GCC and Malaysia 'should pool resources'

Dubai: The two main centres of Islamic finance - the GCC and Malaysia - should pool their resources to attain economies of scale as the industry expands beyond its traditional heartland, said Dr Georges Makhoul, Managing Director Middle East, Morgan Stanley.

He said having two distinct spheres had the positive impact of leading to product diversity.

"While the GCC has taken the lead in capital market products through straight and convertible sukuks, Malaysia has well-developed competition in retail banking, among both Islamic banks and the Islamic windows of conventional banks,'' he noted.