal Malaysia, sekaligus sebagai langkah pengembangan operasi syarikat di sini.
“Ia bukti pelaburan kami di seluruh Asia, sebagai komitmen untuk memperkenalkan penyelesaian inovatif yang yang lebih selamat dan mudah di Malaysia.
Paypal adalah kaedah pembayaran wang dalam talian (online) yang cepat, selamat dan membantu dalam urusan pembayaran secara online.
Menerusi perkhidmatan ini, pemegang akaun Paypal berupaya menghantar wang tanpa mendedahkan maklumat kewangan mereka, yang turut disokong kemudahan pembayaran ke dalam akaun atau kad kredit.
Ia sekaligus membolehkan anggota Paypal yang melaksanakan perniagaan internet antarabangsa menggunakan khidmat mengeluar wang di bank tempatan bagi memperolehi tunai Ringgit Malaysia dan membantu meningkatkan aliran tunai dalam urus niaga harian mereka.
Berita Harian – Selasa 15 Disember 2009 – Ruangan Ekonomi – M/S 25
Kempen amal bakti MasterCard BH Petrol
Kempen amal bakti MasterCard BH Petrol
MASTERCARD Worldwide mensasarkan sekurang-kurangnya 30,000 transaksi akan dilakukan menerusi penggunaan MasterCard PayPass sepanjang berlangsungnya kempen amal dengan usaha sama BH Petrol.
Naib Presidennya dan Pengurus Kanan Negara (Malaysia dan Brunei), Jim Cheah berkata, kempen dengan kerjasama BHPetrol itu akan berlangsung antara 15 Disember dan 15 Januari 2010.
Katanya, setiap RM1 daripada transaksi itu juga akan didermakan kepada Yayasan Sindrom Down Kiwanis dalam usaha memenuhi tanggungjawab korporat sosial.
“Sempena sambutan ulang tahun kelima MasterCard, kami bergabung dengan BHPetrol bagi menjayakan kempen yang berlangsung ini. MasterCard PayPass memang mudah digunakan pada bila-bila masa di mana-mana stesen minyak BHPetrol.
“Ia juga sekali gus membolehkan pemegang kad membuat urus niaga mudah dengan hanya menyentuh kad pada terminal khas kad MasterCard PayPass yang disediakan,” katanya pada majlis pelancaran kempen amal di Petaling Jaya, semalam.
Cheah berkata, dengan adanya kempen amal seperti ini ia dapat menyumbang kepada kebajikan kanak-kanak berusia hingga enam tahun yang menghidapi Sindrom Down.
Menurutnya, MasterCard juga komited untuk menyediakan produk pembayaran inovatif kepada pemegang kad yang sememangnya direka khas bagi melengkapkan lagi keperluan hidup masyarakat kini.
Selain itu, PayPass turut memberi kemudahan pembayaran alternatif wang tunai bagi sebarang pembelian, tanpa perlu menggunakan cara lama ataupun menandatangani sebarang resit.
MASTERCARD Worldwide mensasarkan sekurang-kurangnya 30,000 transaksi akan dilakukan menerusi penggunaan MasterCard PayPass sepanjang berlangsungnya kempen amal dengan usaha sama BH Petrol.
Naib Presidennya dan Pengurus Kanan Negara (Malaysia dan Brunei), Jim Cheah berkata, kempen dengan kerjasama BHPetrol itu akan berlangsung antara 15 Disember dan 15 Januari 2010.
Katanya, setiap RM1 daripada transaksi itu juga akan didermakan kepada Yayasan Sindrom Down Kiwanis dalam usaha memenuhi tanggungjawab korporat sosial.
“Sempena sambutan ulang tahun kelima MasterCard, kami bergabung dengan BHPetrol bagi menjayakan kempen yang berlangsung ini. MasterCard PayPass memang mudah digunakan pada bila-bila masa di mana-mana stesen minyak BHPetrol.
“Ia juga sekali gus membolehkan pemegang kad membuat urus niaga mudah dengan hanya menyentuh kad pada terminal khas kad MasterCard PayPass yang disediakan,” katanya pada majlis pelancaran kempen amal di Petaling Jaya, semalam.
Cheah berkata, dengan adanya kempen amal seperti ini ia dapat menyumbang kepada kebajikan kanak-kanak berusia hingga enam tahun yang menghidapi Sindrom Down.
Menurutnya, MasterCard juga komited untuk menyediakan produk pembayaran inovatif kepada pemegang kad yang sememangnya direka khas bagi melengkapkan lagi keperluan hidup masyarakat kini.
Selain itu, PayPass turut memberi kemudahan pembayaran alternatif wang tunai bagi sebarang pembelian, tanpa perlu menggunakan cara lama ataupun menandatangani sebarang resit.
OIC gagal bawa perpaduan dunia Islam: Dr Mahathir
OIC gagal bawa perpaduan dunia Islam: Dr Mahathir
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mendakwa Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) gagal membawa perpaduan di kalangan orang Islam kerana kerajaan negara anggotanya lebih mendahulukan kepentingan negara masing-masing dalam membuat sebarang keputusan.
Sebagai sebuah organisasi dianggotai kerajaan, bekas Perdana Menteri berkata, negara anggota OIC mempunyai banyak kekangan dan tidak dapat membuat pertimbangan atas kepentingan agama semata-mata, malah perintah Islam bahawa semua Muslim adalah bersaudara juga 'kalah' kepada kepentingan nasional masing-masing.
"Satu masalah OIC ialah ia adalah organisasi kerajaan negara anggota. Kerajaan mempunyai banyak kekangan dan mereka tidak benar-benar bebas membuat keputusan.
"Kepentingan negara didahulukan, bukan agama atau pun persamaan agama yang mendapat keutamaan. Hubungan kerajaan dan kumpulan lain juga mempengaruhi tindakan serta keputusan kerajaan dan ini sering bertentangan perpaduan Muslim," katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian dalam ucaptama bertajuk 'Seruan Untuk Perpaduan' pada Konvensyen Perpaduan Muslim Antarabangsa Kedua anjuran Yayasan Ramadan dengan kerjasama Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana Malaysia di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini, semalam.
Hadir sama Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali; Pengerusi Yayasan Ramadhan, Muhammad Umar; Naib Pengerusi Forum Muslim Britain, Shaykh Ahmad Nisar Baig Qadiri dan Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini dari Iraq/Amerika Syarikat. Konvensyen dua hari itu disertai kira-kira 500 perwakilan dari lebih 20 negara.
Dr Mahathir juga berkata, banyak negara ahli OIC kini bukan benar-benar negara Islam, malah perwakilan yang menghadiri persidangan juga bukan Muslim, manakala percanggahan yang sering timbul antara negara ahli OIC jelas menunjukkan ketiadaan perpaduan di kalangan mereka.
Justeru, beliau mencadangkan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) di negara Islam memainkan peranan menjana perpaduan di kalangan umat Islam, seperti kejayaan gerakan menentang pencemaran alam sekitar sehingga perjuangan dan suara mereka didengar kerajaan seluruh dunia, walaupun pertubuhan itu tidak mempunyai kuasa.
"Umat Islam kini berpecah kepada banyak mazhab hingga sering berperang sesama mereka dan saling berbunuhan," katanya.
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mendakwa Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) gagal membawa perpaduan di kalangan orang Islam kerana kerajaan negara anggotanya lebih mendahulukan kepentingan negara masing-masing dalam membuat sebarang keputusan.
Sebagai sebuah organisasi dianggotai kerajaan, bekas Perdana Menteri berkata, negara anggota OIC mempunyai banyak kekangan dan tidak dapat membuat pertimbangan atas kepentingan agama semata-mata, malah perintah Islam bahawa semua Muslim adalah bersaudara juga 'kalah' kepada kepentingan nasional masing-masing.
"Satu masalah OIC ialah ia adalah organisasi kerajaan negara anggota. Kerajaan mempunyai banyak kekangan dan mereka tidak benar-benar bebas membuat keputusan.
"Kepentingan negara didahulukan, bukan agama atau pun persamaan agama yang mendapat keutamaan. Hubungan kerajaan dan kumpulan lain juga mempengaruhi tindakan serta keputusan kerajaan dan ini sering bertentangan perpaduan Muslim," katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian dalam ucaptama bertajuk 'Seruan Untuk Perpaduan' pada Konvensyen Perpaduan Muslim Antarabangsa Kedua anjuran Yayasan Ramadan dengan kerjasama Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana Malaysia di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini, semalam.
Hadir sama Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali; Pengerusi Yayasan Ramadhan, Muhammad Umar; Naib Pengerusi Forum Muslim Britain, Shaykh Ahmad Nisar Baig Qadiri dan Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini dari Iraq/Amerika Syarikat. Konvensyen dua hari itu disertai kira-kira 500 perwakilan dari lebih 20 negara.
Dr Mahathir juga berkata, banyak negara ahli OIC kini bukan benar-benar negara Islam, malah perwakilan yang menghadiri persidangan juga bukan Muslim, manakala percanggahan yang sering timbul antara negara ahli OIC jelas menunjukkan ketiadaan perpaduan di kalangan mereka.
Justeru, beliau mencadangkan pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) di negara Islam memainkan peranan menjana perpaduan di kalangan umat Islam, seperti kejayaan gerakan menentang pencemaran alam sekitar sehingga perjuangan dan suara mereka didengar kerajaan seluruh dunia, walaupun pertubuhan itu tidak mempunyai kuasa.
"Umat Islam kini berpecah kepada banyak mazhab hingga sering berperang sesama mereka dan saling berbunuhan," katanya.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Significant Success For Malaysia In Islamic Finance, Says Najib
November 03, 2009 19:21 PM
Significant Success For Malaysia In Islamic Finance, Says Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia has achieved significant success in Islamic finance which at end June this year accounted for close to 19 per cent of the country's banking assets.
As at end-August, the Islamic capital market too had reached RM803 billion, representing 54 per cent of Bursa Malaysia's market capitalisation.
"Total financing now amounts to RM115 billion and constitutes 15.5 per cent of the total financing portfolio of the banking industry. Net non-performing financing remains low at 2.4 per cent," he said.
In his keynote address at the Sixth Annual Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF) here Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the country is also seeking to enhance its connectivity in Islamic Finance with other financial centres through Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC).
"For this purpose, Malaysia has entered into agreement via a memorandum of understanding with various jurisdictions for greater collaboration and engagement of mutual benefits in Islamic finance," he said.
He said Malaysia will continue to lead the way in expanding the outreach of Islamic finance, and therefore more MoUs signing with jurisdictions in other parts of the world are expected in the future.
In his address, Najib said Islamic finance was a strategic vital element in the world's recovery from a financial crisis that has shaken both finances and faith in banking institutions.
"Although Islamic finance has largely escaped the ravages caused by overzealous financial innovation and imprudent lending practices which were at the heart of the global financial crisis, we cannot afford to be complacent," he said.
He said it was imperative for the industry to draw upon the lessons learnt to ensure that it can avoid any such financial instability in the future.
Najib also highlighted several key drivers to ensure continuing resilience of Islamic finance in withstanding the impact of current and future crisis.
"Firstly, ensuring that innovation in Islamic finance remains grounded in Maqasid al Shariah (objectives of Syariah) which serves to anchor the business paradigm of Islamic finance in realisation of benefits to the people."
Then, innovation must also be supported by strong governance practices which hold true to the needs of Islamic financial institutions.
It must also be ensured that risk management systems have appropriate safeguards and keep pace with the sophistication of innovation in Islamic finance, the prime minister said.
There is a need to ensure a comprehensive and supportive infrastructure - a legal, regulatory and supervisory framework that addresses the unique elements of Islamic finance industry development.
"This needs to be additionally supported by institutional arrangements for expedient, effective and cost efficient resolution of troubled financial institutions and a financial safety net framework that encompasses the lender of last resort and a deposit insurance system," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Significant Success For Malaysia In Islamic Finance, Says Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia has achieved significant success in Islamic finance which at end June this year accounted for close to 19 per cent of the country's banking assets.
As at end-August, the Islamic capital market too had reached RM803 billion, representing 54 per cent of Bursa Malaysia's market capitalisation.
"Total financing now amounts to RM115 billion and constitutes 15.5 per cent of the total financing portfolio of the banking industry. Net non-performing financing remains low at 2.4 per cent," he said.
In his keynote address at the Sixth Annual Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF) here Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the country is also seeking to enhance its connectivity in Islamic Finance with other financial centres through Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC).
"For this purpose, Malaysia has entered into agreement via a memorandum of understanding with various jurisdictions for greater collaboration and engagement of mutual benefits in Islamic finance," he said.
He said Malaysia will continue to lead the way in expanding the outreach of Islamic finance, and therefore more MoUs signing with jurisdictions in other parts of the world are expected in the future.
In his address, Najib said Islamic finance was a strategic vital element in the world's recovery from a financial crisis that has shaken both finances and faith in banking institutions.
"Although Islamic finance has largely escaped the ravages caused by overzealous financial innovation and imprudent lending practices which were at the heart of the global financial crisis, we cannot afford to be complacent," he said.
He said it was imperative for the industry to draw upon the lessons learnt to ensure that it can avoid any such financial instability in the future.
Najib also highlighted several key drivers to ensure continuing resilience of Islamic finance in withstanding the impact of current and future crisis.
"Firstly, ensuring that innovation in Islamic finance remains grounded in Maqasid al Shariah (objectives of Syariah) which serves to anchor the business paradigm of Islamic finance in realisation of benefits to the people."
Then, innovation must also be supported by strong governance practices which hold true to the needs of Islamic financial institutions.
It must also be ensured that risk management systems have appropriate safeguards and keep pace with the sophistication of innovation in Islamic finance, the prime minister said.
There is a need to ensure a comprehensive and supportive infrastructure - a legal, regulatory and supervisory framework that addresses the unique elements of Islamic finance industry development.
"This needs to be additionally supported by institutional arrangements for expedient, effective and cost efficient resolution of troubled financial institutions and a financial safety net framework that encompasses the lender of last resort and a deposit insurance system," he added.
-- BERNAMA
India buys half of IMF's gold for sale, pays US$6.7b
India buys half of IMF's gold for sale, pays US$6.7b
Published: 2009/11/04
MUMBAI/WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for US$6.7 billion (US$1 = RM 3.42), quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that has threatened to slow gold's ascent.
The sale, which surprised traders who expected China to be the leading buyer, will relieve the gold market of some uncertainty over how and when the IMF would sell 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock. The deal will increase India's gold holdings to the tenth largest among central banks.
It also fuelled speculation that other governments - including Beijing - may be ready to diversify their reserves even at near-record gold prices, helping soak up IMF supply that the fund may otherwise be forced to sell on the open market.
"Central banks in India and China will be happy to accumulate gold at these levels. I will not be surprised to see even some Southeast Asian banks buying gold," Aaron Smith, Asia head of the US$1.65 billion technical trading fund Superfund, told Reuters.
Spot gold prices rose about US$4 to US$1,063 an ounce yesterday, just shy of last month's US$1,070.40 record high, aided by a falling US dollar. Traders said the IMF news could add to the market's upward drive.
"The fact that they've sold the gold to India would suggest there's going to be fewer official sales by the IMF on the market. So that might be a positive theme for the gold price," said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Although the IMF's plan to sell a share of its gold holdings in order to increase low-cost lending to poor countries had been flagged for a year before it was formally approved in September, both the speed of the deal and the buyer were a surprise.
Although India is the world's biggest consumer of gold, primarily in the form of jewellery and investment among its billion-plus people, its central bank had given few indications of being a front-runner in the move to diversify into bullion.
The proportion of gold as part of its total foreign reserves had fallen over the past several decades, officials said.
India's foreign exchange reserves held at the central bank totalled US$285.5 billion on October 23, of which gold comprised just over US$10 billion. The latest purchase will lift its gold holdings from near 4 per cent to about 6 per cent, much less than most of the developed world but four times China's share.
Former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan said the move was aimed at boosting resources for the IMF as both India and China had promised to help raise "fungible resources" to help other developing countries.- Reuters
Published: 2009/11/04
MUMBAI/WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for US$6.7 billion (US$1 = RM 3.42), quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that has threatened to slow gold's ascent.
The sale, which surprised traders who expected China to be the leading buyer, will relieve the gold market of some uncertainty over how and when the IMF would sell 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock. The deal will increase India's gold holdings to the tenth largest among central banks.
It also fuelled speculation that other governments - including Beijing - may be ready to diversify their reserves even at near-record gold prices, helping soak up IMF supply that the fund may otherwise be forced to sell on the open market.
"Central banks in India and China will be happy to accumulate gold at these levels. I will not be surprised to see even some Southeast Asian banks buying gold," Aaron Smith, Asia head of the US$1.65 billion technical trading fund Superfund, told Reuters.
Spot gold prices rose about US$4 to US$1,063 an ounce yesterday, just shy of last month's US$1,070.40 record high, aided by a falling US dollar. Traders said the IMF news could add to the market's upward drive.
"The fact that they've sold the gold to India would suggest there's going to be fewer official sales by the IMF on the market. So that might be a positive theme for the gold price," said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Although the IMF's plan to sell a share of its gold holdings in order to increase low-cost lending to poor countries had been flagged for a year before it was formally approved in September, both the speed of the deal and the buyer were a surprise.
Although India is the world's biggest consumer of gold, primarily in the form of jewellery and investment among its billion-plus people, its central bank had given few indications of being a front-runner in the move to diversify into bullion.
The proportion of gold as part of its total foreign reserves had fallen over the past several decades, officials said.
India's foreign exchange reserves held at the central bank totalled US$285.5 billion on October 23, of which gold comprised just over US$10 billion. The latest purchase will lift its gold holdings from near 4 per cent to about 6 per cent, much less than most of the developed world but four times China's share.
Former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan said the move was aimed at boosting resources for the IMF as both India and China had promised to help raise "fungible resources" to help other developing countries.- Reuters
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Ar-Rahnu terima berlian sebagai gadaian
Ar-Rahnu terima berlian sebagai gadaian
Oleh Hasliza Hassan
YaPEIM perkenal segmen baru pertingkat khidmat pinjaman bagi manfaat pelanggan
BERLIAN sebagai barang gadaian yang akan menjadi segmen baru dalam pasaran Ar-Rahnu di Malaysia adalah langkah proaktif Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YaPEIM) memberi perkhidmatan relevan kepada masyarakat.
Melalui segmen baru barang gadaian Ar-Rahnu, mereka yang mempunyai berlian boleh melaksanakan aktiviti gadaian serta mempertingkatkan nilai barang gadaian terutama bagi perhiasan yang menggabungkan emas dan berlian.
Ketua Pengarah YaPEIM, Dr Abd Malek Awang Kechil, berkata tambahan segmen baru dalam perkhidmatan ditawarkan YaPEIM itu memenuhi aspirasi kerajaan mendahulukan kepentingan rakyat dengan memberi manfaat berganda kepada masyarakat.
Katanya, YaPEIM kini dalam proses melatih kakitangan kemahiran asas mengenai berlian serta cara penggredan sebagai persiapan ke arah merealisasikan perancangan menambah berlian sebagai barang gadaian seperti emas.
"YaPEIM melihat barang gadaian tidak terhad kepada emas saja. Oleh itu apabila kita melihat potensi yang ada pada berlian, YaPEIM mengambil langkah ke depan supaya dapat mempertingkatkan perkhidmatan memberi manfaat kepada pelanggan.
"Jika dulu pinjaman berdasarkan nilai emas saja, kini dengan ada kepakaran menilai berlian, jumlah pinjaman yang diberikan lebih tinggi," katanya pada pertemuan dengan media di Jakarta, kelmarin.
Abd Malek bersama 10 pegawai kanan YaPEIM kini mengikuti kursus Penggredan Berlian selama empat hari bermula kelmarin di institut pakar yang terkenal dalam pengujian ketulenan berlian, Institut Gemology Paramita Indonesia.
