Simply put, we cannot afford to overlook the role of Islamic finance in promoting social equity, not when there are still predominantly Muslim provinces—like the Bangsamoro that have poverty incidences as high as 68%.
Meanwhile, the number of employees has been increasing at a year-on-year rate of around 1 percent, and employee income has continued rising moderately. At the same time, strength in the corporate sector has been filtering through into the household sector via various channels, for example, increased dividends.