DRIVEN BY CRONYISM, CORRUPTION? Malaysia is world's most advanced Islamic economy - report

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is the world’s most advanced Islamic economy, far ahead of countries in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), according to global intelligent business provider Thomson Reuters.

"We measure a country's level advancement through six indicators, which are its level of governance, transparency, education, finance, corporate social responsibility and overall awareness," said Thomson Reuters acting head of Islamic finance, Mustafa Adil.

"Malaysia scores very highly on all these indicators and thus, Malaysia is currently the world's leading Islamic economy," he said during Thomson Reuters’ presentation of the global outlook of the Islamic economy at the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (11th WIEF) today.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain is second and third after Malaysia, said Mustafa. "Going forward, we expect substantial growth of global Islamic finance to be driven by Malaysia and emerging Islamic economies namely Indonesia, Singapore, China and Egypt."

The three-day forum saw a record attendance of 3,069 delegates comprising global leaders, ministers, speakers, exhibitors and artists from 98 countries across five continents. The biggest delegation is from Malaysia, followed by Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Singapore.

- NST