Majlis pelancaran Kursus Pengredan Berlian anjuran YaPEIM dengan kerjasama Institut Gemology Paramita di Jakarta disempurnakan Setiausaha Politik Perdana Menteri, Datuk Shahlan Ismail, serentak dengan pelancaran Tabung Kemanusiaan Gempa Bumi Padang, Sumatera Barat.
Pada peringkat awal ini seramai 70 kakitangan YaPEIM dari 59 cawangan Ar-Rahnu seluruh negara bakal mengikuti kursus yang dibahagikan kepada dua peringkat iaitu kursus eksekutif dan kakitangan penilai barang gadaian yang memakan masa dua bulan.
Abd Malek berkata, sebagai perkhidmatan baru YaPEIM perlu memastikan kakitangannya memiliki kemahiran serta pengetahuan dalam bidang pengenalan dan pengujian berlian supaya dapat memberi perkhidmatan berkesan.
Antara bidang menjadi tumpuan Kursus Penggredan Berlian ialah mengenali lebih mendalam mengenai berlian, mempelajari cara pengujian berlian menggunakan alat penguji berlian selain mengetahui risiko pengurusan berlian dan emas.
"Sebenarnya YaPEIM boleh mengadakan latihan di pusat berlian terkenal dunia seperti Cape Town atau Belgium tetapi memilih Indonesia kerana negara ini mempunyai sekretariat Ar-Rahnu yang memiliki kepakaran mengenai berlian.
"Institut Gemology Paramita ditubuhkan sejak 1989 menyediakan kursus termasuk mengenalpasti batu permata melalui warna. Kita berbangga kerana institut ini bersedia memberi latihan kepada kakitangan YaPEIM," katanya.
Beliau berkata, sebagai segmen barang gadaian baru, penilaian berlian yang memberi nilai tambah kepada jumlah pinjaman diberikan YaPEIM untuk pelanggan memang mempunyai risiko.
Namun, menyedari manfaat serta impak besar kepada kumpulan sasar terutama dari segi peningkatan jumlah pinjaman yang akan diterima, YaPEIM meneruskan usaha menjadikan berlian sebagai barang gadaian baru.
Ini bermakna jika dulu pinjaman hanya berdasarkan nilai barang kemas tanpa mengira batu permata yang turut menjadi hiasan barangan kemas itu, kini dengan ada penilaian berlian, peminjam boleh mendapatkan jumlah lebih tinggi.
"Risiko penilaian berlian ini ialah apabila kita terpaksa membuat lelongan kerana nilai yang kita peroleh tidak akan sama dengan nilai pinjaman. Bagi yang lambat bayar pula, kita terpaksa menanggung kos lain termasuk insurans," katanya.
Oleh Hasliza Hassan
YaPEIM perkenal segmen baru pertingkat khidmat pinjaman bagi manfaat pelanggan
BERLIAN sebagai barang gadaian yang akan menjadi segmen baru dalam pasaran Ar-Rahnu di Malaysia adalah langkah proaktif Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YaPEIM) memberi perkhidmatan relevan kepada masyarakat.
Melalui segmen baru barang gadaian Ar-Rahnu, mereka yang mempunyai berlian boleh melaksanakan aktiviti gadaian serta mempertingkatkan nilai barang gadaian terutama bagi perhiasan yang menggabungkan emas dan berlian.
Ketua Pengarah YaPEIM, Dr Abd Malek Awang Kechil, berkata tambahan segmen baru dalam perkhidmatan ditawarkan YaPEIM itu memenuhi aspirasi kerajaan mendahulukan kepentingan rakyat dengan memberi manfaat berganda kepada masyarakat.
Katanya, YaPEIM kini dalam proses melatih kakitangan kemahiran asas mengenai berlian serta cara penggredan sebagai persiapan ke arah merealisasikan perancangan menambah berlian sebagai barang gadaian seperti emas.
"YaPEIM melihat barang gadaian tidak terhad kepada emas saja. Oleh itu apabila kita melihat potensi yang ada pada berlian, YaPEIM mengambil langkah ke depan supaya dapat mempertingkatkan perkhidmatan memberi manfaat kepada pelanggan.
"Jika dulu pinjaman berdasarkan nilai emas saja, kini dengan ada kepakaran menilai berlian, jumlah pinjaman yang diberikan lebih tinggi," katanya pada pertemuan dengan media di Jakarta, kelmarin.
Abd Malek bersama 10 pegawai kanan YaPEIM kini mengikuti kursus Penggredan Berlian selama empat hari bermula kelmarin di institut pakar yang terkenal dalam pengujian ketulenan berlian, Institut Gemology Paramita Indonesia.
Majlis pelancaran Kursus Pengredan Berlian anjuran YaPEIM dengan kerjasama Institut Gemology Paramita di Jakarta disempurnakan Setiausaha Politik Perdana Menteri, Datuk Shahlan Ismail, serentak dengan pelancaran Tabung Kemanusiaan Gempa Bumi Padang, Sumatera Barat.
Pada peringkat awal ini seramai 70 kakitangan YaPEIM dari 59 cawangan Ar-Rahnu seluruh negara bakal mengikuti kursus yang dibahagikan kepada dua peringkat iaitu kursus eksekutif dan kakitangan penilai barang gadaian yang memakan masa dua bulan.
Abd Malek berkata, sebagai perkhidmatan baru YaPEIM perlu memastikan kakitangannya memiliki kemahiran serta pengetahuan dalam bidang pengenalan dan pengujian berlian supaya dapat memberi perkhidmatan berkesan.
Antara bidang menjadi tumpuan Kursus Penggredan Berlian ialah mengenali lebih mendalam mengenai berlian, mempelajari cara pengujian berlian menggunakan alat penguji berlian selain mengetahui risiko pengurusan berlian dan emas.
"Sebenarnya YaPEIM boleh mengadakan latihan di pusat berlian terkenal dunia seperti Cape Town atau Belgium tetapi memilih Indonesia kerana negara ini mempunyai sekretariat Ar-Rahnu yang memiliki kepakaran mengenai berlian.
"Institut Gemology Paramita ditubuhkan sejak 1989 menyediakan kursus termasuk mengenalpasti batu permata melalui warna. Kita berbangga kerana institut ini bersedia memberi latihan kepada kakitangan YaPEIM," katanya.
Beliau berkata, sebagai segmen barang gadaian baru, penilaian berlian yang memberi nilai tambah kepada jumlah pinjaman diberikan YaPEIM untuk pelanggan memang mempunyai risiko.
Namun, menyedari manfaat serta impak besar kepada kumpulan sasar terutama dari segi peningkatan jumlah pinjaman yang akan diterima, YaPEIM meneruskan usaha menjadikan berlian sebagai barang gadaian baru.
Ini bermakna jika dulu pinjaman hanya berdasarkan nilai barang kemas tanpa mengira batu permata yang turut menjadi hiasan barangan kemas itu, kini dengan ada penilaian berlian, peminjam boleh mendapatkan jumlah lebih tinggi.
"Risiko penilaian berlian ini ialah apabila kita terpaksa membuat lelongan kerana nilai yang kita peroleh tidak akan sama dengan nilai pinjaman. Bagi yang lambat bayar pula, kita terpaksa menanggung kos lain termasuk insurans," katanya.
Malaysia mampu ungguli teknologi perbankan Islam
Malaysia mampu ungguli teknologi perbankan Islam
Oleh Kamarulzaidi Kamis
kamarulzaidi@bharian.com.my
MALAYSIA berpotensi muncul sebagai pusat teknologi penyelesaian kewangan Islam jika syarikat teknologi tempatan meningkatkan keupayaan masing-masing dan meraih peluang yang terbuka luas susulan pengiktirafan Malaysia sebagai pusat kewangan Islam global.
Pengerusi Majlis Penasihat Ekonomi Negara (MPEN), Senator Tan Sri Amirsham A Aziz, berkata ketika ini penyertaan syarikat tempatan dalam bidang itu adalah amat kurang meskipun Malaysia adalah antara negara yang memiliki kepakaran dalam kewangan Islam.
“Kurangnya penyertaan syarikat teknologi tempatan menyaksikan banyak syarikat teknologi Eropah dan India membangunkan dan menjual penyelesaian perbankan Islam dan takaful kepada bank dan syarikat insurans global termasuk di negara ini.
“Kita perlu mempunyai lebih banyak syarikat teknologi tempatan yang berupaya menawarkan teknologi penyelesaian di dalam kewangan Islam membabitkan takaful, pengurusan sukuk dan sebagainya,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis pertukaran dokumen kerjasama antara iA Group Sdn Bhd (iA) dengan Callatay & Wouters (C&W) di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Hadir sama Ketua Eksekutif iA, Datuk Dr Hamzah Kassim serta Ketua Jualan dan Pemasaran C&W, Johan Marten.
iA adalah syarikat perunding, pengurusan teknologi dan penyumberan luar, manakala C&W pula adalah penyedia penyelesaian.
Amirsham berkata, banyak syarikat teknologi tempatan ketika ini memiliki rekod baik dalam menyediakan sistem penyelesaian perbankan konvensional.
Bagaimanapun, syarikat berkenaan tidak memperluaskan aktiviti masing-masing dalam membangunkan sistem perbankan Islam.
“Arah aliran pada masa depan memerlukan teknologi maju yang melangkaui sistem dan asas program biasa. Susulan itu syarikat tempatan perlu meningkatkan keupayaan ke tahap tertinggi seperti membangunkan harta intelek (IP) bagi penggunaan inovatif di dalam sistem kewangan dan perkhidmatan,” katanya.
Amirsham berkata, untuk menjayakan pelan transformasi ekonomi daripada negara berpendapatan sederhana rendah kepada berpendapatan tinggi, syarikat tempatan perlu berani meningkatkan nilai dan meluaskan pasaran masing-masing.
Katanya, syarikat itu perlu melabur dalam penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D) untuk meraih pertumbuhan stabil dalam jangka sederhana dan panjang,
Amirsham berkata, kerjasama yang terjalin antara iA dan C&W adalah antara landasan bagi syarikat tempatan memperluaskan perkhidmatan dan meningkatkan kepakaran dalam penyelesaian sistem perbankan Islam.
Kerjasama itu membabitkan pengenalan penyelesaian bernilai RM100 juta dalam tempoh tiga tahun akan datang.
Oleh Kamarulzaidi Kamis
kamarulzaidi@bharian.com.my
MALAYSIA berpotensi muncul sebagai pusat teknologi penyelesaian kewangan Islam jika syarikat teknologi tempatan meningkatkan keupayaan masing-masing dan meraih peluang yang terbuka luas susulan pengiktirafan Malaysia sebagai pusat kewangan Islam global.
Pengerusi Majlis Penasihat Ekonomi Negara (MPEN), Senator Tan Sri Amirsham A Aziz, berkata ketika ini penyertaan syarikat tempatan dalam bidang itu adalah amat kurang meskipun Malaysia adalah antara negara yang memiliki kepakaran dalam kewangan Islam.
“Kurangnya penyertaan syarikat teknologi tempatan menyaksikan banyak syarikat teknologi Eropah dan India membangunkan dan menjual penyelesaian perbankan Islam dan takaful kepada bank dan syarikat insurans global termasuk di negara ini.
“Kita perlu mempunyai lebih banyak syarikat teknologi tempatan yang berupaya menawarkan teknologi penyelesaian di dalam kewangan Islam membabitkan takaful, pengurusan sukuk dan sebagainya,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis pertukaran dokumen kerjasama antara iA Group Sdn Bhd (iA) dengan Callatay & Wouters (C&W) di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Hadir sama Ketua Eksekutif iA, Datuk Dr Hamzah Kassim serta Ketua Jualan dan Pemasaran C&W, Johan Marten.
iA adalah syarikat perunding, pengurusan teknologi dan penyumberan luar, manakala C&W pula adalah penyedia penyelesaian.
Amirsham berkata, banyak syarikat teknologi tempatan ketika ini memiliki rekod baik dalam menyediakan sistem penyelesaian perbankan konvensional.
Bagaimanapun, syarikat berkenaan tidak memperluaskan aktiviti masing-masing dalam membangunkan sistem perbankan Islam.
“Arah aliran pada masa depan memerlukan teknologi maju yang melangkaui sistem dan asas program biasa. Susulan itu syarikat tempatan perlu meningkatkan keupayaan ke tahap tertinggi seperti membangunkan harta intelek (IP) bagi penggunaan inovatif di dalam sistem kewangan dan perkhidmatan,” katanya.
Amirsham berkata, untuk menjayakan pelan transformasi ekonomi daripada negara berpendapatan sederhana rendah kepada berpendapatan tinggi, syarikat tempatan perlu berani meningkatkan nilai dan meluaskan pasaran masing-masing.
Katanya, syarikat itu perlu melabur dalam penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D) untuk meraih pertumbuhan stabil dalam jangka sederhana dan panjang,
Amirsham berkata, kerjasama yang terjalin antara iA dan C&W adalah antara landasan bagi syarikat tempatan memperluaskan perkhidmatan dan meningkatkan kepakaran dalam penyelesaian sistem perbankan Islam.
Kerjasama itu membabitkan pengenalan penyelesaian bernilai RM100 juta dalam tempoh tiga tahun akan datang.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Why we need the Asian currency
Why we need the Asian currency
16
Oct
2009
The Sun
THE root cause of the recession is the US monetary system and if the world was not so dependent on the US dollar, the scenario today could have turned out differently
That is why the call by the new prime minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, for the setting up of an East Asian Economic Community (or Asian community) and its very own currency should be welcomed by Malaysians.
The suggestion for an Asian currency to replace the use of the US dollar is nothing new; Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested it way back in the 1990s.
A big flaw of the US dollar is that it is not backed by anything. (Though it was backed by gold until August 1971). It not being backed by anything means that there is no limit to the amount that can be printed and injected into the economy whenever the need arises. However, the central bank of the US is not the only body with the “power” to create money out of thin air, the banking institutions too can “create” money on their own.
Banks create money by giving out loans. Compounding interest causes money and debt to grow exponentially, way beyond the level that can be achieved by the real economy.
The excess money in the economy was used by investment banks and big institutions to invest in complicated investment vehicles called CDOs (collaterised debt obligations) and MBS (mortgaged backed securities). Both the CDOs and the MBS are connected to the sub prime housing loans.
When the housing property bubble burst, and loans could not be repaid, falling prices of MBS and CDOs got these financial institutions into trouble and it spread beyond the US because major European institutions had also bought heavily into the CDOs and MBS.
Before it became fiat money (not backed by gold) the US dollar could be redeemed at a set price of US$35 an ounce. But without any asset backing the US dollar derives it value based only on whatever it is perceived to be worth and that is why the value of the US dollar is subject to fluctuations. This can be a great disadvantage for countries using the US dollar in international trade.
The US dollar’s days as the key global currency are numbered. Even Unctad (UN Conference on Trade and Development), has said that the world needs a new global monetary system to prevent speculations and to avoid large trade imbalances.
For us in Asia, having our own currency unit is a move in the right direction. Asia is a force to be reckoned with. After all as pointed out by the former governor of India’s central bank, Y.V. Reddy, Asia has 67% of the world’s currency reserves, 55% of the world’s population and a significant share of the world’s Gross National Product.
The proposed Asian currency should be based on real money so that it will be stable and stability is needed for economic development. It should preferably be backed by gold as previously suggested by Dr Mahathir.
Source: The Sun – October 16, 2009
16
Oct
2009
The Sun
THE root cause of the recession is the US monetary system and if the world was not so dependent on the US dollar, the scenario today could have turned out differently
That is why the call by the new prime minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, for the setting up of an East Asian Economic Community (or Asian community) and its very own currency should be welcomed by Malaysians.
The suggestion for an Asian currency to replace the use of the US dollar is nothing new; Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested it way back in the 1990s.
A big flaw of the US dollar is that it is not backed by anything. (Though it was backed by gold until August 1971). It not being backed by anything means that there is no limit to the amount that can be printed and injected into the economy whenever the need arises. However, the central bank of the US is not the only body with the “power” to create money out of thin air, the banking institutions too can “create” money on their own.
Banks create money by giving out loans. Compounding interest causes money and debt to grow exponentially, way beyond the level that can be achieved by the real economy.
The excess money in the economy was used by investment banks and big institutions to invest in complicated investment vehicles called CDOs (collaterised debt obligations) and MBS (mortgaged backed securities). Both the CDOs and the MBS are connected to the sub prime housing loans.
When the housing property bubble burst, and loans could not be repaid, falling prices of MBS and CDOs got these financial institutions into trouble and it spread beyond the US because major European institutions had also bought heavily into the CDOs and MBS.
Before it became fiat money (not backed by gold) the US dollar could be redeemed at a set price of US$35 an ounce. But without any asset backing the US dollar derives it value based only on whatever it is perceived to be worth and that is why the value of the US dollar is subject to fluctuations. This can be a great disadvantage for countries using the US dollar in international trade.
The US dollar’s days as the key global currency are numbered. Even Unctad (UN Conference on Trade and Development), has said that the world needs a new global monetary system to prevent speculations and to avoid large trade imbalances.
For us in Asia, having our own currency unit is a move in the right direction. Asia is a force to be reckoned with. After all as pointed out by the former governor of India’s central bank, Y.V. Reddy, Asia has 67% of the world’s currency reserves, 55% of the world’s population and a significant share of the world’s Gross National Product.
The proposed Asian currency should be based on real money so that it will be stable and stability is needed for economic development. It should preferably be backed by gold as previously suggested by Dr Mahathir.
Source: The Sun – October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Bai Bithaman Ajil beban peminjam
Bai Bithaman Ajil beban peminjam
Oleh Petah Wazzan Iskandar
wazzan@bharian.com.my
AHMED KAMEEL (kanan) sambil disaksikan Mohamed Idris mendedahkan pembiayaan rumah Bai Bithamin Ajil yang membebankan peminjam daripada pembiayaan konvensional pada sidang media Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang, semalam.
BNM perlu cari alternatif elak pengguna rugi
GEORGETOWN: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) perlu mencari alternatif terbaik bagi melindungi pelanggan pembiayaan rumah Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) yang gagal membayar pinjaman.
Dekan Institut Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Prof Dr Ahmed Kameel Mydin Meera, berkata BNM perlu bertindak supaya orang ramai yang meletakkan kepercayaan kepada sistem itu tidak mengalami kerugian.
Ketika ini, peminjam yang gagal membayar balik pinjaman melalui pembiayaan BBA akan berakhir dengan beban yang lebih teruk berbanding pinjaman perumahan konvensional.
Beliau memberi contoh kes seorang peminjam yang membeli sebuah kondominium yang sedang dalam pembinaan berharga RM249,000 tetapi melalui perjanjian BBA bank berkenaan menjual kepadanya dengan harga RM744,766.
Malangnya, projek itu terbengkalai tetapi bank sudah membayar RM9,543 kepada pemaju. Bebanan itu kini terletak di bahu peminjam yang perlu membayar balik RM505,368.
"Peminjam itu menawarkan untuk membayar balik kepada bank sebanyak RM10,000 tetapi bank menuntut sebanyak RM505,368," katanya pada sidang media di pejabat Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) di sini, semalam.
Hadir sama, Presiden CAP, SM Mohamed Idris.
BBA adalah pembiayaan yang mana pengguna menjual harta yang ingin dibeli kepada bank sebelum bank menjual semula kepadanya dengan harga yang lebih tinggi.
Kebanyakan bank yang menyedari masalah itu, menukar semula pembiayaan itu kepada konsep Musharakah Mutanaqisah yang memberi kelebihan kepada peminjam yang gagal supaya tidak berakhir dengan jumlah hutang yang tinggi.
Ahmed Kameel berkata, jumlah pembayaran semula sangat tinggi dan ia boleh memberi kesan ketika kegawatan ekonomi.
