MALAYSIA’S Islamic capital market has achieved meaningful scale by reaching RM2.75 tril in 2025 and accounting for nearly two-thirds of the Malaysian capital market.
Guided by Maqasid al-Shariah, Bursa Malaysia’s CEO Datuk Fad’l Mohamed contended that the local bourse has an opportunity to direct capital towards innovation, sustainable infrastructure, economic resilience and inclusive growth, thus contributing to both financial value creation and positive outcomes for society.
“In line with this, Bursa Malaysia will continue to broaden access to Shariah-compliant investment opportunities while supporting the market’s continued growth and development,” he said when delivering the seventh Invest Shariah Conference 2026’s welcoming remarks yesterday (Aug 4).
Themed Ethical Investing in a Digital and Volatile World, the one-day event co-organised by Bursa Malaysia Bhd and CGS International Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CGS MY) brought together capital market leaders, economists, Shariah specialists and institutional investment professionals.
The event has been touted as a critical platform to examine how ethical and Shariah-compliant investing frameworks can effectively respond to an increasingly volatile and digitally driven global macro-economic environment.
These include geopolitical developments, on-going inflation, tactical portfolio allocation, digital transformation and the broader economic outlook.
A central focus of the conference was operationalisation of the Maqasid al-Shariah principles into practical capital-market outcomes.
This is where the dialogue emphasised necessity of responsible capital allocation, robust corporate governance and the deployment of investments that deliver measurable, sustainable economic and social value.
The conference commenced with a strategic fireside discussion entitled “Maqasid Shariah in Action: Re-framing the Future of Malaysia’s Capital Market” which featured Dr Azrul Azlan Iskandar Mirza who is the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Islamic Capital Market deputy director.
Subsequent high-level panels examined Islamic investment opportunities during periods of global tension.
A dedicated session on geopolitics, inflation and asset allocation featured prominent industry figures including the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) investment promotion & facilitation deputy CEO Zalina Zainol and Bullhound Capital’s Southeast Asia head and managing director Shahril Hamdan.
Other prominent speakers included ISRA International Consulting’s CEO Assoc Prof Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid and Principal Asset Management Bhd’s CEO Munirah Khairuddin.
Elsewhere, CGS MY’s CEO Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki stressed the need for investors to have clear, institutional-grade research, disciplined asset-allocation frameworks and access to cross-border opportunities as they “navigate highly fragmented and volatile global environment”.
“Therefore, this conference brought together regulatory, economic, investment and Shariah perspectives, hence equipping investors with the necessary tools to accurately assess risk and identify resilient opportunities within a strict ethical investment framework,” he highlighted in his opening remarks.
Digital transformation formed another core pillar of the agenda. A dedicated session examined innovation within Islamic finance, focusing on the role of technology in expanding market access and engineering new investment solutions.
This session featured Arham Merican who is the partner and Shariah consultant at Sharlife Advisory; Halogen Capital’s executive director Ahmad Fuad Alhabshi and YAPEIM Holdings’ chief digital officer Effendy Zulkifly.
The conference concluded with comprehensive economic and market outlook presentations by CGS MY’s institutional research team.
The financial service provider’s economics head Ahmad Nazmi Idrus presented CGS MY’s assessment of the macro-economic environment while its research head Prem Jearajasingam and retail research director Sharizan Rosely mapped out the market outlook and key strategic considerations for investors. – Aug 5, 2026
