Planned Malaysia investment platform to expand role of Islamic banks

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Reuters): The Malaysian government plans to roll out a new Shariah-compliant investment platform next year, aiming to broaden the traditional role of Islamic banks from credit provider to investment intermediary.
The government is backing the Investment Account Platform (IAP) with an initial start-up fund of 150 million ringgit (US$45 million), intending that the IAP will serve as a central marketplace to finance small and medium-sized businesses.
Under the scheme, announced as part of the 2015 budget, Islamic banks would vet businesses seeking funds, provide a secondary market for investors and in some cases underwrite the equity transactions.
"This initiative will open new kinds of activities revolving around investment intermediation within the Islamic financial market," said Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, chief executive of CIMB Islamic, a unit of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.
The IAP would complement the existing credit intermediation activities of Islamic banks while adding momentum to the private equity and venture capital industries, he added.