Sehubungan itu, katanya BNM perlu memastikan rebat yang diberikan adalah besar kepada peminjam yang gagal membayar supaya pengurangan pinjaman dapat diberikan secara adil tanpa campur tangan bank yang berat sebelah.
Oleh Petah Wazzan Iskandar
wazzan@bharian.com.my
AHMED KAMEEL (kanan) sambil disaksikan Mohamed Idris mendedahkan pembiayaan rumah Bai Bithamin Ajil yang membebankan peminjam daripada pembiayaan konvensional pada sidang media Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang, semalam.
BNM perlu cari alternatif elak pengguna rugi
GEORGETOWN: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) perlu mencari alternatif terbaik bagi melindungi pelanggan pembiayaan rumah Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) yang gagal membayar pinjaman.
Dekan Institut Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Prof Dr Ahmed Kameel Mydin Meera, berkata BNM perlu bertindak supaya orang ramai yang meletakkan kepercayaan kepada sistem itu tidak mengalami kerugian.
Ketika ini, peminjam yang gagal membayar balik pinjaman melalui pembiayaan BBA akan berakhir dengan beban yang lebih teruk berbanding pinjaman perumahan konvensional.
Beliau memberi contoh kes seorang peminjam yang membeli sebuah kondominium yang sedang dalam pembinaan berharga RM249,000 tetapi melalui perjanjian BBA bank berkenaan menjual kepadanya dengan harga RM744,766.
Malangnya, projek itu terbengkalai tetapi bank sudah membayar RM9,543 kepada pemaju. Bebanan itu kini terletak di bahu peminjam yang perlu membayar balik RM505,368.
"Peminjam itu menawarkan untuk membayar balik kepada bank sebanyak RM10,000 tetapi bank menuntut sebanyak RM505,368," katanya pada sidang media di pejabat Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) di sini, semalam.
Hadir sama, Presiden CAP, SM Mohamed Idris.
BBA adalah pembiayaan yang mana pengguna menjual harta yang ingin dibeli kepada bank sebelum bank menjual semula kepadanya dengan harga yang lebih tinggi.
Kebanyakan bank yang menyedari masalah itu, menukar semula pembiayaan itu kepada konsep Musharakah Mutanaqisah yang memberi kelebihan kepada peminjam yang gagal supaya tidak berakhir dengan jumlah hutang yang tinggi.
Ahmed Kameel berkata, jumlah pembayaran semula sangat tinggi dan ia boleh memberi kesan ketika kegawatan ekonomi.
Sehubungan itu, katanya BNM perlu memastikan rebat yang diberikan adalah besar kepada peminjam yang gagal membayar supaya pengurangan pinjaman dapat diberikan secara adil tanpa campur tangan bank yang berat sebelah.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The demise of the dollar
THE DEMISE OF THE DOLLAR
Posted by admin
Thursday, 08 October 2009 16:22
In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading
By Robert Fisk, The Independent
In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.
The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have taken place – although they have not discovered the details – are sure to fight this international cabal which will include hitherto loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against the background to these currency meetings, Sun Bigan, China's former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. "Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security."
This sounds like a dangerous prediction of a future economic war between the US and China over Middle East oil – yet again turning the region's conflicts into a battle for great power supremacy. China uses more oil incrementally than the US because its growth is less energy efficient. The transitional currency in the move away from dollars, according to Chinese banking sources, may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.
The decline of American economic power linked to the current global recession was implicitly acknowledged by the World Bank president Robert Zoellick. "One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," he said in Istanbul ahead of meetings this week of the IMF and World Bank. But it is China's extraordinary new financial power – along with past anger among oil-producing and oil-consuming nations at America's power to interfere in the international financial system – which has prompted the latest discussions involving the Gulf states.
Brazil has shown interest in collaborating in non-dollar oil payments, along with India. Indeed, China appears to be the most enthusiastic of all the financial powers involved, not least because of its enormous trade with the Middle East.
China imports 60 per cent of its oil, much of it from the Middle East and Russia. The Chinese have oil production concessions in Iraq – blocked by the US until this year – and since 2008 have held an $8bn agreement with Iran to develop refining capacity and gas resources. China has oil deals in Sudan (where it has substituted for US interests) and has been negotiating for oil concessions with Libya, where all such contracts are joint ventures.
Furthermore, Chinese exports to the region now account for no fewer than 10 per cent of the imports of every country in the Middle East, including a huge range of products from cars to weapon systems, food, clothes, even dolls. In a clear sign of China's growing financial muscle, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, yesterday pleaded with Beijing to let the yuan appreciate against a sliding dollar and, by extension, loosen China's reliance on US monetary policy, to help rebalance the world economy and ease upward pressure on the euro.
Ever since the Bretton Woods agreements – the accords after the Second World War which bequeathed the architecture for the modern international financial system – America's trading partners have been left to cope with the impact of Washington's control and, in more recent years, the hegemony of the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency.
The Chinese believe, for example, that the Americans persuaded Britain to stay out of the euro in order to prevent an earlier move away from the dollar. But Chinese banking sources say their discussions have gone too far to be blocked now. "The Russians will eventually bring in the rouble to the basket of currencies," a prominent Hong Kong broker told The Independent. "The Brits are stuck in the middle and will come into the euro. They have no choice because they won't be able to use the US dollar."
Chinese financial sources believe President Barack Obama is too busy fixing the US economy to concentrate on the extraordinary implications of the transition from the dollar in nine years' time. The current deadline for the currency transition is 2018.
The US discussed the trend briefly at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh; the Chinese Central Bank governor and other officials have been worrying aloud about the dollar for years. Their problem is that much of their national wealth is tied up in dollar assets.
"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions," one Chinese banker said. "America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."
Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars. Bankers remember, of course, what happened to the last Middle East oil producer to sell its oil in euros rather than dollars. A few months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq.
Posted by admin
Thursday, 08 October 2009 16:22
In a graphic illustration of the new world order, Arab states have launched secret moves with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading
By Robert Fisk, The Independent
In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.
The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have taken place – although they have not discovered the details – are sure to fight this international cabal which will include hitherto loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against the background to these currency meetings, Sun Bigan, China's former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. "Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security."
This sounds like a dangerous prediction of a future economic war between the US and China over Middle East oil – yet again turning the region's conflicts into a battle for great power supremacy. China uses more oil incrementally than the US because its growth is less energy efficient. The transitional currency in the move away from dollars, according to Chinese banking sources, may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.
The decline of American economic power linked to the current global recession was implicitly acknowledged by the World Bank president Robert Zoellick. "One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," he said in Istanbul ahead of meetings this week of the IMF and World Bank. But it is China's extraordinary new financial power – along with past anger among oil-producing and oil-consuming nations at America's power to interfere in the international financial system – which has prompted the latest discussions involving the Gulf states.
Brazil has shown interest in collaborating in non-dollar oil payments, along with India. Indeed, China appears to be the most enthusiastic of all the financial powers involved, not least because of its enormous trade with the Middle East.
China imports 60 per cent of its oil, much of it from the Middle East and Russia. The Chinese have oil production concessions in Iraq – blocked by the US until this year – and since 2008 have held an $8bn agreement with Iran to develop refining capacity and gas resources. China has oil deals in Sudan (where it has substituted for US interests) and has been negotiating for oil concessions with Libya, where all such contracts are joint ventures.
Furthermore, Chinese exports to the region now account for no fewer than 10 per cent of the imports of every country in the Middle East, including a huge range of products from cars to weapon systems, food, clothes, even dolls. In a clear sign of China's growing financial muscle, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, yesterday pleaded with Beijing to let the yuan appreciate against a sliding dollar and, by extension, loosen China's reliance on US monetary policy, to help rebalance the world economy and ease upward pressure on the euro.
Ever since the Bretton Woods agreements – the accords after the Second World War which bequeathed the architecture for the modern international financial system – America's trading partners have been left to cope with the impact of Washington's control and, in more recent years, the hegemony of the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency.
The Chinese believe, for example, that the Americans persuaded Britain to stay out of the euro in order to prevent an earlier move away from the dollar. But Chinese banking sources say their discussions have gone too far to be blocked now. "The Russians will eventually bring in the rouble to the basket of currencies," a prominent Hong Kong broker told The Independent. "The Brits are stuck in the middle and will come into the euro. They have no choice because they won't be able to use the US dollar."
Chinese financial sources believe President Barack Obama is too busy fixing the US economy to concentrate on the extraordinary implications of the transition from the dollar in nine years' time. The current deadline for the currency transition is 2018.
The US discussed the trend briefly at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh; the Chinese Central Bank governor and other officials have been worrying aloud about the dollar for years. Their problem is that much of their national wealth is tied up in dollar assets.
"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions," one Chinese banker said. "America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."
Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars. Bankers remember, of course, what happened to the last Middle East oil producer to sell its oil in euros rather than dollars. A few months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Harga emas capai paras tertinggi
Harga emas capai paras tertinggi
HARGA emas mencecah paras tertinggi kelmarin apabila nilai dolar Amerika Syarikat (AS) jatuh berikutan hasrat negara Teluk untuk berhenti menggunakan mata wang berkenaan bagi urus niaga minyak.
Dalam dagangan semalaman di New York Mercantile Exchange, harga emas mencecah AS$1,045.00 seauns, manakala dagangan awal di London Bullion Market semalam menyaksikan harga komoditi itu meningkat kepada AS$1,043.78, melepasi paras rekod tertinggi sebelumnya, AS$1,032.70 yang dicatat pada Mac 2008.
Penganalisis logam berharga Barclays Capital, Suki Cooper, berkata kelemahan nilai dolar AS ada hubungan dengan laporan mengenai perbincangan rahsia untuk melaksanakan urus niaga minyak dalam sekumpulan mata wang termasuk emas, tetapi tidak termasuk dolar.
“Kenyataan itu menambah kebimbangan terhadap peranan masa depan dolar AS dalam pasaran kewangan antarabangsa,” kata Cooper di London.
Kedudukan masa depan dolar AS sebagai mata wang utama dunia kini diragui apabila laporan menyatakan negara Arab melancarkan rancangan rahsia dengan China dan Russia untuk berhenti menggunakan dolar dalam dagangan minyak.
Akhbar harian British, The Independent, melaporkan negara Arab telah memulakan langkah berkenaan dengan China, Russia, Jepun dan Perancis untuk memberhentikan urus niaga minyak menggunakan dolar AS.
Laporan itu bagaimanapun dinafikan oleh Kuwait dan Qatar serta dilaporkan juga negara lain.
The Independent dilaporkan berkata: “Dalam perubahan kewangan paling mendalam dalam sejarah Asia Barat, negara Teluk bersama China, Russia, Jepun dan Perancis, bercadang untuk mengakhiri dagangan menggunakan mata wang dolar AS.
Negara berkenan sebaliknya akan menukar kepada sekumpulan mata wang termasuk yen Jepun dan yuan China, euro, emas dan mata wang baru yang dirancang dalam Majlis Kerjasama Teluk (GCC), termasuk Arab Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait dan Qatar.
Emas yang dinilai sebagai pelaburan paling selamat, sejak beberapa bulan lalu kembali mendapat perhatian apabila ekonomi global bergelut dengan krisis paling teruk dalam tempoh beberapa dekad.
Permintaan emas melonjak didorong kelemahan nilai dolar, yang menjadikan komoditi yang diniagakan dalam mata wang dolar menjadi lebih murah kepada pemegang dalam mata wang yang lebih kukuh, sekali gus meningkatkan permintaan.
Emas turut mendapat sokongan daripada kebimbangan terhadap inflasi yang lebih tinggi kerana logam berkenaan disifatkan oleh pelabur sebagai simpanan nilai paling selamat.
Bulan lalu, perunding logam berharga GFMS memberi peringatan mengenai perkembangan semasa aliran kenaikan harga emas mungkin tidak akan berkekalan jika pakej rangsangan global gagal meningkatkan permintaan lemah dalam ekonomi yang bermasalah hingga menyebabkan penurunan inflasi. - AFP
HARGA emas mencecah paras tertinggi kelmarin apabila nilai dolar Amerika Syarikat (AS) jatuh berikutan hasrat negara Teluk untuk berhenti menggunakan mata wang berkenaan bagi urus niaga minyak.
Dalam dagangan semalaman di New York Mercantile Exchange, harga emas mencecah AS$1,045.00 seauns, manakala dagangan awal di London Bullion Market semalam menyaksikan harga komoditi itu meningkat kepada AS$1,043.78, melepasi paras rekod tertinggi sebelumnya, AS$1,032.70 yang dicatat pada Mac 2008.
Penganalisis logam berharga Barclays Capital, Suki Cooper, berkata kelemahan nilai dolar AS ada hubungan dengan laporan mengenai perbincangan rahsia untuk melaksanakan urus niaga minyak dalam sekumpulan mata wang termasuk emas, tetapi tidak termasuk dolar.
“Kenyataan itu menambah kebimbangan terhadap peranan masa depan dolar AS dalam pasaran kewangan antarabangsa,” kata Cooper di London.
Kedudukan masa depan dolar AS sebagai mata wang utama dunia kini diragui apabila laporan menyatakan negara Arab melancarkan rancangan rahsia dengan China dan Russia untuk berhenti menggunakan dolar dalam dagangan minyak.
Akhbar harian British, The Independent, melaporkan negara Arab telah memulakan langkah berkenaan dengan China, Russia, Jepun dan Perancis untuk memberhentikan urus niaga minyak menggunakan dolar AS.
Laporan itu bagaimanapun dinafikan oleh Kuwait dan Qatar serta dilaporkan juga negara lain.
The Independent dilaporkan berkata: “Dalam perubahan kewangan paling mendalam dalam sejarah Asia Barat, negara Teluk bersama China, Russia, Jepun dan Perancis, bercadang untuk mengakhiri dagangan menggunakan mata wang dolar AS.
Negara berkenan sebaliknya akan menukar kepada sekumpulan mata wang termasuk yen Jepun dan yuan China, euro, emas dan mata wang baru yang dirancang dalam Majlis Kerjasama Teluk (GCC), termasuk Arab Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait dan Qatar.
Emas yang dinilai sebagai pelaburan paling selamat, sejak beberapa bulan lalu kembali mendapat perhatian apabila ekonomi global bergelut dengan krisis paling teruk dalam tempoh beberapa dekad.
Permintaan emas melonjak didorong kelemahan nilai dolar, yang menjadikan komoditi yang diniagakan dalam mata wang dolar menjadi lebih murah kepada pemegang dalam mata wang yang lebih kukuh, sekali gus meningkatkan permintaan.
Emas turut mendapat sokongan daripada kebimbangan terhadap inflasi yang lebih tinggi kerana logam berkenaan disifatkan oleh pelabur sebagai simpanan nilai paling selamat.
Bulan lalu, perunding logam berharga GFMS memberi peringatan mengenai perkembangan semasa aliran kenaikan harga emas mungkin tidak akan berkekalan jika pakej rangsangan global gagal meningkatkan permintaan lemah dalam ekonomi yang bermasalah hingga menyebabkan penurunan inflasi. - AFP
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Gold on report to ditch dollar
07.10.09( Yahoo.com)
Gold price hits record high on report to ditch dollar AFP - Wednesday, October 7Send IM Story Print
Gold bars are pictured at a plant of a gold refiner and bar manufacturer in Switzerland. The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
LONDON (AFP) - – The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
Gold hit 1,045.00 dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in late trades.
Hours earlier on the London Bullion Market, gold surged to 1,043.78 dollars beating the previous record high of 1,032.70 dollars an ounce struck in March, 2008.
Barclays Capital precious metals analyst Suki Cooper said dollar weakness appeared to be related to reported secret talks about oil being priced in a basket of currencies including gold rather than the dollar,
This "has added to concerns about the future role of the dollar in international financial markets," Cooper said.
The dollar's future as the world's top currency was thrown into doubt on Tuesday as a report said Arab states had launched secret moves with China and Russia to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
Arab states have launched steps with China, Russia, Japan and France to stop using the dollar for oil trades, British daily The Independent reported on Tuesday, but the report was denied by Kuwait and Qatar and reportedly by other nations.
The Independent's Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk wrote in his paper: "In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning -- along with China, Russia, Japan and France -- to end dollar dealings for oil."
They would instead switch "to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar," added Fisk.
Gold, viewed as a safe-haven investment, has won back favour in recent months as the global economy struggles out of its worst slump in decades.
The run-up in gold has been largely driven by weakness in the dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of stronger currencies, boosting demand.
Gold also wins support from fears about higher inflation because the metal is widely regarded by investors as a safe store of value.
Precious metals consultancy GFMS last month warned that the current upward trend in gold may not be sustainable should global stimulus packages fail to boost flagging demand in the battered world economy and inflation fall as a result.
The Group of 20 leaders of emerging and developed nations recently agreed at a summit in Pittsburgh not to roll back massive stimulus measures that helped contain a severe global recession
Gold price hits record high on report to ditch dollar AFP - Wednesday, October 7Send IM Story Print
Gold bars are pictured at a plant of a gold refiner and bar manufacturer in Switzerland. The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
LONDON (AFP) - – The price of gold struck an all-time high Tuesday as the dollar fell on a news report of a plan by Gulf states to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
Gold hit 1,045.00 dollars per ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in late trades.
Hours earlier on the London Bullion Market, gold surged to 1,043.78 dollars beating the previous record high of 1,032.70 dollars an ounce struck in March, 2008.
Barclays Capital precious metals analyst Suki Cooper said dollar weakness appeared to be related to reported secret talks about oil being priced in a basket of currencies including gold rather than the dollar,
This "has added to concerns about the future role of the dollar in international financial markets," Cooper said.
The dollar's future as the world's top currency was thrown into doubt on Tuesday as a report said Arab states had launched secret moves with China and Russia to stop using the greenback for oil trading.
Arab states have launched steps with China, Russia, Japan and France to stop using the dollar for oil trades, British daily The Independent reported on Tuesday, but the report was denied by Kuwait and Qatar and reportedly by other nations.
The Independent's Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk wrote in his paper: "In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning -- along with China, Russia, Japan and France -- to end dollar dealings for oil."
They would instead switch "to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar," added Fisk.
Gold, viewed as a safe-haven investment, has won back favour in recent months as the global economy struggles out of its worst slump in decades.
The run-up in gold has been largely driven by weakness in the dollar, which makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of stronger currencies, boosting demand.
Gold also wins support from fears about higher inflation because the metal is widely regarded by investors as a safe store of value.
Precious metals consultancy GFMS last month warned that the current upward trend in gold may not be sustainable should global stimulus packages fail to boost flagging demand in the battered world economy and inflation fall as a result.
The Group of 20 leaders of emerging and developed nations recently agreed at a summit in Pittsburgh not to roll back massive stimulus measures that helped contain a severe global recession
Dunia perlu sistem kewangan baru
3 cabaran besar dihadapi bersama
NAJIB ketika berucap pada Perhimpunan Agung Unesco Ke-35 di Paris, malam tadi.
Malaysia bersedia sebagai jambatan hubung semua budaya di dunia
TERLEBIH dulu, saya ingin menyampaikan salam mesra seluruh rakyat Malaysia kepada semua anggota perwakilan dan pemerhati pada Persidangan Agung Unesco Ke-35 ini. Bagi pihak rakyat serta Kerajaan Malaysia, saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Unesco dan Ketua Pengarah Unesco, Koichiro Matsuura kerana memberi peluang dan penghormatan kepada saya berucap pada Persidangan Agung ini, sesuatu yang julung kali diberi kepada seorang Perdana Menteri Malaysia.
Secara peribadi, dewan pertubuhan yang mulia ini telah menyingkap kembali kenangan lama, hubungan persahabatan dan semangat setia kawan yang terjalin sewaktu saya berkhidmat dalam Lembaga Eksekutif Unesco sedekad lalu.
