The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) and INCEIF – The Global University of Islamic Finance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to establish a collaborative framework towards raising awareness on Islamic wealth management globally, particularly through industry-driven research.

The research topics proposed will cover key components of Islamic wealth management including Shariah-compliant wealth acquisition, risk management, Islamic wealth preservation and wealth distribution.

According to Mr Saiful Bahari Baharom, Chief Executive Officer of Labuan IBFC, “This strategic partnership will benefit both Labuan IBFC and INCEIF in terms of pooling our resources to conduct more research into understanding Shariah issues in wealth management. We hope to feature the findings from this research into an annual journal focusing on wealth management. This MoU is timely for Labuan IBFC and serves to complement the range of legal entities on offer for the purpose of wealth management, from foundations to special trusts, both conventional and Islamic.”

Mr Daud Vicary Abdullah, President and Chief Executive Officer of INCEIF said INCEIF was honoured to add another important industry partner to its growing pool of strategic collaborations. By leveraging on each partner’s expertise and global network, INCEIF is on track to become the knowledge leader in Islamic finance.

“This collaboration with Labuan IBFC is a perfect fit for INCEIF as we both share a vision to develop and promote knowledge in Islamic finance particularly in Islamic wealth management. As the only university in the world to focus exclusively on Islamic finance education and research, INCEIF has become a preferred partner and place of study for many,” Daud added.

INCEIF is currently working with partners locally and abroad, including the Islamic Development Bank, The World Bank, BNP Paribas Malaysia Bhd, Capital Market Board of Turkey and Luxembourg University to collaborate on research as well postgraduate programmes and short courses on Islamic finance.

The MoU was signed by Mr Saiful Bahari Baharom, Chief Executive Officer, Labuan IBFC Inc. Sdn Bhd and Mr Daud Vicary Abdullah, President and Chief Executive Officer of INCEIF. The ceremony was witnessed by Dato’ Mohammed Azlan Hashim, Chairman, Labuan IBFC Inc. Sdn Bhd, Mr Ahmad Hizzad Baharuddin, Director General of Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) and Mr Mohd. Zamree Ishak, Chief Operating Officer of INCEIF.