The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to forge a strategic partnership in capacity building between the two leading regulators of Islamic capital markets.

 

Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, chairman of SC, together with Abdullah Al-Turifi, CEO of SCA, exchanged the MoU at the 10th World Islamic Economic Forum in Dubai, with Malaysia Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak witnessing the ceremony.

 

The MoU sets out the foundation of further cooperation between the SC and SCA, which includes allowing for collaborative initiatives in human capital development, with key emphasis on the development of capital market and financial services industry professionals in both Malaysia and the UAE.  This aims at enhancing the mobility of talent and professionals between the two leading Islamic finance markets. The MoU will also enable collaboration in research and regional thought leadership events to jointly promote the capital markets.

 

Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), the SC’s capital market talent development centre, will undertake the task to drive this collaboration with the UAE authority.

 

“The MoU demonstrates the strong commitment of the SC and SCA to strengthen our existing relationship and deepen mutual co-operation in developing capacity in the capital markets, including the Islamic capital market. This collaboration is also part of the SC’s broader efforts to foster greater strategic linkages with our counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to further the internationalization of the Islamic capital market and facilitate more cross-border opportunities within the markets,” said Singh, who is also the chairman of SIDC.

 

Al-Turifi said, “The signing of the agreement is within the framework of SCA’s sustained efforts to provide appropriate investment environment for investors to protect their investments, boost the growth and diversity of national economy, sustain the stability, fairness and transparency of transactions on the local markets and to develop the level of skills and knowledge of persons and workers in those markets, in a way that would contribute to sustainable uplifting of the level of financial services in our markets.”