Ia adalah saat-saat yang sungguh manis dan penuh dengan nostalgia, lebih-lebih lagi apabila mengenangkan bahawa Allahyarham ayahanda saya, Tun Abdul Razak (Hussein), yang pernah menjadi Menteri Pelajaran pada era pra-kemerdekaan Malaysia dan Perdana Menteri kedua Malaysia, telah memainkan peranan penting dalam keputusan Malaysia menyertai Unesco lebih lima dekad lalu.
Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa persidangan ini bakal menyaksikan satu peristiwa yang penuh bersejarah. Ibarat kata, siling kaca yang sudah wujud sejak sekian lama, akhirnya akan berderai di institusi ini, yang begitu bersungguh-sungguh memperjuangkan persamaan hak bagi manusia, apabila ia akan secara rasminya memilih Elrina Bokova sebagai wanita pertama menjadi Ketua Pengarahnya. Saya mendoakan kejayaan beliau dan amat yakin beliau mampu meneruskan tugas mulia mereka yang telah menyandang jawatan itu sebelum ini.
Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan tahniah kepada Ketua Pengarah sedia ada, Koichiro Matsuura, yang bakal meninggalkan jawatannya, atas kepemimpinan cemerlang beliau selama ini. Seperti yang kita semua sedia maklum, sepanjang perkhidmatan beliau, Matsuura berjaya meningkatkan prestasi Unesco dan meletakkan asas kukuh bagi usaha pembaharuan organisasi ini.
Hari ini, ketika kita berdepan dengan jurang yang semakin melebar antara budaya dan pegangan agama, awan hitam kemelesetan ekonomi global, tragedi yang menusuk hati akibat perubahan iklim, kita tidak boleh lagi berdiam diri dalam zon selesa. Pilihan yang ada di hadapan kita bukanlah unilateralisme atau isolationisme. Perjalanan yang bakal kita lalui mestilah bersifat lebih imaginatif dan inklusif daripada segi kerjasama global.
Pada asasnya, terdapat tiga cabaran besar yang kini mendepani komuniti antarabangsa, yang perlu dihadapi dan diatasi secara bersama. Pertama, cabaran dalam memastikan wujudnya keamanan berkekalan, keamanan yang adil dan saksama, bukan keamanan untuk zaman kita saja, tetapi keamanan untuk setiap masa. Keamanan yang diwujudkan atas sikap kerelaan dan bukan yang dipaksakan secara hegemoni melalui ketakutan dan paksaan.
Keamanan seperti ini hanya boleh dicapai jika kita bersedia untuk mendekatkan diri antara satu sama lain melalui dialog. Teringat saya kepada pandangan bernas ahli agama dan falsafah terkenal Jerman, Profesor Hans Kung, apabila beliau berkata: "Tidak akan wujud keamanan di dunia jika tidak wujud keharmonian dalam kalangan agama dan budaya yang menjurus ke arah itu; dan tidak akan wujud keharmonian antara agama jika tidak ada dialog sesama mereka."
Sesungguhnya, kejahilan, ketakutan, prejudis dan sikap ambil mudah yang tidak ditangani dengan sewajarnya, adalah tempat yang subur untuk membiakkan kebencian, sikap melampau, sikap mudah menyerah pada nasib dan sikap fanatik, iaitu punca bagi semua penyakit yang melanda dunia hari ini.
Malaysia bersedia memainkan peranannya dalam mengatur dialog antara budaya. Kedudukan geografi dan legasi sejarah yang dimilikinya, menjadikan Malaysia begitu strategik untuk bertindak sebagai jambatan bagi menghubungkan semua budaya utama di dunia. Tawaran ini dibuat bukan untuk sedap didengar saja, tetapi berdasarkan kepentingan dua hala dan kepentingan bersama kita. Lagi pun, adalah suatu hakikat bahawa suasana aman secara dalaman dan luaran adalah pra-syarat bagi pembangunan sesebuah negara.
Sebenarnya, bagi rakyat Malaysia, dialog antara budaya adalah suatu hakikat yang wujud dalam kehidupan harian mereka. Melalui kebijaksanaan mereka ketika mula-mula mencapai kemerdekaan, pengasas negara kami telah menjadikan integrasi, bukannya asimilisasi sebagai dasar negara bagi menangani hubungan kaum dan membentuk sebuah negara baru. Pemilihan yang dibuat dengan penuh kesedaran ini, pada mulanya menerima kritikan hebat, sebelum kesudahannya, ia terbukti sebagai suatu langkah tepat oleh sejarah.
Kami telah membuat perubahan daripada semata-mata menerima kepelbagaian kepada penerimaan, dan akhirnya, kini mercu set minda ini menerima kepelbagaian sebagai suatu sumber kekuatan negara, bukan sebagai suatu punca sengketa. Inilah yang menjadi tunjang falsafah 1Malaysia yang saya perkenalkan ketika mula-mula memegang jawatan April lalu. Kami yakin terhadap falsafah ini, yang berasaskan sikap saling mempercayai dan saling menghormati antara semua komuniti; harapan saya bagi Malaysia ialah 1impian, 1bangsa dan 1negara.
Saya yakin ia adalah formula yang betul, bukan saja bagi mewujudkan keharmonian nasional, tetapi juga sesuatu yang tepat ke arah meningkatkan keamanan serantau dan global. Justeru, adalah sesuatu yang logik, falsafah nasional ini diperluaskan sebagai konsep 1Rantau dan akhirnya, 1Dunia. Di peringkat serantau, 40 tahun lalu, Asia Tenggara adalah rantau yang dilanda pelbagai sengketa. Hari ini, secara umumnya, ia menjadi rantau yang aman dan stabil. Jelas sekali, budaya keamanan yang meresap di seluruh rantau ini melahirkan peluang bagi negara anggotanya untuk memberi fokus terhadap agenda pembangunan nasional masing-masing.
Budaya keamanan dan kestabilan di rantau berkenaan terhasil daripada keunikan semangat serantau yang wujud dalam Asean, yang berasaskan dialog serta pembabitan secara konstruktif di dalam dan di luar rantau berkenaan. Cabaran kedua ialah dalam mewujudkan susun atur kewangan global yang baru. Tempoh 50 tahun lalu menyaksikan kemenangan besar bagi ekonomi pasaran melalui perancangan secara berpusat.
Perubahan yang berlaku sekarang berpunca daripada kesan meluas dan merata, yang wujud daripada globalisasi yang berkembang dengan pesat, yang mengancam pelbagai sikap dan respons, daripada keghairahan yang tidak terkendalikan, hinggalah kepada penolakan secara total. Selain itu, penolakan terhadap globalisasi nampaknya diperkukuhkan lagi oleh kemelut kewangan global semasa, yang berpunca daripada kelemahan ketara yang wujud dalam kedudukan kewangan global.
Jelas sekali, ia adalah cerminan daripada kejayaan dan kesan globalisasi, sementara gegaran daripada krisis kewangan Asia satu dekad lalu telah melanda seluruh rantau berkenaan, manakala kemelesetan kewangan semasa memberi kesan kepada semua negara, tanpa sebarang pengecualian. Di tengah-tengah keriuhan perbahasan di seluruh dunia sekarang, kita, sebagai pembuat dasar, tidak boleh lagi leka berhujah secara abstrak atau bermewah dengan masa. Kita perlu menghadapi realiti. Globalisasi tidak boleh diundur semula.
Jarum jam tidak boleh diputar kembali dan kemajuan pula tidak boleh dihentikan. Namun demikian, peri perlunya menerima globalisasi tidak membawa bersamanya keperluan mutlak untuk menerimanya secara tanpa syarat. Kita perlu menolak kecenderungan semula jadi untuk berundur ke dalam kepompong sempit nasionalisme dan dasar perlindungan. Sebaliknya, kita perlu menghadapi cabaran ini secara bersemuka dengan berganding bahu untuk mengemudi proses ini ke arah mencapai hasil yang lebih lestari, saksama dan adil.
Bagi memastikan apa yang dihajati ini tercapai, semangat keusahawanan kental mestilah diiringi dengan kesedaran sosial. Ia juga perlu menganjurkan pertumbuhan secara saksama dan mengambil kira kepentingan semua pemegang kepentingan. Kita tidak boleh sekali-kali membenarkan sistem kapitalis tidak terkawal yang dipacu oleh perasaan tamak haloba, kembali mengganas. Tanpa wujudnya rangka kerja kawal selia yang adil, dunia akan terjerumus ke lembah bencana dan malapetaka.
Oleh itu, adalah penting susun atur kewangan global baru yang akan diwujudkan nanti, memastikan kemakmuran akan dikongsi secara sama rata. Mekanisme yang sewajarnya juga perlu diwujudkan bagi menangani perbuatan memanipulasi sistem berkenaan. Sudah terbukti sebelum ini bahawa banyak pihak menjadi hamba kepada nafsu mengejar kekayaan, hingga sanggup melakukan apa saja, tanpa sebarang keinsafan. Cabaran ketiga ialah mengurus perubahan iklim. Ia adalah cabaran besar bukan saja bagi generasi akan datang, malah juga bagi kita hari ini.
Ketika saya berucap ini, rantau saya dilanda bencana alam dan malapetaka yang amat dahsyat seperti gempa bumi di Padang, Indonesia, Tsunami di Samoa Barat, taufan di Filipina dan banjir besar di selatan India. Saya ingin mengucapkan rasa simpati kepada penduduk Indonesia, Filipina, India dan Samoa Barat. Tragedi yang menyayat hati ini mengingatkan kita semua betapa rapuhnya dunia yang kita diami ini dan betapa saling bergantungnya kita di dunia ini.
Sidang kemuncak akan datang di Copenhagen Disember ini perlu mencerminkan komitmen dan tindakan kukuh global untuk memulihara beberapa tapak bersejarah sebagai sebahagian daripada warisan dunia. Bagaimanapun, warisan paling berharga yang boleh kita wariskan kepada generasi akan datang ialah bumi ini sendiri; sebuah planet yang menawarkan kehidupan berkualiti bagi manusia hingga ke akhir zaman nanti.
Saya adalah orang pertama yang mengaku bahawa tugas yang ada di hadapan kita sebagai pembuat dasar dan pemimpin untuk memastikan semua cabaran itu dapat dicapai, adalah sesuatu yang bukan mudah untuk dilaksanakan. Bagaimanapun, kita tidak boleh berdiam diri. Kita perlu lakukan apa yang betul, walaupun ia sesuatu yang sukar. Ini adalah cabaran yang perlu kita hadapi. Ia tidak boleh dibiarkan tidak kesampaian atau tidak diselesaikan.
Ia perlu ditangani secara berdepan oleh masyarakat dunia dengan berbekalkan semangat kesepakatan yang jitu serta matlamat bersama yang lahir daripada hubungan muhibah, dengan berbekalkan pengalaman yang kita sama-sama miliki. Kita tidak boleh gagal kerana ia akan memberi kesan jangka panjang terhadap kelangsungan hidup kita.
Generasi zaman lampau terpaksa membina semula order dunia daripada debu kehancuran sebelum melihatnya dimusnahkan semula oleh sikap tidak ambil peduli dalam kalangan kita yang berkemampuan, tetapi memilih untuk tidak mengambil kesempatan untuk membuat pembaharuan apabila wujud kesempatan.
Akhir sekali, sebagai tanda komitmen ikhlas dan keyakinan mendalam kami terhadap gagasan yang terkandung dalam mandat yang diberi kepada Unesco untuk membawa keamanan dan pembangunan melalui pendidikan, sains, budaya dan komunikasi, saya dengan sukacita mengumumkan hasrat kerajaan Malaysia untuk menubuhkan Dana Amanah Koperasi Unesco–Malaysia.
Dana ini akan digunakan bagi memperkukuhkan kerjasama Selatan-Selatan bagi pembinaan keupayaan dalam bidang pendidikan dan sains, demi faedah negara-negara paling mundur, negara-negara kepulauan kecil dan bagi menyokong agenda keutamaan Afrika. Kami yakin bahawa pendidikan yang berkualiti hanya dapat diberi oleh guru yang berkualiti juga.
Di Malaysia, kami percaya terhadap prinsip pendemokrasian pendidikan, iaitu akses secara adil kepada pendidikan yang berkualiti dan secara sepanjang hayat. Idea yang diperjuangkan oleh Unesco selama ini. Program terbaru kami ialah memberi penekanan terhadap pendidikan awal kanak-kanak (0 hingga 6 tahun), iaitu asas paling kukuh yang dapat kami berikan kepada seseorang kanak-kanak.
Bagi menyumbang ke arah perkongsian ideal ini dengan negara lain, saya dengan sukacita mengumumkan bahawa tahun depan, Malaysia akan menyediakan geran permulaan AS$5 juta, diikuti sumbangan AS$1 juta setiap tahun. Program di bawah dana ini akan dilaksanakan melalui perundingan dengan pejabat Serantau Unesco di Bangkok dan Jakarta, Jabatan Keutamaan Afrika dan Suruhanjaya Kebangsaan Malaysia bagi Unesco di Kementerian Pendidikan.
Di bawah inisiatif ini, Malaysia akan menyediakan kemudahan latihan guru bagi peringkat pra perkhidmatan, dalam perkhidmatan, pentadbiran dan pengurusan sekolah. Sejajar dengan ini, kira-kira 300 tempat akan disediakan setiap tahun di semua peringkat.
Ada satu pepatah Melayu lama yang membawa maksud, melalui kerjasama, kita mampu menawan semua puncak gunung, meredah semua lurah dan merentasi semua sungai. Tidak ada halangan yang terlalu tinggi, terlalu dalam atau terlalu luas untuk kita atasi sekiranya kita berganding bahu serta menggembleng fikiran dan tindakan sebagai 1Dunia.
Sekian, terima kasih. - Bernama
NAJIB ketika berucap pada Perhimpunan Agung Unesco Ke-35 di Paris, malam tadi.
Malaysia bersedia sebagai jambatan hubung semua budaya di dunia
TERLEBIH dulu, saya ingin menyampaikan salam mesra seluruh rakyat Malaysia kepada semua anggota perwakilan dan pemerhati pada Persidangan Agung Unesco Ke-35 ini. Bagi pihak rakyat serta Kerajaan Malaysia, saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Unesco dan Ketua Pengarah Unesco, Koichiro Matsuura kerana memberi peluang dan penghormatan kepada saya berucap pada Persidangan Agung ini, sesuatu yang julung kali diberi kepada seorang Perdana Menteri Malaysia.
Secara peribadi, dewan pertubuhan yang mulia ini telah menyingkap kembali kenangan lama, hubungan persahabatan dan semangat setia kawan yang terjalin sewaktu saya berkhidmat dalam Lembaga Eksekutif Unesco sedekad lalu.
Ia adalah saat-saat yang sungguh manis dan penuh dengan nostalgia, lebih-lebih lagi apabila mengenangkan bahawa Allahyarham ayahanda saya, Tun Abdul Razak (Hussein), yang pernah menjadi Menteri Pelajaran pada era pra-kemerdekaan Malaysia dan Perdana Menteri kedua Malaysia, telah memainkan peranan penting dalam keputusan Malaysia menyertai Unesco lebih lima dekad lalu.
Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa persidangan ini bakal menyaksikan satu peristiwa yang penuh bersejarah. Ibarat kata, siling kaca yang sudah wujud sejak sekian lama, akhirnya akan berderai di institusi ini, yang begitu bersungguh-sungguh memperjuangkan persamaan hak bagi manusia, apabila ia akan secara rasminya memilih Elrina Bokova sebagai wanita pertama menjadi Ketua Pengarahnya. Saya mendoakan kejayaan beliau dan amat yakin beliau mampu meneruskan tugas mulia mereka yang telah menyandang jawatan itu sebelum ini.
Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan tahniah kepada Ketua Pengarah sedia ada, Koichiro Matsuura, yang bakal meninggalkan jawatannya, atas kepemimpinan cemerlang beliau selama ini. Seperti yang kita semua sedia maklum, sepanjang perkhidmatan beliau, Matsuura berjaya meningkatkan prestasi Unesco dan meletakkan asas kukuh bagi usaha pembaharuan organisasi ini.
Hari ini, ketika kita berdepan dengan jurang yang semakin melebar antara budaya dan pegangan agama, awan hitam kemelesetan ekonomi global, tragedi yang menusuk hati akibat perubahan iklim, kita tidak boleh lagi berdiam diri dalam zon selesa. Pilihan yang ada di hadapan kita bukanlah unilateralisme atau isolationisme. Perjalanan yang bakal kita lalui mestilah bersifat lebih imaginatif dan inklusif daripada segi kerjasama global.
Pada asasnya, terdapat tiga cabaran besar yang kini mendepani komuniti antarabangsa, yang perlu dihadapi dan diatasi secara bersama. Pertama, cabaran dalam memastikan wujudnya keamanan berkekalan, keamanan yang adil dan saksama, bukan keamanan untuk zaman kita saja, tetapi keamanan untuk setiap masa. Keamanan yang diwujudkan atas sikap kerelaan dan bukan yang dipaksakan secara hegemoni melalui ketakutan dan paksaan.
Keamanan seperti ini hanya boleh dicapai jika kita bersedia untuk mendekatkan diri antara satu sama lain melalui dialog. Teringat saya kepada pandangan bernas ahli agama dan falsafah terkenal Jerman, Profesor Hans Kung, apabila beliau berkata: "Tidak akan wujud keamanan di dunia jika tidak wujud keharmonian dalam kalangan agama dan budaya yang menjurus ke arah itu; dan tidak akan wujud keharmonian antara agama jika tidak ada dialog sesama mereka."
Sesungguhnya, kejahilan, ketakutan, prejudis dan sikap ambil mudah yang tidak ditangani dengan sewajarnya, adalah tempat yang subur untuk membiakkan kebencian, sikap melampau, sikap mudah menyerah pada nasib dan sikap fanatik, iaitu punca bagi semua penyakit yang melanda dunia hari ini.
Malaysia bersedia memainkan peranannya dalam mengatur dialog antara budaya. Kedudukan geografi dan legasi sejarah yang dimilikinya, menjadikan Malaysia begitu strategik untuk bertindak sebagai jambatan bagi menghubungkan semua budaya utama di dunia. Tawaran ini dibuat bukan untuk sedap didengar saja, tetapi berdasarkan kepentingan dua hala dan kepentingan bersama kita. Lagi pun, adalah suatu hakikat bahawa suasana aman secara dalaman dan luaran adalah pra-syarat bagi pembangunan sesebuah negara.
Sebenarnya, bagi rakyat Malaysia, dialog antara budaya adalah suatu hakikat yang wujud dalam kehidupan harian mereka. Melalui kebijaksanaan mereka ketika mula-mula mencapai kemerdekaan, pengasas negara kami telah menjadikan integrasi, bukannya asimilisasi sebagai dasar negara bagi menangani hubungan kaum dan membentuk sebuah negara baru. Pemilihan yang dibuat dengan penuh kesedaran ini, pada mulanya menerima kritikan hebat, sebelum kesudahannya, ia terbukti sebagai suatu langkah tepat oleh sejarah.
Kami telah membuat perubahan daripada semata-mata menerima kepelbagaian kepada penerimaan, dan akhirnya, kini mercu set minda ini menerima kepelbagaian sebagai suatu sumber kekuatan negara, bukan sebagai suatu punca sengketa. Inilah yang menjadi tunjang falsafah 1Malaysia yang saya perkenalkan ketika mula-mula memegang jawatan April lalu. Kami yakin terhadap falsafah ini, yang berasaskan sikap saling mempercayai dan saling menghormati antara semua komuniti; harapan saya bagi Malaysia ialah 1impian, 1bangsa dan 1negara.
