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@ Halal | January-February . 2021

BY CAMILIA REZALI

severely the Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the world . Some business shattered , but some are thriving .

Since 2013 , the State of the Global Islamic Economy ( SGIE ) Report , produced annually , had become the go-to global reference for the Islamic and halal economy-related industry executives , investors , national economic development officials and entrepreneurs .

While 2020 turned out to be an unusual year , the report was launched through a series of remarkable worldwide virtual events in 12 countries on Nov 16-Dec 14 .

For the first time , the launch events were broadcast live , where the report presentation and panel discussions interspersed with quizzes and multimedia content . This year , the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ) partnered with other entities for the SGIE report launch as part of the Malaysia Tech Month 2020 ( MTM 2020 ).

The virtual launch of SGIE Report in Malaysia welcomed a few notable individuals from the industry to give their views on the report . For the discussion on ‘ Thriving in Uncertainty ’, the panellists were Norhizam Abdul Kadir ( MDEC Vice President of Fintech & Islamic Digital economy ), Hussam Sultan ( Regional Head of Commercial Banking CIMB ), Seri Azalina Mohd Ghazali ( Manager of Duopharma Biotech Berhad ) and Dhaliff Anuar ( Head of Halal Consultancy of Halal Development Corporation ).

The session was moderated by the Senior

Dhaliff Anuar

Hussam Sultan

Norhizam Kadir

Rafi-uddin Shikoh

Manager of Dinar Standard , Simeen Mirza . And the welcome note was by MDEC ’ s Norhizam , who represented his chairman , Datuk Wira Dr Rais Hussin .

CEO and Managing Director of Dinar Standard , Rafi-uddin Shikoh , highlighted in his keynote speech : “ This year , over 52 industrial professionals were interviewed across all sectors , with leverage of Islamic finance data and data which are primary research of Dinar Standards ’ own on Muslim population estimated investment tracking , innovation tracking , and halal regulation tracking .”

On its secondary data compilation , Dinar Standards has come across thousands of stories related to the Islamic economy in 2020 . Over 450 reports from multilateral agencies , including the United Nations , World Bank , the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) as well as other organisational public data , were referenced in the report .

From a digital driver point of view

There are a lot of opportunities within the Islamic economy , said Norhizam . In fact , if we were to look at the report , there are a lot of digitalisation across the sectors .

Throughout the pandemic , digital technologies have proven to be a practical solution . As such , we were able to conduct a virtual launch of the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020 / 21 .

Norhizam said : “ Digitalisation has been able to cut across sectors . Twenty-five years ago , when MDEC started , digital technologies previously called Information and Communications Technology ( ICT ) was just moving at a vertical . Now , we see that things are changing . Digitalisation is happening in every single sector . This has helped the Islamic economy sectors to create better efficiency and productivity . “

From a financial industry point of view

Hussam said : “ Digitalisation has become what Muslims called as Fardu Kifayah ( tasks which are not as essential and not required to be done by everyone ) to Fardu Ain ( tasks which are a necessity and needed to be done by everyone ).

“ We say this because when the first lockdown happened , we have seen a lot of SMEs which want to continue to sell . We see those who have access to e-shops , they offered products online . Therefore , commercial banks have responded to this by offering special financial support catered for SMEs . That was our priority – to help our customers survive .”

Looking at the report , Hussam said although the Islamic finance sector showed top performance , there was a need to change strategy in the Islamic finance sector . CIMB opened its offer on e-commerce financial solution for not only large businesses but also for SMEs and micro-SMEs .

Digitalisation is seen as the most crucial tool for a way forward to survive the unprecedented pandemic .

From a pharmaceutical manufacturer point of view

On another view from leading pharmaceutical manufacturer Duopharma Biotech , The Global Islamic Economy Report was described as “ a very good insight ”.

Shared Seri Azalina : “ As a manufacturer , there is a need for us to know the current market share , the current halal lifestyle and what are the best ways to reach out to the consumers . We always look forward to producing something that is catering to the lifestyle .”

The report has specifically highlighted some of the thoughts of Gen-Z on the halal industry . The section was one of the features of interest as Duopharma took it as an opportunity to cater to the market by offering the Gen-Z ’ s potential product of interest .

Adding to that , Seri Azalina also mentioned the need for Duopharma to really explore the digital space and not only focus on product manufacturing .

“ We are trying to map out the scenario right now , and I believe the report can help us to fill in some of the information we are looking for , especially in the halal space .”

From a halal mover point of view

Dhaliff also saw the importance of digitalisation . As a corporation promoting the halal industry , Dhaliff said HDC now offered an halal integrated platform ( HIP ).

“ HDC used to have a physical halal onestop-centre in Kuala Lumpur . Now we are bringing that one-stop-centre into a platform in keeping up with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 .“

The online platform combines every service provided under HDC , which are targeted for all -- halal industrial practitioners , business society , academic practitioners as well as public users . HDC is also expecting to enlarge the platform by opening an online halal marketplace .

“ For Malaysia , with halal being at the forefront in its strategies by government departments and financial institutions , the future will be even better for halal sectors globally ,” added Hussam .