TRADE - OIC - PTA - Turkey Expects Bilateral Trade With Malaysia To Increase To US$2 Billion

www.bernama.com - KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Turkey expects its bilateral trade with Malaysia to increase to US$2 billion this year from US$1.75 billion last year, driven by the huge potential in the construction sector and the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) expected by mid-year.

Commercial counsellor of Turkish Embassy here, Hasan Onal, said from the total, imports from Malaysia were expected to be US$1.8 billion while exports to Malaysia US$225 million.  (source)

EVENTS - Make Turkey Gateway To New Export Markets, Says Dr M

BERNAMA.COM - KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia should consider Turkey as its gateway to new lucrative export markets, says former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

At the same time, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia should consider reducing its dependency on the US and EU export markets as economic crisis at home had affected both the US and EU's purchasing power. (source)

EVENTS - Islamic Banking Prevents Greed, Abuses, Says Dr Mahathir

BERNAMA.COM - KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- More countries may resort to Islamic banking systems and principles in order to prevent greed and abuses from taking over, says former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said Islamic banking should stay free from gambling and speculation, from the invention of financial products, and unlimited freedom to create money and leveraging, which had all contributed to the downfall of the riba-based financial system.  (source)

FINANCE - MALAYSIA - IILM Chief: Main Challenge Is To Appreciate All Jurisdictions

JAKARTA, July 19 (Bernama) -- The main challenge now for the International Islamic Liquidity Management (IILM) Corporation, perhaps, is to find the most common denominator among the jurisdictions for the global Islamic finance market, said Chief Executive Officer Mahmoud AbuShamma.

"We have to appreciate the different jurisdictions. We have institutions from Asia, Middle East and others. That's the main challenge," he said. (source)

MICRO FINANCE - PAWNBROKING - Malaysian YaPEIM Plans To Expand Ar-Rahnu Scheme Abroad (Turkey)

LENGGONG, March 23 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YaPEIM) plans to expand its Islamic pawnbroking or Ar-Rahnu micro-credit system abroad, especially in member countries of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

Its director-general, Dr Abdul Malek Awang Kechil said a preliminary study was being carried out in five countries on the situation, structure, readiness and requirement, and legal framework. (full story)

BANKING - Plan To Issue Mega Islamic Bank Licences Still In Progress

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) plan to issue up to two mega Islamic bank licences is still on progress, says its deputy governor, Datuk Mohd Razif Abdul Kadir.

"The plan is still in progress. We need to find the right investors," he said, when asked on progress of the plan to issue mega Islamic bank licences. (source)