Saya yakin ia adalah formula yang betul, bukan saja bagi mewujudkan keharmonian nasional, tetapi juga sesuatu yang tepat ke arah meningkatkan keamanan serantau dan global. Justeru, adalah sesuatu yang logik, falsafah nasional ini diperluaskan sebagai konsep 1Rantau dan akhirnya, 1Dunia. Di peringkat serantau, 40 tahun lalu, Asia Tenggara adalah rantau yang dilanda pelbagai sengketa. Hari ini, secara umumnya, ia menjadi rantau yang aman dan stabil. Jelas sekali, budaya keamanan yang meresap di seluruh rantau ini melahirkan peluang bagi negara anggotanya untuk memberi fokus terhadap agenda pembangunan nasional masing-masing.
Budaya keamanan dan kestabilan di rantau berkenaan terhasil daripada keunikan semangat serantau yang wujud dalam Asean, yang berasaskan dialog serta pembabitan secara konstruktif di dalam dan di luar rantau berkenaan. Cabaran kedua ialah dalam mewujudkan susun atur kewangan global yang baru. Tempoh 50 tahun lalu menyaksikan kemenangan besar bagi ekonomi pasaran melalui perancangan secara berpusat.
Perubahan yang berlaku sekarang berpunca daripada kesan meluas dan merata, yang wujud daripada globalisasi yang berkembang dengan pesat, yang mengancam pelbagai sikap dan respons, daripada keghairahan yang tidak terkendalikan, hinggalah kepada penolakan secara total. Selain itu, penolakan terhadap globalisasi nampaknya diperkukuhkan lagi oleh kemelut kewangan global semasa, yang berpunca daripada kelemahan ketara yang wujud dalam kedudukan kewangan global.
Jelas sekali, ia adalah cerminan daripada kejayaan dan kesan globalisasi, sementara gegaran daripada krisis kewangan Asia satu dekad lalu telah melanda seluruh rantau berkenaan, manakala kemelesetan kewangan semasa memberi kesan kepada semua negara, tanpa sebarang pengecualian. Di tengah-tengah keriuhan perbahasan di seluruh dunia sekarang, kita, sebagai pembuat dasar, tidak boleh lagi leka berhujah secara abstrak atau bermewah dengan masa. Kita perlu menghadapi realiti. Globalisasi tidak boleh diundur semula.
Jarum jam tidak boleh diputar kembali dan kemajuan pula tidak boleh dihentikan. Namun demikian, peri perlunya menerima globalisasi tidak membawa bersamanya keperluan mutlak untuk menerimanya secara tanpa syarat. Kita perlu menolak kecenderungan semula jadi untuk berundur ke dalam kepompong sempit nasionalisme dan dasar perlindungan. Sebaliknya, kita perlu menghadapi cabaran ini secara bersemuka dengan berganding bahu untuk mengemudi proses ini ke arah mencapai hasil yang lebih lestari, saksama dan adil.
Bagi memastikan apa yang dihajati ini tercapai, semangat keusahawanan kental mestilah diiringi dengan kesedaran sosial. Ia juga perlu menganjurkan pertumbuhan secara saksama dan mengambil kira kepentingan semua pemegang kepentingan. Kita tidak boleh sekali-kali membenarkan sistem kapitalis tidak terkawal yang dipacu oleh perasaan tamak haloba, kembali mengganas. Tanpa wujudnya rangka kerja kawal selia yang adil, dunia akan terjerumus ke lembah bencana dan malapetaka.
Oleh itu, adalah penting susun atur kewangan global baru yang akan diwujudkan nanti, memastikan kemakmuran akan dikongsi secara sama rata. Mekanisme yang sewajarnya juga perlu diwujudkan bagi menangani perbuatan memanipulasi sistem berkenaan. Sudah terbukti sebelum ini bahawa banyak pihak menjadi hamba kepada nafsu mengejar kekayaan, hingga sanggup melakukan apa saja, tanpa sebarang keinsafan. Cabaran ketiga ialah mengurus perubahan iklim. Ia adalah cabaran besar bukan saja bagi generasi akan datang, malah juga bagi kita hari ini.
Ketika saya berucap ini, rantau saya dilanda bencana alam dan malapetaka yang amat dahsyat seperti gempa bumi di Padang, Indonesia, Tsunami di Samoa Barat, taufan di Filipina dan banjir besar di selatan India. Saya ingin mengucapkan rasa simpati kepada penduduk Indonesia, Filipina, India dan Samoa Barat. Tragedi yang menyayat hati ini mengingatkan kita semua betapa rapuhnya dunia yang kita diami ini dan betapa saling bergantungnya kita di dunia ini.
Sidang kemuncak akan datang di Copenhagen Disember ini perlu mencerminkan komitmen dan tindakan kukuh global untuk memulihara beberapa tapak bersejarah sebagai sebahagian daripada warisan dunia. Bagaimanapun, warisan paling berharga yang boleh kita wariskan kepada generasi akan datang ialah bumi ini sendiri; sebuah planet yang menawarkan kehidupan berkualiti bagi manusia hingga ke akhir zaman nanti.
Saya adalah orang pertama yang mengaku bahawa tugas yang ada di hadapan kita sebagai pembuat dasar dan pemimpin untuk memastikan semua cabaran itu dapat dicapai, adalah sesuatu yang bukan mudah untuk dilaksanakan. Bagaimanapun, kita tidak boleh berdiam diri. Kita perlu lakukan apa yang betul, walaupun ia sesuatu yang sukar. Ini adalah cabaran yang perlu kita hadapi. Ia tidak boleh dibiarkan tidak kesampaian atau tidak diselesaikan.
Ia perlu ditangani secara berdepan oleh masyarakat dunia dengan berbekalkan semangat kesepakatan yang jitu serta matlamat bersama yang lahir daripada hubungan muhibah, dengan berbekalkan pengalaman yang kita sama-sama miliki. Kita tidak boleh gagal kerana ia akan memberi kesan jangka panjang terhadap kelangsungan hidup kita.
Generasi zaman lampau terpaksa membina semula order dunia daripada debu kehancuran sebelum melihatnya dimusnahkan semula oleh sikap tidak ambil peduli dalam kalangan kita yang berkemampuan, tetapi memilih untuk tidak mengambil kesempatan untuk membuat pembaharuan apabila wujud kesempatan.
Akhir sekali, sebagai tanda komitmen ikhlas dan keyakinan mendalam kami terhadap gagasan yang terkandung dalam mandat yang diberi kepada Unesco untuk membawa keamanan dan pembangunan melalui pendidikan, sains, budaya dan komunikasi, saya dengan sukacita mengumumkan hasrat kerajaan Malaysia untuk menubuhkan Dana Amanah Koperasi Unesco–Malaysia.
Dana ini akan digunakan bagi memperkukuhkan kerjasama Selatan-Selatan bagi pembinaan keupayaan dalam bidang pendidikan dan sains, demi faedah negara-negara paling mundur, negara-negara kepulauan kecil dan bagi menyokong agenda keutamaan Afrika. Kami yakin bahawa pendidikan yang berkualiti hanya dapat diberi oleh guru yang berkualiti juga.
Di Malaysia, kami percaya terhadap prinsip pendemokrasian pendidikan, iaitu akses secara adil kepada pendidikan yang berkualiti dan secara sepanjang hayat. Idea yang diperjuangkan oleh Unesco selama ini. Program terbaru kami ialah memberi penekanan terhadap pendidikan awal kanak-kanak (0 hingga 6 tahun), iaitu asas paling kukuh yang dapat kami berikan kepada seseorang kanak-kanak.
Bagi menyumbang ke arah perkongsian ideal ini dengan negara lain, saya dengan sukacita mengumumkan bahawa tahun depan, Malaysia akan menyediakan geran permulaan AS$5 juta, diikuti sumbangan AS$1 juta setiap tahun. Program di bawah dana ini akan dilaksanakan melalui perundingan dengan pejabat Serantau Unesco di Bangkok dan Jakarta, Jabatan Keutamaan Afrika dan Suruhanjaya Kebangsaan Malaysia bagi Unesco di Kementerian Pendidikan.
Di bawah inisiatif ini, Malaysia akan menyediakan kemudahan latihan guru bagi peringkat pra perkhidmatan, dalam perkhidmatan, pentadbiran dan pengurusan sekolah. Sejajar dengan ini, kira-kira 300 tempat akan disediakan setiap tahun di semua peringkat.
Ada satu pepatah Melayu lama yang membawa maksud, melalui kerjasama, kita mampu menawan semua puncak gunung, meredah semua lurah dan merentasi semua sungai. Tidak ada halangan yang terlalu tinggi, terlalu dalam atau terlalu luas untuk kita atasi sekiranya kita berganding bahu serta menggembleng fikiran dan tindakan sebagai 1Dunia.
Sekian, terima kasih. - Bernama
1rantau 1dunia - PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
1rantau 1dunia - PM
1rantau 1dunia - PM
Najib Tun Razak menyampaikan ucaptama pada persidangan agung UNESCO di paris, semalam. -BERNAMA
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PARIS 6 Okt. - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hari ini 'menjual' gagasan 1Malaysia kepada dunia yang beliau percaya merupakan satu formula paling jitu untuk mengekal dan menjamin keamanan sejagat pada masa ini dan akan datang.
Berucap pada Persidangan Agung Pertubuhan Pendidikan, Saintifik dan Kebudayaan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNESCO) ke-35 di sini, Perdana Menteri menegaskan, kesanggupan dan komitmen untuk menentukan keamanan sejagat merupakan antara tiga cabaran utama yang perlu didepani masyarakat antarabangsa hari ini.
Dua lagi cabaran berkenaan berkaitan usaha untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang baru serta menangani perubahan cuaca yang mengancam dunia ketika ini.
Di pentas persidangan yang menyaksikan penampilan pertama seorang pemimpin Malaysia dalam tempoh 50 tahun diberi penghormatan menyampaikan ucaptama, beliau berkata, gagasan 1Malaysia yang diyakini mampu mencapai matlamat '1impian, 1negara,1bangsa' boleh diangkat kepada pelaksanaan konsep 1Rantau, seterusnya 1Dunia.
''Pilihan kita bukanlah bersifat unilateral sebaliknya masa depan kita memerlukan kerjasama global yang lebih imaginatif dan dengan penyertaan sejagat.
''Kerana itu, Malaysia sanggup memainkan peranan dalam mengadakan dialog antara budaya. Struktur geografi dan legasi peninggalan sejarah telah meletakkan Malaysia dalam kedudukan strategik untuk menjadi jambatan di antara budaya-budaya besar dunia," katanya dalam ucapan selama 17 minit itu.
Hadir sama pada persidangan pertubuhan yang disertai 191 negara itu ialah Ketua Pengarah UNESCO yang baru, Irina Bokova dan bekas penyandangnya, Koichiro Matsuura.
Dalam hubungan ini, Perdana Menteri menegaskan, keamanan hakiki hanya boleh dicapai melalui dialog dan bukannya dengan paksaan melalui kuasa hegemoni.
Beliau turut menarik perhatian mengenai ungkapan Profesor Hans Kung, seorang ahli falsafah teologi Jerman bahawa 'tidak akan ada keamanan di dunia ini jika tiada keharmonian di kalangan agama dan budaya dan juga tiada keharmonian antara agama, jika tiada dialog di kalangannya'.
''Konsep 1Malaysia yang diperkenalkan oleh pentadbiran kami sejak April lalu sememangnya berasaskan kepada kepercayaan dan sifat hormat-menghormati antara kaum.
''Sebenarnya bagi Malaysia dialog antara budaya ini adalah perkara yang berlaku sehari-harian. ''Kami hidup dalam suasana toleransi dan kemajmukan sedia ada telah tersemat dalam pemikiran (rakyat) untuk terus mengekalkan kestabilan dan mengelak punca yang boleh mengundang konflik," katanya.
Najib berkata, cabaran untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang baru pula dibangkitkan beliau setelah mengambil kira pengalaman 50 tahun lepas yang menyaksikan pasaran ekonomi yang tidak konsisten akibat dari perancangan sistem yang lemah.
''(Justeru) adalah penting untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang boleh menentukan pengagihan pendapatan yang lebih adil serta mempunyai mekanisma bagi menangani lambakan dan amalan manipulasi," kata beliau.
Mengenai cabaran untuk menangani perubahan cuaca, Perdana Menteri menyarankan supaya Sidang Kemuncak Perubahan Iklim yang akan diadakan di Copenhagen, Denmark tidak lama lagi mengambil langkah-langkah tegas untuk mengekang fenomena itu yang kini mengakibatkan bencana besar.
''Ketika saya berucap ini, rantau saya mengalami bencana alam dan malapetaka seperti gempa bumi di Padang, Indonesia, Tsunami di Barat Samoa, taufan di Filipina dan banjir besar di selatan India.
''Oleh itu saya harapkan persidangan di Copenhagen nanti dapat mencerminkan komitmen sejagat dalam usaha menangani perubahan iklim, ini merupakan tanggungjawab besar yang perlu dipikul bersama-sama," katanya.
Najib yang tiba di sini Ahad lalu dalam rangka lawatan rasmi empat hari akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan rakan sejawatannya, Presiden Nicolas Sarkozy esok.
Ini merupakan lawatan rasmi pertama beliau di luar Asia sejak mengambil alih pentadbiran negara April lalu. - UTUSAN
1rantau 1dunia - PM
1rantau 1dunia - PM
Najib Tun Razak menyampaikan ucaptama pada persidangan agung UNESCO di paris, semalam. -BERNAMA
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PARIS 6 Okt. - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hari ini 'menjual' gagasan 1Malaysia kepada dunia yang beliau percaya merupakan satu formula paling jitu untuk mengekal dan menjamin keamanan sejagat pada masa ini dan akan datang.
Berucap pada Persidangan Agung Pertubuhan Pendidikan, Saintifik dan Kebudayaan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNESCO) ke-35 di sini, Perdana Menteri menegaskan, kesanggupan dan komitmen untuk menentukan keamanan sejagat merupakan antara tiga cabaran utama yang perlu didepani masyarakat antarabangsa hari ini.
Dua lagi cabaran berkenaan berkaitan usaha untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang baru serta menangani perubahan cuaca yang mengancam dunia ketika ini.
Di pentas persidangan yang menyaksikan penampilan pertama seorang pemimpin Malaysia dalam tempoh 50 tahun diberi penghormatan menyampaikan ucaptama, beliau berkata, gagasan 1Malaysia yang diyakini mampu mencapai matlamat '1impian, 1negara,1bangsa' boleh diangkat kepada pelaksanaan konsep 1Rantau, seterusnya 1Dunia.
''Pilihan kita bukanlah bersifat unilateral sebaliknya masa depan kita memerlukan kerjasama global yang lebih imaginatif dan dengan penyertaan sejagat.
''Kerana itu, Malaysia sanggup memainkan peranan dalam mengadakan dialog antara budaya. Struktur geografi dan legasi peninggalan sejarah telah meletakkan Malaysia dalam kedudukan strategik untuk menjadi jambatan di antara budaya-budaya besar dunia," katanya dalam ucapan selama 17 minit itu.
Hadir sama pada persidangan pertubuhan yang disertai 191 negara itu ialah Ketua Pengarah UNESCO yang baru, Irina Bokova dan bekas penyandangnya, Koichiro Matsuura.
Dalam hubungan ini, Perdana Menteri menegaskan, keamanan hakiki hanya boleh dicapai melalui dialog dan bukannya dengan paksaan melalui kuasa hegemoni.
Beliau turut menarik perhatian mengenai ungkapan Profesor Hans Kung, seorang ahli falsafah teologi Jerman bahawa 'tidak akan ada keamanan di dunia ini jika tiada keharmonian di kalangan agama dan budaya dan juga tiada keharmonian antara agama, jika tiada dialog di kalangannya'.
''Konsep 1Malaysia yang diperkenalkan oleh pentadbiran kami sejak April lalu sememangnya berasaskan kepada kepercayaan dan sifat hormat-menghormati antara kaum.
''Sebenarnya bagi Malaysia dialog antara budaya ini adalah perkara yang berlaku sehari-harian. ''Kami hidup dalam suasana toleransi dan kemajmukan sedia ada telah tersemat dalam pemikiran (rakyat) untuk terus mengekalkan kestabilan dan mengelak punca yang boleh mengundang konflik," katanya.
Najib berkata, cabaran untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang baru pula dibangkitkan beliau setelah mengambil kira pengalaman 50 tahun lepas yang menyaksikan pasaran ekonomi yang tidak konsisten akibat dari perancangan sistem yang lemah.
''(Justeru) adalah penting untuk membentuk sistem kewangan global yang boleh menentukan pengagihan pendapatan yang lebih adil serta mempunyai mekanisma bagi menangani lambakan dan amalan manipulasi," kata beliau.
Mengenai cabaran untuk menangani perubahan cuaca, Perdana Menteri menyarankan supaya Sidang Kemuncak Perubahan Iklim yang akan diadakan di Copenhagen, Denmark tidak lama lagi mengambil langkah-langkah tegas untuk mengekang fenomena itu yang kini mengakibatkan bencana besar.
''Ketika saya berucap ini, rantau saya mengalami bencana alam dan malapetaka seperti gempa bumi di Padang, Indonesia, Tsunami di Barat Samoa, taufan di Filipina dan banjir besar di selatan India.
''Oleh itu saya harapkan persidangan di Copenhagen nanti dapat mencerminkan komitmen sejagat dalam usaha menangani perubahan iklim, ini merupakan tanggungjawab besar yang perlu dipikul bersama-sama," katanya.
Najib yang tiba di sini Ahad lalu dalam rangka lawatan rasmi empat hari akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan rakan sejawatannya, Presiden Nicolas Sarkozy esok.
Ini merupakan lawatan rasmi pertama beliau di luar Asia sejak mengambil alih pentadbiran negara April lalu. - UTUSAN
Zeti: Need for stable financial systems
Wednesday October 7, 2009
Zeti: Need for stable financial systems
ISTANBUL: There is an urgent need to find an enduring solution to ensure the stability of financial systems, said Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
She said the challenge was to build a new financial architecture that would allow for more efficient financial intermediation not only within national economies but also across borders.
“Islamic finance, with its emphasis on a strong linkage to productive economic activity, its in-built checks and balances and its high level of disclosure and transparency, offers this prospect.
“Indeed, inherent in Islamic finance are the explicit elements that address several of the issues that have surfaced in the conventional financial system during the current crisis,” Zeti said on Monday at a seminar on Islamic Finance: During and After the Global Financial Crisis.
The seminar was jointly organised by the World Bank, the Islamic Financial Services Board, the Islamic Development Bank and the Institute of International Finance.
Zeti said the global dimension of the current crisis called for a higher degree of collective determination by the international community to work together towards developing a global strategy that would evolve a financial system that was stable and sustainable over the entire business cycle.
“As Islamic finance continues to become an integral part of the global financial system, it will increasingly be exposed to risks of financial stress arising from global financial instability and global economic activity,” she said.
She added that a greater global engagement among those that were driving the reform agenda was necessary, given that it would result in new structures, standards and regulatory regimes for the industry.
The Islamic financial industry had been able to weather the first wave of the global financial crisis, demonstrating its robustness as a stable form of financial intermediation, she said.
Zeti: Need for stable financial systems
ISTANBUL: There is an urgent need to find an enduring solution to ensure the stability of financial systems, said Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
She said the challenge was to build a new financial architecture that would allow for more efficient financial intermediation not only within national economies but also across borders.
“Islamic finance, with its emphasis on a strong linkage to productive economic activity, its in-built checks and balances and its high level of disclosure and transparency, offers this prospect.
“Indeed, inherent in Islamic finance are the explicit elements that address several of the issues that have surfaced in the conventional financial system during the current crisis,” Zeti said on Monday at a seminar on Islamic Finance: During and After the Global Financial Crisis.
The seminar was jointly organised by the World Bank, the Islamic Financial Services Board, the Islamic Development Bank and the Institute of International Finance.
Zeti said the global dimension of the current crisis called for a higher degree of collective determination by the international community to work together towards developing a global strategy that would evolve a financial system that was stable and sustainable over the entire business cycle.
