The ability of Islamic banks to structure Investment Account in accordance with the risk profile and characteristics of the underlying assets offers an attractive opportunity for customers to diversify their investment portfolio across various halal sub-sectors. Second is the wide network of Malaysian financial institutions in facilitating halal exports to tap into regional markets. Increasing interest from ASEAN countries which makes up 42% of the global Muslim population as well as demand from non-Muslim dominated Asian countries such 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  as Japan, Korea and Vietnam provide a huge halal consumption base for domestic halal businesses to tap on. Currently, three Malaysian financial institutions have leveraged their extensive global network and strategic partnerships to assist halal exporters in gaining access to new markets. Moving forward, Malaysian financial institutions should take advantage of the strong government-to-government (G2G) ties and multilateral strategic cooperation in the halal sector between countries to offer Islamic trade finance to halal industry players. The third factor is the ability of Islamic financial institutions to facilitate businesses to transition towards more sustainable practices. The underlying concept of Maqasid Shariah which propagates for the attainment of benefits as well as preventing harm, resonates well with sustainability principles that call for a balanced, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Adopting sustainability practices is imperative to ensure the longevity of businesses. Failure to take this into account may result in substantial financial loss to the halal industry given that our trade partners have started imposing expectations on sustainability as preconditions to transact.
2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  To conclude, Islamic financial institutions have developed into matured institutions that are now offering a wide range of financial solutions to meet the varied needs of customers. Therefore, halal businesses should seize these opportunities to better position themselves and embrace sustainability, as well as digitalisation that aim to provide stronger platforms to rebound as the economy recovers. In closing, I would like to share with you an inspiring verse from the Quran, that serves as the foundation to the key points I have intended to raise earlier. In Surah Al-Baqarah verse 195, Allah s.w.t mentioned, “And do good, indeed Allah loves the doers of good”. So, let us embrace this message together and put more effort in propagating good, particularly in the way we conduct businesses, by not just being halal, but also beneficial to the environment and society at large in line with the commandment of Allah s.w.t. Let us begin this today, here at the World Halal Business Conference 2021. Thank you and I wish everyone a pleasant and productive conference. 1 Source: Dinar Standard, The State of Global Islamic Economy 2020/2021 2 Halal food, Islamic finance, Muslim-friendly travel, pharma and cosmetics 3 Source: HDC HIMP 2030 4 BNM internal survey 5 Source: HDC Vibes issue 06/2021  3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches