KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 14): The global Islamic finance industry is expected to hit US$3.7 trillion by the end of 2020, said Tun Musa Hitam, chairman of the jury for The Royal Award for Islamic Finance.

"There is always so much room for growth," the former deputy prime minister and former chairman of Sime Darby Bhd said at a press conference announcing the winner of the Royal Award for Islamic Finance today.

The industry reached approximately US$2.14 trillion in 2015, Musa said, citing the Global Islamic Finance Report 2016.

Musa, who is also chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), said Malaysia has succeeded in advancing the global Islamic finance industry. He cited the £600 million invested in sukuk at the WIEF meeting in London last year as one of his proudest moments.

Musa said the universalisation of Islamic finance was an important achievement considering the “ignorance of it in the early days”, despite the lack of supportive infrastructure in other countries.

“If you look at the development in so many countries all over the world, there’s been so much interest and recognition, [and] then only the question of infrastructure comes in,” he said.

Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, the chief executive officer (CEO) of International Islamic Liquidity Management (ILLM), was conferred the Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2016 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday.

Rifaat Ahmed said IILM had re-issued as much at US$21 billion in sukuk, or Islamic bonds, as at October 2016. He said some key differences between the re-issuance of sukuk and rollovers was that reissued sukuk could be different in price, size and allocation to appointed primary dealers.

IILM is an international institution established by central banks, monetary authorities and multilateral organisations with the primary objective of issuing short-term, syariah-compliant tradable financial instruments. These are denominated in major reserve currencies to facilitate cross-border liquidity management among Islamic banks.

Among Rifaat Ahmed's significant contributions to the development of the Islamic financial services industry was his instrumental role in the establishment of two international standards setting bodies — the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

The biennial Royal Award initiative, spearheaded by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia, recognises individuals who have excelled in advancing Islamic finance globally via their outstanding contributions and achievements.