“As Islamic finance continues to become an integral part of the global financial system, it will increasingly be exposed to risks of financial stress arising from global financial instability and global economic activity,” she said.
She added that a greater global engagement among those that were driving the reform agenda was necessary, given that it would result in new structures, standards and regulatory regimes for the industry.
The Islamic financial industry had been able to weather the first wave of the global financial crisis, demonstrating its robustness as a stable form of financial intermediation, she said.
Consider stricter rules on credit card issuance
Published: 2009/08/06
Banks may need to consider more stringent criteria on credit card issuance, says Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin.
This need has risen from concerns on credit card indebtedness, he said during the opening of a focus group discussion for Budget 2010 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Awang Adek said non-performing loans (NPLs) due to credit cards accounted for RM580 million, or 2.3 per cent of total NPLs as at end-April 2009, while bankruptcies due to credit cards were 550 persons, or 4 per cent, of total bankruptcies in 2008.
However, a banking analyst contacted by Business Times said banks have already been implementing more stringent measures in the past year when issuing new credit cards.
"Because the credit card business is a volumes game and a high-margin business, the banks may seem more aggressive now in pushing to recruit new cardholders. However, the approval rate for new cards is low," said an analyst, who declined to be named.
The analyst said banks are more prudent now to ensure that they are taking on new customers that are financially sound.
According to Bank Negara Malaysia June 2009 statistical bulletin data, the number of cards (principal and supplementary) in circulation from January to June 2009 grew by 1.8 per cent compared to 4 per cent for the same period last year.
Meanwhile, another area discussed at the Budget 2010 focus group was on striking a balance between consumers and the banks in terms of bank charges; and the spread between the base lending rate and deposit rates.
Other issues included low market penetration of the life insurance and takaful market, the need to further promote real estate investment trusts, small venture capital fund size and the lack of private pension funds.
Banks may need to consider more stringent criteria on credit card issuance, says Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin.
This need has risen from concerns on credit card indebtedness, he said during the opening of a focus group discussion for Budget 2010 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Awang Adek said non-performing loans (NPLs) due to credit cards accounted for RM580 million, or 2.3 per cent of total NPLs as at end-April 2009, while bankruptcies due to credit cards were 550 persons, or 4 per cent, of total bankruptcies in 2008.
However, a banking analyst contacted by Business Times said banks have already been implementing more stringent measures in the past year when issuing new credit cards.
"Because the credit card business is a volumes game and a high-margin business, the banks may seem more aggressive now in pushing to recruit new cardholders. However, the approval rate for new cards is low," said an analyst, who declined to be named.
The analyst said banks are more prudent now to ensure that they are taking on new customers that are financially sound.
According to Bank Negara Malaysia June 2009 statistical bulletin data, the number of cards (principal and supplementary) in circulation from January to June 2009 grew by 1.8 per cent compared to 4 per cent for the same period last year.
Meanwhile, another area discussed at the Budget 2010 focus group was on striking a balance between consumers and the banks in terms of bank charges; and the spread between the base lending rate and deposit rates.
Other issues included low market penetration of the life insurance and takaful market, the need to further promote real estate investment trusts, small venture capital fund size and the lack of private pension funds.
Economist: Need for unified regulation of Islamic finance
Economist: Need for unified regulation of Islamic finance
By Chong Pooi KoonPublished: 2009/09/30
The recent crisis should teach Islamic finance players one important lesson: the need for a unified regulation across nations.
Malaysia, which has the most advanced Islamic finance regulation, should take the lead in helping to create a standardised regulatory and supervisory framework, said economist Dr Abbas Mirakhor, who is formerly an International Monetary Fund executive director.
Abbas said contrary to popular belief, Islamic finance is not the most regulated financial sector and could face the same risks that brought the global financial system to its knee last year.
"We may have more regulatory standards but there is no implementation of the standards in a unified manner, and there is no organisation that supervises the instruments," he said in a public lecture hosted by the Securities Commission in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
A big part of the recent financial crisis can be blamed on the regulatory failure, he said, and Islamic finance is not immune to this potential risk.
"Now you have scholars who know very little about finance and it seems it has become performable to just put the stamp of approval so that an instrument can be issued. There have been two or three instruments that have got into trouble but they all have had their approvals given by syariah scholars," he said.
"Our problem is that every jurisdiction has its own regulation, and some may not even have their own regulation. That gives an opportunity for regulatory arbitrage, which means people may issue Islamic instruments that are sub-par in jurisdictions that have very weak or no regulation on that particular instrument, therefore creating risk for the system," he said.
The need for a well-regulated Islamic finance is even more crucial due to its nascent stage of development. Any failure in the Islamic financial system now will hurt its reputation and could threaten its survival.
"If there is a failure of the bond market in California, nobody will question whether there's systemic risk to the global bond market. But if a sukuk fails, it will raise questions on the entire Islamic finance," he said.
"So to ensure that Islamic finance has a decent chance of growth and development, one has to make sure that regulation is unified and accepted by all jurisdiction," Abbas said.
He added that this is not hard to do since organisations like the Islamic Financial Services Board has issued standards on syariah products that are universal.
"The question is whether or not they want to put together an association of Islamic banks or association of central banks in jurisdictions that have Islamic finance operation, and then organise a regulatory agency which is supernational and authoritative," Abbas said.
By Chong Pooi KoonPublished: 2009/09/30
The recent crisis should teach Islamic finance players one important lesson: the need for a unified regulation across nations.
Malaysia, which has the most advanced Islamic finance regulation, should take the lead in helping to create a standardised regulatory and supervisory framework, said economist Dr Abbas Mirakhor, who is formerly an International Monetary Fund executive director.
Abbas said contrary to popular belief, Islamic finance is not the most regulated financial sector and could face the same risks that brought the global financial system to its knee last year.
"We may have more regulatory standards but there is no implementation of the standards in a unified manner, and there is no organisation that supervises the instruments," he said in a public lecture hosted by the Securities Commission in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
A big part of the recent financial crisis can be blamed on the regulatory failure, he said, and Islamic finance is not immune to this potential risk.
"Now you have scholars who know very little about finance and it seems it has become performable to just put the stamp of approval so that an instrument can be issued. There have been two or three instruments that have got into trouble but they all have had their approvals given by syariah scholars," he said.
"Our problem is that every jurisdiction has its own regulation, and some may not even have their own regulation. That gives an opportunity for regulatory arbitrage, which means people may issue Islamic instruments that are sub-par in jurisdictions that have very weak or no regulation on that particular instrument, therefore creating risk for the system," he said.
The need for a well-regulated Islamic finance is even more crucial due to its nascent stage of development. Any failure in the Islamic financial system now will hurt its reputation and could threaten its survival.
"If there is a failure of the bond market in California, nobody will question whether there's systemic risk to the global bond market. But if a sukuk fails, it will raise questions on the entire Islamic finance," he said.
"So to ensure that Islamic finance has a decent chance of growth and development, one has to make sure that regulation is unified and accepted by all jurisdiction," Abbas said.
He added that this is not hard to do since organisations like the Islamic Financial Services Board has issued standards on syariah products that are universal.
"The question is whether or not they want to put together an association of Islamic banks or association of central banks in jurisdictions that have Islamic finance operation, and then organise a regulatory agency which is supernational and authoritative," Abbas said.
Dr M: Great potential for Islamic finance
Dr M: Great potential for Islamic finance
Published: 2009/08/19
Islamic banking is a better alternative because it cannot be manipulated by 'rogues, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
THE current conventional banking system has been a failure and Islamic banking is a better alternative because it cannot be manipulated by "rogues", says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday.
"The future of Islamic banking promises great potential because the world has become aware that the Islamic way provides a viable alternative for many economic and business activities," said Dr Mahathir after a key note speech at the International Conference on Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance in Langkawi, Kedah, yesterday.
Dr Mahathir said Islamic banking is different from the current banking system today because of the ethics and morality involved.
Wealth-creating growth and development promoted by Islamic banking are circumscribed by morality and ethics so that greed is curbed.
The natural tendency of the current banking system is to look at the end aim or objective.
"The end may look good but it can cost society a lot and it would not be durable. Sooner or later it will crack or crumble. This is what we are witnessing today," he said.
However, ethical and moral values must be sustained because there are as many greedy people among Muslims as there are among others.
Dr Mahathir said in today's world, greed had overcome all sense of propriety and good values that anything that seemingly enriches is not only accepted but is promoted as the path to wealth and development.
Published: 2009/08/19
Islamic banking is a better alternative because it cannot be manipulated by 'rogues, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
THE current conventional banking system has been a failure and Islamic banking is a better alternative because it cannot be manipulated by "rogues", says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday.
"The future of Islamic banking promises great potential because the world has become aware that the Islamic way provides a viable alternative for many economic and business activities," said Dr Mahathir after a key note speech at the International Conference on Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance in Langkawi, Kedah, yesterday.
Dr Mahathir said Islamic banking is different from the current banking system today because of the ethics and morality involved.
Wealth-creating growth and development promoted by Islamic banking are circumscribed by morality and ethics so that greed is curbed.
The natural tendency of the current banking system is to look at the end aim or objective.
"The end may look good but it can cost society a lot and it would not be durable. Sooner or later it will crack or crumble. This is what we are witnessing today," he said.
However, ethical and moral values must be sustained because there are as many greedy people among Muslims as there are among others.
Dr Mahathir said in today's world, greed had overcome all sense of propriety and good values that anything that seemingly enriches is not only accepted but is promoted as the path to wealth and development.
UN calls for new reserve currency to end US$ 'privilege'
UN calls for new reserve currency to end US$ 'privilege'
Published: 2009/10/07
ISTANBUL:The United Nations (UN) called yesterday for a new global reserve currency to end dollar supremacy, which has allowed the US the "privilege" of building a huge trade deficit.Trade with buyers and suppliers from around the world on Alibaba.com!
"Important progress in managing imbalances can be made by reducing the reserve currency country's 'privilege' to run external deficits in order to provide international liquidity," UN undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs, Sha Zukang, said.
Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Istanbul, he said: "It is timely to emphasise that such a system also creates a more equitable method of sharing the seigniorage derived from providing global liquidity."
He said: "Greater use of a truly global reserve currency, such as the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs), enables the seigniorage gained to be deployed for development purposes," he said. - AFP
Published: 2009/10/07
ISTANBUL:The United Nations (UN) called yesterday for a new global reserve currency to end dollar supremacy, which has allowed the US the "privilege" of building a huge trade deficit.Trade with buyers and suppliers from around the world on Alibaba.com!
"Important progress in managing imbalances can be made by reducing the reserve currency country's 'privilege' to run external deficits in order to provide international liquidity," UN undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs, Sha Zukang, said.
Speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Istanbul, he said: "It is timely to emphasise that such a system also creates a more equitable method of sharing the seigniorage derived from providing global liquidity."
He said: "Greater use of a truly global reserve currency, such as the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs), enables the seigniorage gained to be deployed for development purposes," he said. - AFP
Khazanah invests US$150m in Fajr
Khazanah invests US$150m in Fajr
Published: 2009/10/07
Khazanah Nasional's purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the Dubai-based Islamic investment firm is aimed at building cross-linkages between Malaysia and key Muslim markets
Khazanah Nasional Bhd has invested US$150 million (RM516 million) in the Dubai-based Islamic investment firm, Fajr Capital Ltd.
The state-owned investment fund's purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Fajr represents the government's participation in building cross-linkages between Malaysia and key Muslim markets, Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Khazanah's purchase concluded with the completion of its first round of funding with commitments amounting to US$588 million (RM2 billion), bringing together prominent shareholders from key Muslim markets.
Other strategic investors include private firm Masic (a member of Al-Subeaei Group of Saudi Arabia), sovereign investment agencies, the Brunei Investment Agency and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.
Fajr provides syariah-compliant financial services and complementary opportunities in the broader economy in major Muslim regions.
Azman said Khazanah's purchase was also in support of aspirations of the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC).
"Islamic financial services are a key priority for Malaysia and Khazanah's participation in Fajr reflects our commitment to this area," said Azman, who is also a director of Fajr.
"This partnership also embodies Malaysia's deepening links with the Middle East and broader Muslim world - regions that are important sources of capital and attractive markets for us to invest in."
Fajr intends to be an active and enabling investor in its portfolio companies, helping to optimise performance through best-in-class products, service standards, technologies and syariah expertise.
It has appointed independent syariah supervisors to ensure consistency with Islamic legal and ethical principles.
Fajr's management team consists of well-known professionals in the international Islamic finance industry, led by Iqbal Khan, who was the founding chief executive of HSBC Amanah - the global Islamic financial services division of the HSBC group.
Apart from its operations at the Dubai International Financial Centre, Fajr also has offices in Kuala Lumpur and London.
Published: 2009/10/07
Khazanah Nasional's purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the Dubai-based Islamic investment firm is aimed at building cross-linkages between Malaysia and key Muslim markets
Khazanah Nasional Bhd has invested US$150 million (RM516 million) in the Dubai-based Islamic investment firm, Fajr Capital Ltd.
The state-owned investment fund's purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Fajr represents the government's participation in building cross-linkages between Malaysia and key Muslim markets, Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Khazanah's purchase concluded with the completion of its first round of funding with commitments amounting to US$588 million (RM2 billion), bringing together prominent shareholders from key Muslim markets.
Other strategic investors include private firm Masic (a member of Al-Subeaei Group of Saudi Arabia), sovereign investment agencies, the Brunei Investment Agency and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.
Fajr provides syariah-compliant financial services and complementary opportunities in the broader economy in major Muslim regions.
Azman said Khazanah's purchase was also in support of aspirations of the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC).
"Islamic financial services are a key priority for Malaysia and Khazanah's participation in Fajr reflects our commitment to this area," said Azman, who is also a director of Fajr.
"This partnership also embodies Malaysia's deepening links with the Middle East and broader Muslim world - regions that are important sources of capital and attractive markets for us to invest in."
Fajr intends to be an active and enabling investor in its portfolio companies, helping to optimise performance through best-in-class products, service standards, technologies and syariah expertise.
It has appointed independent syariah supervisors to ensure consistency with Islamic legal and ethical principles.
Fajr's management team consists of well-known professionals in the international Islamic finance industry, led by Iqbal Khan, who was the founding chief executive of HSBC Amanah - the global Islamic financial services division of the HSBC group.
Apart from its operations at the Dubai International Financial Centre, Fajr also has offices in Kuala Lumpur and London.
1Dream, 1People, 1Nation and ultimately...Towards 1 world.. 1 currency
Najib’s clarion call for 1Dream, 1People, 1Nation and ultimately...
Towards a 1World
2009/10/07
Nuraina A. Samad in Paris
CELEBRATING diversity as a source of national strength rather than conflict is at the root of the 1Malaysia philosophy that can be extended to 1Region and ultimately, 1World, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said here. Alibaba.com - Fast & easy sourcing right from your computer
1Malaysia, he said, was the right formula not only for national harmony but also for enhancing regional and global peace.
“We believe in this philosophy, predicated on mutual trust and respect between all communities. My clarion call for Malaysia is 1Dream, 1People and 1Nation.
“Therefore, the next logical extension of this national philosophy would be the concept of 1Region and ultimately, 1World,” he said in his keynote address at the 35th general conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) here yesterday.
This is the first time a Malaysian prime minister has been invited to address Unesco’s general conference. The agency was established in 1945. Najib, who arrived here on Sunday for a four-day official visit to France, drew attention to three major challenges confronting the international community that needed to be collectively met and overcome .
These are ensuring peace, establishing financial stability and dealing with climate change. Najib reflected on the political instability of Southeast Asia 40 years ago when the region was mired in conflict.
“Today, by and large, it is a region that has allowed member states to accelerate their respective national developments.
“The culture of peace and stability in the region is underpinned by virtue of Asean’s unique form of regionalism which is predicated on dialogue and constructive engagement within the region. He also said engagement ensured a durable, just and equitable peace, “not just for our time but peace for all times, a peace premised upon a covenant of the willing and not one enforced by way of hegemony”.
“Such peace can only come into existence if we are willing to constructively engage each other through inter cultural dialogue... indeed, ignorance, fear, prejudice and apathy left unchecked is fertile ground for breeding hatred, fatalism and fanaticism, the root causes of what ills the world today.”
In this regard, Najib said Malaysia was willing to play its role in facilitating such a dialogue, given that the country’s geography and its legacy had positioned it strategically as a bridge linking all the world’s major cultures. On the second major challenge, he said this was in creating a new global financial architecture on a more sustainable, equitable and just outcome, in view of the impact of rapid globalisation.
“The arguments against globalisation have been somewhat strengthened by the current global financial implosion which is caused by the weaknesses inherent in the international financial architecture.
“Obviously, it is a reflection of the success and extent of globalisation that, while tremors of the Asian financial crisis a decade ago reverberated regionally, the current financial meltdown has left no nation unscathed.”
On managing climate change, the prime minister brought the delegates’ attention to the earthquake in Padang, tsunami in Samoa, hurricanes in the Philippines and floods in Southern India. He expressed Malaysia’s sympathies to the people of these countries. He said the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December must reflect a strong global commitment and action to reverse serious deterioration of planet Earth, which is the most valuable heritage that we could bequeath to future generations.
Najib acknowledged the daunting task of preserving this heritage but warned that the world cannot afford the price of inaction.
“Failure is not an option for it will have far-reaching consequences for our very survival.”
Earlier, Najib paid tribute to Irina Bokova, Unesco’s first woman director-general who won the election last month. She takes over from Koichiro Matsuura .
“The metaphorical glass ceiling will finally be shattered in an institution dedicated towards equality for all. I wish herwell and have every confidence that she would continue the good works of her predecessors.”
Accompanying the prime minister are his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Anifah Aman, Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zakarshi and Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.
Towards a 1World
2009/10/07
Nuraina A. Samad in Paris
CELEBRATING diversity as a source of national strength rather than conflict is at the root of the 1Malaysia philosophy that can be extended to 1Region and ultimately, 1World, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said here. Alibaba.com - Fast & easy sourcing right from your computer
1Malaysia, he said, was the right formula not only for national harmony but also for enhancing regional and global peace.
“We believe in this philosophy, predicated on mutual trust and respect between all communities. My clarion call for Malaysia is 1Dream, 1People and 1Nation.
“Therefore, the next logical extension of this national philosophy would be the concept of 1Region and ultimately, 1World,” he said in his keynote address at the 35th general conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) here yesterday.
This is the first time a Malaysian prime minister has been invited to address Unesco’s general conference. The agency was established in 1945. Najib, who arrived here on Sunday for a four-day official visit to France, drew attention to three major challenges confronting the international community that needed to be collectively met and overcome .
These are ensuring peace, establishing financial stability and dealing with climate change. Najib reflected on the political instability of Southeast Asia 40 years ago when the region was mired in conflict.
“Today, by and large, it is a region that has allowed member states to accelerate their respective national developments.
“The culture of peace and stability in the region is underpinned by virtue of Asean’s unique form of regionalism which is predicated on dialogue and constructive engagement within the region. He also said engagement ensured a durable, just and equitable peace, “not just for our time but peace for all times, a peace premised upon a covenant of the willing and not one enforced by way of hegemony”.
“Such peace can only come into existence if we are willing to constructively engage each other through inter cultural dialogue... indeed, ignorance, fear, prejudice and apathy left unchecked is fertile ground for breeding hatred, fatalism and fanaticism, the root causes of what ills the world today.”
In this regard, Najib said Malaysia was willing to play its role in facilitating such a dialogue, given that the country’s geography and its legacy had positioned it strategically as a bridge linking all the world’s major cultures. On the second major challenge, he said this was in creating a new global financial architecture on a more sustainable, equitable and just outcome, in view of the impact of rapid globalisation.
