Islamic finance must attract non-Muslims - MTI CEO

Indunil HEWAGE

Islamic banks and finance institutions have recorded a huge growth in the last couple of years. The stakeholders interest has also increased.

Addressing the Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Conference MTI Consulting, Global CEO Hilmy Cader said all Islamic finance institutions should bring novel products and services to consumers while adhering to the Shariah principle.

He said most Islamic finance and banks focus on Muslim customers only and the prevailing system should be changed while initiating measures to attract more non-Muslims into their ventures.

Sri Lanka is as a non-Islamic country to have legislation for Islamic banking sector. There is sufficient flexibility for conventional banks to make transactions and launch Islamic financial products. Strategic marketing communication to raise awareness of these products is considered as a vital requirement in the current context, Cader said. Lack of global connectivity, lack of structured work flow and high cost of information search are the main challenges faced by Islamic finance and banking sector in the world.

There should be a proper human resources management strategy in every institution to manage skilled workers in the company and Islam finance should go to the strategy market to hit the highest point. Apart from that, connectivity, community, communication, co-operation are vital components to achieve set goals in every institution. “Simplicity of branding is one of the most important factors, most companies spend a large amount of money to advertise their products and this leads to confusion among people as sometimes customers get confused when choosing main brands and sub-brands,” he said.