“The arguments against globalisation have been somewhat strengthened by the current global financial implosion which is caused by the weaknesses inherent in the international financial architecture.
“Obviously, it is a reflection of the success and extent of globalisation that, while tremors of the Asian financial crisis a decade ago reverberated regionally, the current financial meltdown has left no nation unscathed.”
On managing climate change, the prime minister brought the delegates’ attention to the earthquake in Padang, tsunami in Samoa, hurricanes in the Philippines and floods in Southern India. He expressed Malaysia’s sympathies to the people of these countries. He said the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December must reflect a strong global commitment and action to reverse serious deterioration of planet Earth, which is the most valuable heritage that we could bequeath to future generations.
Najib acknowledged the daunting task of preserving this heritage but warned that the world cannot afford the price of inaction.
“Failure is not an option for it will have far-reaching consequences for our very survival.”
Earlier, Najib paid tribute to Irina Bokova, Unesco’s first woman director-general who won the election last month. She takes over from Koichiro Matsuura .
“The metaphorical glass ceiling will finally be shattered in an institution dedicated towards equality for all. I wish herwell and have every confidence that she would continue the good works of her predecessors.”
Accompanying the prime minister are his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Anifah Aman, Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zakarshi and Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.
Fajr Capital labur sektor kewangan di negara Islam
Fajr Capital labur sektor kewangan di negara Islam
Oleh Azli Ayob
azliayob@bharian.com.my
FAJR Capital Ltd, firma pelaburan Islam yang turut dimiliki Khazanah Nasional Bhd dilancarkan semalam dengan tumpuan pelaburannya dalam bidang perkhidmatan kewa-ngan di negara Islam serta bidang pertumbuhan baru yang berkaitan.
Khazanah melabur AS$150 juta (RM525 juta) bagi 25 peratus ekuiti dalam firma pelaburan yang mempunyai modal awal AS$600 juta (RM2.058 bilion) itu.
Pemegang saham lain dalam firma pelaburan berkenaan ialah Agensi Pelaburan Brunei, Majlis Pelaburan Abu Dhabi dan sebuah syarikat persendirian dari Arab Saudi, Masic yang dimiliki Al Subeaei Group.
Fajr Capital dalam kenyataannya berkata, firma pelaburan itu yang beribu pejabat di Pusat Kewangan Antarabangsa Dubai dan mempunyai pejabat di Kuala Lumpur serta London akan bertindak sebagai pelabur yang bertanggungjawab dan komited dalam aspek pembangunan masyarakat tempat di mana ia melabur.
“Bagi tujuan itu, Fajr Capital telah melantik penyelia syariah bebas bagi memastikan ia beroperasi sejajar prinsip undang-undang serta etika Islam,” katanya.
Mengulas pembabitan Khazanah dalam Fajr Capital, Pengarah Urusannya, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar dalam kenyataannya berkata, ia bermatlamat menyediakan hubungan lebih erat antara Malaysia dengan negara Islam utama, menyediakan asas bagi kerjasama ekonomi lebih kukuh dan menyokong aspirasi Pusat Kewangan Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (MIFC).
Katanya, ia juga sejajar dengan komitmen Malaysia terhadap perkhidmatan kewangan Islam.
“Perkongsian ini melambangkan hubungan semakin erat antara Malaysia dan Asia Barat serta dunia Islam secara keseluruhannya yang menjadi sumber modal penting dan suatu pasaran yang menarik di mana kita mungkin melabur,” katanya yang juga seorang pengarah Fajr Capital.
Fajr dalam kenyataannya berkata, Pengerusi Organisasi Perakaunan dan Pengauditan untuk Institusi Kewangan Islam (AAOIFI), Sheikh Ebrahim Khalifa Al-Khalifa yang juga berpengalaman dalam industri perkhidmatan kewangan Islam dilantik sebagai pengerusinya.
Katanya, beliau akan dibantu kumpulan pengurusan yang juga terdiri daripada individu yang mempunyai kepakaran dalam bidang perkhidmatan kewangan Islam diketuai bekas pengasas dan Ketua Eksekutif HSBC Amanah, Iqbal Khan, sebagai ketua eksekutif.
Eksekutif kanannya yang lain termasuk beberapa pakar bidang perkhidmatan kewangan yang mempunyai pengalaman luas dalam bidang itu dan pernah bekerja di bank terkemuka dunia seperti di HSBC, Citigroup, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd dan institusi terkemuka lain.
Firma pelaburan itu turut menegaskan bahawa profil pemegang sahamnya yang terdiri daripada institusi pelaburan terkemuka serantau akan memberikan kelebihan kepadanya untuk bersaing.
Oleh Azli Ayob
azliayob@bharian.com.my
FAJR Capital Ltd, firma pelaburan Islam yang turut dimiliki Khazanah Nasional Bhd dilancarkan semalam dengan tumpuan pelaburannya dalam bidang perkhidmatan kewa-ngan di negara Islam serta bidang pertumbuhan baru yang berkaitan.
Khazanah melabur AS$150 juta (RM525 juta) bagi 25 peratus ekuiti dalam firma pelaburan yang mempunyai modal awal AS$600 juta (RM2.058 bilion) itu.
Pemegang saham lain dalam firma pelaburan berkenaan ialah Agensi Pelaburan Brunei, Majlis Pelaburan Abu Dhabi dan sebuah syarikat persendirian dari Arab Saudi, Masic yang dimiliki Al Subeaei Group.
Fajr Capital dalam kenyataannya berkata, firma pelaburan itu yang beribu pejabat di Pusat Kewangan Antarabangsa Dubai dan mempunyai pejabat di Kuala Lumpur serta London akan bertindak sebagai pelabur yang bertanggungjawab dan komited dalam aspek pembangunan masyarakat tempat di mana ia melabur.
“Bagi tujuan itu, Fajr Capital telah melantik penyelia syariah bebas bagi memastikan ia beroperasi sejajar prinsip undang-undang serta etika Islam,” katanya.
Mengulas pembabitan Khazanah dalam Fajr Capital, Pengarah Urusannya, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar dalam kenyataannya berkata, ia bermatlamat menyediakan hubungan lebih erat antara Malaysia dengan negara Islam utama, menyediakan asas bagi kerjasama ekonomi lebih kukuh dan menyokong aspirasi Pusat Kewangan Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (MIFC).
Katanya, ia juga sejajar dengan komitmen Malaysia terhadap perkhidmatan kewangan Islam.
“Perkongsian ini melambangkan hubungan semakin erat antara Malaysia dan Asia Barat serta dunia Islam secara keseluruhannya yang menjadi sumber modal penting dan suatu pasaran yang menarik di mana kita mungkin melabur,” katanya yang juga seorang pengarah Fajr Capital.
Fajr dalam kenyataannya berkata, Pengerusi Organisasi Perakaunan dan Pengauditan untuk Institusi Kewangan Islam (AAOIFI), Sheikh Ebrahim Khalifa Al-Khalifa yang juga berpengalaman dalam industri perkhidmatan kewangan Islam dilantik sebagai pengerusinya.
Katanya, beliau akan dibantu kumpulan pengurusan yang juga terdiri daripada individu yang mempunyai kepakaran dalam bidang perkhidmatan kewangan Islam diketuai bekas pengasas dan Ketua Eksekutif HSBC Amanah, Iqbal Khan, sebagai ketua eksekutif.
Eksekutif kanannya yang lain termasuk beberapa pakar bidang perkhidmatan kewangan yang mempunyai pengalaman luas dalam bidang itu dan pernah bekerja di bank terkemuka dunia seperti di HSBC, Citigroup, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd dan institusi terkemuka lain.
Firma pelaburan itu turut menegaskan bahawa profil pemegang sahamnya yang terdiri daripada institusi pelaburan terkemuka serantau akan memberikan kelebihan kepadanya untuk bersaing.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
An Appeal To Malaysia’s Prime Minister cum Finance Minister
An Appeal To Malaysia’s Prime Minister cum Finance Minister - Re-examine The Country’s Strategy For Foreign Reserves - By Matthias Chang (27/8/09)
By Matthias Chang
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 20:30
Many visitors to my website have queried why I have not written any articles concerning the global economy in general and the Malaysian economy in particular in the last few weeks. I have not bothered to reply to those queries because what needed to be said and or written have been said and written by me repeatedly for the last one year.
I have warned that the present global stock market rally will not last, it is a suckers’ rally. But few have taken heed of the warning. There are no green shoots, and recovery if any, will be a few years down the road, not 2009 or 2010.
Just a few days ago, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz warned that the dollar’s role as a store of value is questionable and the currency has a high degree of risk. Professor Nouriel Roubini is of the view that there will be a U shape recovery, with a rising risk of a double-dip W shaped recession. But what was significant is that Professor Roubini takes the view that the present crisis is one of solvency, and not just liquidity and that true deleveraging has not begun yet because the losses of financial institutions have been socialized and put on government balance sheets.
Only time will be the final judge as to who is correct in the assessment of the present and future economic scenarios.
The purpose of my writing this article is to highlight the deafening silence of experts on the issue of gold reserves held by key central banks of the developed nations.
This is also my primary concern for the Malaysian economy.
I am known for using common sense in analyzing complex economic / financial problems and thus far, I have been proven right time after time in the general direction in which the global economy and the Malaysian economy are heading.
I believe that in the coming months, many countries in Asia will experience a rude awakening, to put it mildly.
In medical terms, it would be a massive financial heart attack in which our financial doctors will be totally disorientated and unable to assist the patient!
Since the financial crisis of 1997, many Asian central banks were led to believe that the best way to prevent future attacks on their currencies was to accumulate as much foreign currency reserves, preferably US dollars. And the quickest and safest route was to export and export to the mighty US in exchange for the dollars created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve.
The hardworking Asians worked their butts out and sold goods for mere paper currency, in actual fact toilet papers!
China led the way, and today she has the largest US dollar foreign reserve, followed closely by Japan.
But, our central bankers in Asia took no notice of the status and ratio of the gold reserves held by key European central banks. Additionally, Europe had the advantage of the euro as a “secondary reserve” currency.
As a result of the ongoing financial crisis, the Fed and the US Treasury have caused $trillions to be created out of thin air to stimulate the US economy. Never before, has so much US toilet paper been injected into the international banking system. The system is now choking in toilet papers!
While China, Japan, Russia and other Asian central banks are fretting about the decreasing purchasing power of the US dollar, the global banking elites seem impervious to the risk and danger of such an amount of toilet paper in the system.
Why?
The answer lies in the opening statement of the 3 Central Bank Gold Agreements (CBGA). In the latest CBGA, 19 national central banks and the European Central Bank were parties to the arrangement for the orderly sale and purchase of gold. The first agreement was made in 1999. Read the opening statement carefully:
“Gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves.”
In the latest agreement, dated 14th August 2009, the above statement was repeated and followed by:
• The gold sales already decided and to be decided by the undersigned institutions will be achieved through a concerted program of sales over a period of five years, starting on 27th September 2009, immediately after the end of the previous agreement. Annual sales will not exceed 400 tonnes and total sales over this period will not exceed 2000 tonnes.
• The signatories recognize the intention of the IMF to sell 403 tonnes of gold and noted that such sales can be accommodated within the above ceilings.
• This agreement will be reviewed after five years.
It is significant to note that the IMF intends to sell 403 tonnes of gold and it is a no-brainer to venture a guess as to who will be the main buyer. China is desperate to unload its US toilet papers for gold and it has to be done carefully, as such sales “will be accommodated within the above ceilings.”
In the 90s, European central banks’ reserve portfolios were dominated by gold, ranging from 70% to 90% of total reserves. The abovementioned CBGAs were agreements made by the central bank cartel to control the price of gold when they are being sold by signatories of the CBGA.
During the period of the 1st CBGA, when 2000 tonnes of gold were sold, the price of gold rose by 52%. Since then, gold has risen continuously in what has been a secular bull market and in spite of gold sales by central banks. And the future trend is one of rising prices. Anyone who refuses to pay attention to this startling fact is an idiot!
Applying common sense, why should there be anymore debate as to the strategic value of gold?
For the doubting thomases out there, maybe the quotation below will be a wake-up call:
“With gold holdings amounting to 1,040 tonnes, it holds a substantial part of its currency reserves in the form of gold.”
- The Swiss National Bank
And with the dollar weakening further in the months and years ahead, the need for gold as a strategic reserve is one of paramount importance. The fact that the signatories to the 3rd CBGA have agreed to cut back the ceiling from 500 tonnes to 400 tonnes and inclusive of the IMF sales is indicative that there is a shift in the thinking of the 19 central bankers to this agreement.
The implications are obvious. When the shit hits the ceiling fan, following the run on the dollar, countries with significant amounts of gold as reserves will have a strategic advantage.
The current situation of key European Central Banks’ gold reserves as a percentage of their total reserves are as follows:
France: 73%
Germany: 69.5%
Italy: 66.1%
Netherlands: 61.4
Switzerland: 37.1%
In contrast, the key Asian Central Banks’ and Russia’s gold reserves are as follows:
Russia: 4%
India: 4%
Taiwan: 3.8%
Japan: 2.1%
China: 1.8%
Given this state of affairs, any sales by European central banks under the 3rd CBGA will not depress gold prices, as it will be inevitable for the underweighted Asian central banks to pick them up so as to bolster their miniscule reserves in gold. For more data, please reference World Gold Council.
The central bankers that control the gold supply will be better able to steer their countries through the second wave of the financial turmoil when confidence in the toilet paper US$ sinks to the very bottom and the dash to the safety of gold is in full flight. It will not be inconceivable for the price of gold to shoot up to US$ 3,000 or more per oz! And I AM BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE in this estimate.
So where will Malaysia be in the coming second wave of financial turmoil?
I am not optimistic that we are prepared for such an eventuality.
Bank Negara is in a state of denial.
The Ministry of Finance is also in a state of denial.
I am told that some key advisers are pre-occupied playing golf and other extra-curricular activities rather than hunkering down and doing basic ground work.
Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had his chance in governing the country for 22 years and Badawi had a go at it for five years and now it is your turn. There is much to learn from the two administrations, the good and the bad.
The string of By-election defeats is most unsettling as well as distracting.
I hope you are still focused on economic issues as the perception on the ground is that you are being deluded by the rebound of the stock market as being indicative of a general recovery.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Please take heed of the warnings by Professor Stiglitz and Professor Roubini, even if you take the view that my analysis does not deserve your scrutiny.
This is the ultimate test of your leadership – to keep the Malaysian ship on even keel in stormy waters. Should you fail, disaster will visit the Barisan Nasional in 2012/2013.
As the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I wish you every success, but please do hurry up, as we had wasted five years of warming up during the previous administration.
Posted by penangite at 9:43 AM 0 comments
By Matthias Chang
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 20:30
Many visitors to my website have queried why I have not written any articles concerning the global economy in general and the Malaysian economy in particular in the last few weeks. I have not bothered to reply to those queries because what needed to be said and or written have been said and written by me repeatedly for the last one year.
I have warned that the present global stock market rally will not last, it is a suckers’ rally. But few have taken heed of the warning. There are no green shoots, and recovery if any, will be a few years down the road, not 2009 or 2010.
Just a few days ago, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz warned that the dollar’s role as a store of value is questionable and the currency has a high degree of risk. Professor Nouriel Roubini is of the view that there will be a U shape recovery, with a rising risk of a double-dip W shaped recession. But what was significant is that Professor Roubini takes the view that the present crisis is one of solvency, and not just liquidity and that true deleveraging has not begun yet because the losses of financial institutions have been socialized and put on government balance sheets.
Only time will be the final judge as to who is correct in the assessment of the present and future economic scenarios.
The purpose of my writing this article is to highlight the deafening silence of experts on the issue of gold reserves held by key central banks of the developed nations.
This is also my primary concern for the Malaysian economy.
I am known for using common sense in analyzing complex economic / financial problems and thus far, I have been proven right time after time in the general direction in which the global economy and the Malaysian economy are heading.
I believe that in the coming months, many countries in Asia will experience a rude awakening, to put it mildly.
In medical terms, it would be a massive financial heart attack in which our financial doctors will be totally disorientated and unable to assist the patient!
Since the financial crisis of 1997, many Asian central banks were led to believe that the best way to prevent future attacks on their currencies was to accumulate as much foreign currency reserves, preferably US dollars. And the quickest and safest route was to export and export to the mighty US in exchange for the dollars created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve.
The hardworking Asians worked their butts out and sold goods for mere paper currency, in actual fact toilet papers!
China led the way, and today she has the largest US dollar foreign reserve, followed closely by Japan.
But, our central bankers in Asia took no notice of the status and ratio of the gold reserves held by key European central banks. Additionally, Europe had the advantage of the euro as a “secondary reserve” currency.
As a result of the ongoing financial crisis, the Fed and the US Treasury have caused $trillions to be created out of thin air to stimulate the US economy. Never before, has so much US toilet paper been injected into the international banking system. The system is now choking in toilet papers!
While China, Japan, Russia and other Asian central banks are fretting about the decreasing purchasing power of the US dollar, the global banking elites seem impervious to the risk and danger of such an amount of toilet paper in the system.
Why?
The answer lies in the opening statement of the 3 Central Bank Gold Agreements (CBGA). In the latest CBGA, 19 national central banks and the European Central Bank were parties to the arrangement for the orderly sale and purchase of gold. The first agreement was made in 1999. Read the opening statement carefully:
“Gold will remain an important element of global monetary reserves.”
In the latest agreement, dated 14th August 2009, the above statement was repeated and followed by:
• The gold sales already decided and to be decided by the undersigned institutions will be achieved through a concerted program of sales over a period of five years, starting on 27th September 2009, immediately after the end of the previous agreement. Annual sales will not exceed 400 tonnes and total sales over this period will not exceed 2000 tonnes.
• The signatories recognize the intention of the IMF to sell 403 tonnes of gold and noted that such sales can be accommodated within the above ceilings.
• This agreement will be reviewed after five years.
It is significant to note that the IMF intends to sell 403 tonnes of gold and it is a no-brainer to venture a guess as to who will be the main buyer. China is desperate to unload its US toilet papers for gold and it has to be done carefully, as such sales “will be accommodated within the above ceilings.”
In the 90s, European central banks’ reserve portfolios were dominated by gold, ranging from 70% to 90% of total reserves. The abovementioned CBGAs were agreements made by the central bank cartel to control the price of gold when they are being sold by signatories of the CBGA.
During the period of the 1st CBGA, when 2000 tonnes of gold were sold, the price of gold rose by 52%. Since then, gold has risen continuously in what has been a secular bull market and in spite of gold sales by central banks. And the future trend is one of rising prices. Anyone who refuses to pay attention to this startling fact is an idiot!
Applying common sense, why should there be anymore debate as to the strategic value of gold?
For the doubting thomases out there, maybe the quotation below will be a wake-up call:
“With gold holdings amounting to 1,040 tonnes, it holds a substantial part of its currency reserves in the form of gold.”
- The Swiss National Bank
And with the dollar weakening further in the months and years ahead, the need for gold as a strategic reserve is one of paramount importance. The fact that the signatories to the 3rd CBGA have agreed to cut back the ceiling from 500 tonnes to 400 tonnes and inclusive of the IMF sales is indicative that there is a shift in the thinking of the 19 central bankers to this agreement.
The implications are obvious. When the shit hits the ceiling fan, following the run on the dollar, countries with significant amounts of gold as reserves will have a strategic advantage.
The current situation of key European Central Banks’ gold reserves as a percentage of their total reserves are as follows:
France: 73%
Germany: 69.5%
Italy: 66.1%
Netherlands: 61.4
Switzerland: 37.1%
In contrast, the key Asian Central Banks’ and Russia’s gold reserves are as follows:
Russia: 4%
India: 4%
Taiwan: 3.8%
Japan: 2.1%
China: 1.8%
Given this state of affairs, any sales by European central banks under the 3rd CBGA will not depress gold prices, as it will be inevitable for the underweighted Asian central banks to pick them up so as to bolster their miniscule reserves in gold. For more data, please reference World Gold Council.
The central bankers that control the gold supply will be better able to steer their countries through the second wave of the financial turmoil when confidence in the toilet paper US$ sinks to the very bottom and the dash to the safety of gold is in full flight. It will not be inconceivable for the price of gold to shoot up to US$ 3,000 or more per oz! And I AM BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE in this estimate.
So where will Malaysia be in the coming second wave of financial turmoil?
I am not optimistic that we are prepared for such an eventuality.
Bank Negara is in a state of denial.
The Ministry of Finance is also in a state of denial.
I am told that some key advisers are pre-occupied playing golf and other extra-curricular activities rather than hunkering down and doing basic ground work.
Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had his chance in governing the country for 22 years and Badawi had a go at it for five years and now it is your turn. There is much to learn from the two administrations, the good and the bad.
The string of By-election defeats is most unsettling as well as distracting.
I hope you are still focused on economic issues as the perception on the ground is that you are being deluded by the rebound of the stock market as being indicative of a general recovery.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Please take heed of the warnings by Professor Stiglitz and Professor Roubini, even if you take the view that my analysis does not deserve your scrutiny.
This is the ultimate test of your leadership – to keep the Malaysian ship on even keel in stormy waters. Should you fail, disaster will visit the Barisan Nasional in 2012/2013.
As the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I wish you every success, but please do hurry up, as we had wasted five years of warming up during the previous administration.
Posted by penangite at 9:43 AM 0 comments
Friday, September 11, 2009
Should renminbi be a reserve currency?
Saturday September 12, 2009
Should renminbi be a reserve currency?
Think Asian
By ANDREW SHENG
I ALWAYS find it strange that people should debate whether the renminbi (RMB) should be a reserve currency when it is officially still under exchange control. We still remember that as late as 1993, China used foreign exchange certificates.
As we have seen from the experience of the yen and euro in the previous articles, there are both advantages and disadvantages for a national currency being used as a reserve currency.
The obvious advantage is the seigniorage, but in a world of almost zero interest rates, this benefit is very small indeed.
The second is the increase in financial services and commercial business that comes from the global use of the reserve currency.
New York and London benefit considerably as international financial centres that trade financial products denominated in global currencies.
The third advantage is the prestige of having a reserve currency.
There are also disadvantages.
A reserve currency means that foreigners will hold large amounts of currency that can freely move in and out. Hence, one of the pre-conditions of any reserve currency is the ability of the issuing central bank to control the value of the reserve currency through appropriate monetary policy.
This implies a stable exchange rate and also low level of inflation.
This is precisely the problem faced by the US dollar, called the Triffin Dilemma – the tension between national monetary policy and global monetary policy.
In 1998, when the Federal Reserve realised that the world was plunging into a global crisis, it lowered interest rates and reflated not only the US economy, but also the global economy.
The US could do that because it was fundamentally strong and US consumption was the real engine of global growth.
But continuous deficits add up to excess borrowing that is unsustainable.
The dilemma is that in a world of free capital flows, any central bank that raises interest rates to control domestic borrowing will invite in a tonne of hot capital flows, creating more asset bubbles.
If the country maintains flexible exchange rates, the country will not only have exchange rate appreciation that encourages imports, but also worsening current account deficit funded by short-term capital inflows.
In other words, the Triffin Dilemma imposes large costs on the reserve currency country, because if the world demands greater liquidity, the reserve country must run a deficit to increase the global money supply.
But if the reserve country runs too large a deficit, then a financial crisis is inevitable.
There is no free lunch.
Can we solve the problem by creating a global central bank and a global super-regulator?
The answer is no, because if we have a global monetary policy, some regions and sectors will be winners and some will be losers. Thus, the pre-condition for a global central bank is a global fiscal mechanism that is able to tax the winning sectors to compensate the losing sectors.
Without such a fiscal compensatory mechanism, no sovereign country will be willing to cede its monetary policy to a global central bank without some assurance that they could receive some fiscal assistance. The euro can work with a European Central Bank because such a fiscal mechanism exists in the EU.
A further issue for any currency becoming a reserve currency is that this is not a policy issue, but really a market decision.
Ultimately the market decides if the currency becomes a reserve currency.
The yen experience shows that if there is high volatility in the exchange rate, the market will not use the currency extensively as a reserve currency.
With a zero interest rate policy, the central bank cannot use interest rates as a tool to stabilise the exchange rate, so that speculative forces, largely the yen carry-trade, move the exchange rate.
This is where the present decision to establish several pilot RMB clearing centres in Hong Kong and border cities is a pragmatic move to facilitate market needs.
Trade in the border areas of China with other countries is facilitated when the traders are willing to use RMB as a convenient medium of exchange. The RMB swap arrangements with various central banks are also trade-facilitating moves to help the use of domestic currencies on a bilateral basis.
Some people think that high foreign exchange reserves are a pre-condition for reserve currency status.
Central banks used to measure foreign exchange reserves in terms of months of imports. But this is an outdated measure.
Annual world merchandise exports amounted to US$15.8 trillion in 2008, whereas foreign exchange transactions amount to US$3.2 trillion daily or roughly US$800 trillion annually. This means that exchange rates are determined not by physical trade, but by capital market flows.
In other words, one of the conditions for RMB opening up is whether the exchange rate is stable over the long term.
This requires very skillful monetary policy to sterilise speculative flows, supported by strong fiscal conditions with very resilient and strong domestic financial systems that can absorb external shocks.
In an era of global zero interest rates, it will not be easy to manage market stability because of hugely leveraged speculative flows.
At near zero interest rates, the cost of speculation is very low, but the costs to each economy of de-stabilisation are very high.
Who else wants to be a reserve currency?
·Andrew Sheng is author of forthcoming book published by Cambridge University Press, “From Asian to Global Financial Crisis.”
Should renminbi be a reserve currency?
Think Asian
By ANDREW SHENG
I ALWAYS find it strange that people should debate whether the renminbi (RMB) should be a reserve currency when it is officially still under exchange control. We still remember that as late as 1993, China used foreign exchange certificates.
As we have seen from the experience of the yen and euro in the previous articles, there are both advantages and disadvantages for a national currency being used as a reserve currency.
The obvious advantage is the seigniorage, but in a world of almost zero interest rates, this benefit is very small indeed.
The second is the increase in financial services and commercial business that comes from the global use of the reserve currency.
New York and London benefit considerably as international financial centres that trade financial products denominated in global currencies.
The third advantage is the prestige of having a reserve currency.
There are also disadvantages.
A reserve currency means that foreigners will hold large amounts of currency that can freely move in and out. Hence, one of the pre-conditions of any reserve currency is the ability of the issuing central bank to control the value of the reserve currency through appropriate monetary policy.
This implies a stable exchange rate and also low level of inflation.
This is precisely the problem faced by the US dollar, called the Triffin Dilemma – the tension between national monetary policy and global monetary policy.
In 1998, when the Federal Reserve realised that the world was plunging into a global crisis, it lowered interest rates and reflated not only the US economy, but also the global economy.
The US could do that because it was fundamentally strong and US consumption was the real engine of global growth.
But continuous deficits add up to excess borrowing that is unsustainable.
The dilemma is that in a world of free capital flows, any central bank that raises interest rates to control domestic borrowing will invite in a tonne of hot capital flows, creating more asset bubbles.
If the country maintains flexible exchange rates, the country will not only have exchange rate appreciation that encourages imports, but also worsening current account deficit funded by short-term capital inflows.
In other words, the Triffin Dilemma imposes large costs on the reserve currency country, because if the world demands greater liquidity, the reserve country must run a deficit to increase the global money supply.
But if the reserve country runs too large a deficit, then a financial crisis is inevitable.
There is no free lunch.
Can we solve the problem by creating a global central bank and a global super-regulator?
The answer is no, because if we have a global monetary policy, some regions and sectors will be winners and some will be losers. Thus, the pre-condition for a global central bank is a global fiscal mechanism that is able to tax the winning sectors to compensate the losing sectors.
Without such a fiscal compensatory mechanism, no sovereign country will be willing to cede its monetary policy to a global central bank without some assurance that they could receive some fiscal assistance. The euro can work with a European Central Bank because such a fiscal mechanism exists in the EU.
A further issue for any currency becoming a reserve currency is that this is not a policy issue, but really a market decision.
Ultimately the market decides if the currency becomes a reserve currency.
The yen experience shows that if there is high volatility in the exchange rate, the market will not use the currency extensively as a reserve currency.
With a zero interest rate policy, the central bank cannot use interest rates as a tool to stabilise the exchange rate, so that speculative forces, largely the yen carry-trade, move the exchange rate.
This is where the present decision to establish several pilot RMB clearing centres in Hong Kong and border cities is a pragmatic move to facilitate market needs.
Trade in the border areas of China with other countries is facilitated when the traders are willing to use RMB as a convenient medium of exchange. The RMB swap arrangements with various central banks are also trade-facilitating moves to help the use of domestic currencies on a bilateral basis.
Some people think that high foreign exchange reserves are a pre-condition for reserve currency status.
Central banks used to measure foreign exchange reserves in terms of months of imports. But this is an outdated measure.
Annual world merchandise exports amounted to US$15.8 trillion in 2008, whereas foreign exchange transactions amount to US$3.2 trillion daily or roughly US$800 trillion annually. This means that exchange rates are determined not by physical trade, but by capital market flows.
In other words, one of the conditions for RMB opening up is whether the exchange rate is stable over the long term.
This requires very skillful monetary policy to sterilise speculative flows, supported by strong fiscal conditions with very resilient and strong domestic financial systems that can absorb external shocks.
In an era of global zero interest rates, it will not be easy to manage market stability because of hugely leveraged speculative flows.
At near zero interest rates, the cost of speculation is very low, but the costs to each economy of de-stabilisation are very high.
Who else wants to be a reserve currency?
·Andrew Sheng is author of forthcoming book published by Cambridge University Press, “From Asian to Global Financial Crisis.”
A test for Islamic home financing?
Saturday September 12, 2009
A test for Islamic home financing?
By THEAN LEE CHENG
WHEN Islamic home financing came on the scene, interest rates were neither as low, nor as attractive, as today. House buyers opt for them because the “interest”, or what banks called “profit sharing”, was capped at 10%.
Having seen interest rates going up to 14% during the 1997/98 crisis, 10% may be acceptable for some of them. How times have changed! Today, it is still volatile but interest rates are also at a 33-year low. And it looks like it will remain low for a while.
Most of us want to finish paying off our mortgages as soon as possible. Depending on how young one is, home buyers give themselves a time line of about 10 to 15 years to pay up their mortgages. A 30-year-old may consider a longer tenure.
Under today’s low interest regime, what are house buyers leaning towards? The scenario seems fuzzy.
Three banks interviewed say Islamic financing for properties are growing and Bank Negara Malaysia’s statistic testify to that. However, bank officers say customers prefer conventional loans.
Foreign banks OCBC and HSBC decline to answer questions on Islamic property financing. A marketing officer with OCBC says he is referring Islamic financing enquiries to local banks. Ironically, both HSBC and OCBC have set up Islamic banking outlets.
Phone enquiries at CIMB and Maybank suggest interest among house buyers is towards conventional loans at the moment because of the low interest regime. A second reason may be due to house buyers’ interest to pay up the loan as quickly as possible.
“Generally, those who opt for an Islamic packages are not in a hurry to pay up the loan,” says a bank source.
Paradoxically, these same banks report healthy growth numbers for its Islamic packages.
Maybank Islamic Bhd executive vice-president, acting CEO Ibrahim Hassan says financing of residential and non-residential properties grew at an average rate of 6% from 2007 till June 2009.
It is expecting growth rates of 8% and 12% for financing of residential and non-residential properties respectively. Customers are diverse – Malays make up half of them, Chinese 37%, Indians 8% and others 5%.
The majority are categorised under the mass affluent segment with total financial assets ranging between RM100,000 to RM400,000.
At present, residential properties (landed and condominiums) portfolio comprises a fifth of bank’s total financing, while non-residential properties accounts for almost 3%.
Over at CIMB, they expect to close the year on a strong note for its Islamic property financing. It sold more than RM300mil of its flexi Islamic home package within the first three months of its launch, says CIMB Islamic CEO Badlisyah Abdul Ghani.
CIMB’s 2007 and 2008 growth for Islamic property financing was RM100mil and RM1bil respectively. The introduction of new products last year and this year gave them an average growth rate of about 100% year-on-year.
Badlisyah says its growth rate for the first quarter of this year exceeded that of the industry’s growth; putting their overall Islamic property financing market share at 9.8% (RM2.5bil out of RM25.7bil) as at June 2009. It was RM6mil in 2005.
CIMB Islamic now ranks seventh out of 16 Islamic banks for the financing of residential properties in Malaysia.
He says this year, new bookings of Islamic property financing are about 50% of total property financing for the group (CIMB Bank + CIMB Islamic Bank). Our market share has moved from 11% in 2006 to about 14% of the entire industry in the first half of this year, he says.
While the healthy growth story is also being trumpeted at Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), the story is slightly different but no less interesting. BSN is currently promoting its Islamic home financing, but unlike Maybank and CIMB, the rates are fixed. BSN is the third largest bank after Maybank and CIMB in terms of branches.
The bank is promoting a five-year low instalment package, with variants, where rates will be as low as 1.95% for the first two years and 4.79% for the next three years. Thereafter, it is fixed at 5.88%. This package is for loans up to RM100,000 for completed properties. Customers pay for the legal fees. The offer ends Dec 31. (See table for comparison with another variant)
BSN deputy chief executive (consumer banking and business development) Norazian Ahmad Tajuddin says as of June 30 this year, BSN has RM3bil mortgages, a third of which are under Islamic financing.
BSN has dispersed Islamic property loans totalling RM727.9mil in 2007. This represents a 36% growth rate; they started from a low base.
Last year, it amounted to RM821.9mil, representing a growth rate of 13%. The bank expects a 10% growth this year. As of July this year, its Islamic property financing is RM846mil.
Norazian says these are healthy numbers for them. “Please do not compare us with other local banks; in value terms, our numbers are small. We are starting slow and BSN is not like other commercial banks. We pride ourselves as a provider of banking services at reasonable rates. We are evolving and provide services to all levels of society from the poor to the rich. But the very rich don’t come to us.
“We like mortgages because it provides a steady stream of income for at least 15 years,” she says.
The national savings bank will have five Islamic banking outlets by the end of this year, and adding 11 more by the end of next year. It has a total of 377 branches.
Says Norazian: “Our customers are questioning if BSN offers Islamic banking. So like other banks, we will open Islamic banking outlets.” They are targeting customers in Klang Valley and Johor, the growth areas and those who buy to stay. More than 90% of its customers are Malays.
A quick check with Bank Negara Malaysia’s website shows that monthly Islamic house financing is growing steadily. For June 2008, it recorded RM17.83bil while June 2009, it reached RM20.40bil.
A test for Islamic home financing?
By THEAN LEE CHENG
WHEN Islamic home financing came on the scene, interest rates were neither as low, nor as attractive, as today. House buyers opt for them because the “interest”, or what banks called “profit sharing”, was capped at 10%.
Having seen interest rates going up to 14% during the 1997/98 crisis, 10% may be acceptable for some of them. How times have changed! Today, it is still volatile but interest rates are also at a 33-year low. And it looks like it will remain low for a while.
Most of us want to finish paying off our mortgages as soon as possible. Depending on how young one is, home buyers give themselves a time line of about 10 to 15 years to pay up their mortgages. A 30-year-old may consider a longer tenure.
Under today’s low interest regime, what are house buyers leaning towards? The scenario seems fuzzy.
Three banks interviewed say Islamic financing for properties are growing and Bank Negara Malaysia’s statistic testify to that. However, bank officers say customers prefer conventional loans.
Foreign banks OCBC and HSBC decline to answer questions on Islamic property financing. A marketing officer with OCBC says he is referring Islamic financing enquiries to local banks. Ironically, both HSBC and OCBC have set up Islamic banking outlets.
Phone enquiries at CIMB and Maybank suggest interest among house buyers is towards conventional loans at the moment because of the low interest regime. A second reason may be due to house buyers’ interest to pay up the loan as quickly as possible.
“Generally, those who opt for an Islamic packages are not in a hurry to pay up the loan,” says a bank source.
Paradoxically, these same banks report healthy growth numbers for its Islamic packages.
Maybank Islamic Bhd executive vice-president, acting CEO Ibrahim Hassan says financing of residential and non-residential properties grew at an average rate of 6% from 2007 till June 2009.
It is expecting growth rates of 8% and 12% for financing of residential and non-residential properties respectively. Customers are diverse – Malays make up half of them, Chinese 37%, Indians 8% and others 5%.
The majority are categorised under the mass affluent segment with total financial assets ranging between RM100,000 to RM400,000.
At present, residential properties (landed and condominiums) portfolio comprises a fifth of bank’s total financing, while non-residential properties accounts for almost 3%.
Over at CIMB, they expect to close the year on a strong note for its Islamic property financing. It sold more than RM300mil of its flexi Islamic home package within the first three months of its launch, says CIMB Islamic CEO Badlisyah Abdul Ghani.
CIMB’s 2007 and 2008 growth for Islamic property financing was RM100mil and RM1bil respectively. The introduction of new products last year and this year gave them an average growth rate of about 100% year-on-year.
Badlisyah says its growth rate for the first quarter of this year exceeded that of the industry’s growth; putting their overall Islamic property financing market share at 9.8% (RM2.5bil out of RM25.7bil) as at June 2009. It was RM6mil in 2005.
CIMB Islamic now ranks seventh out of 16 Islamic banks for the financing of residential properties in Malaysia.
He says this year, new bookings of Islamic property financing are about 50% of total property financing for the group (CIMB Bank + CIMB Islamic Bank). Our market share has moved from 11% in 2006 to about 14% of the entire industry in the first half of this year, he says.
While the healthy growth story is also being trumpeted at Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), the story is slightly different but no less interesting. BSN is currently promoting its Islamic home financing, but unlike Maybank and CIMB, the rates are fixed. BSN is the third largest bank after Maybank and CIMB in terms of branches.
The bank is promoting a five-year low instalment package, with variants, where rates will be as low as 1.95% for the first two years and 4.79% for the next three years. Thereafter, it is fixed at 5.88%. This package is for loans up to RM100,000 for completed properties. Customers pay for the legal fees. The offer ends Dec 31. (See table for comparison with another variant)
BSN deputy chief executive (consumer banking and business development) Norazian Ahmad Tajuddin says as of June 30 this year, BSN has RM3bil mortgages, a third of which are under Islamic financing.
BSN has dispersed Islamic property loans totalling RM727.9mil in 2007. This represents a 36% growth rate; they started from a low base.
Last year, it amounted to RM821.9mil, representing a growth rate of 13%. The bank expects a 10% growth this year. As of July this year, its Islamic property financing is RM846mil.
Norazian says these are healthy numbers for them. “Please do not compare us with other local banks; in value terms, our numbers are small. We are starting slow and BSN is not like other commercial banks. We pride ourselves as a provider of banking services at reasonable rates. We are evolving and provide services to all levels of society from the poor to the rich. But the very rich don’t come to us.
“We like mortgages because it provides a steady stream of income for at least 15 years,” she says.
The national savings bank will have five Islamic banking outlets by the end of this year, and adding 11 more by the end of next year. It has a total of 377 branches.
Says Norazian: “Our customers are questioning if BSN offers Islamic banking. So like other banks, we will open Islamic banking outlets.” They are targeting customers in Klang Valley and Johor, the growth areas and those who buy to stay. More than 90% of its customers are Malays.
A quick check with Bank Negara Malaysia’s website shows that monthly Islamic house financing is growing steadily. For June 2008, it recorded RM17.83bil while June 2009, it reached RM20.40bil.
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