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Glam Halal | september-0ctober . 2020

Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines and Thailand said recently that Arab Muslims need not worry if they opt or even decide to live and work in their countries as these are Muslim-friendly with requirements to the Islamic way of life in place .

The officials who gave the assurance to a participant at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority ( MIDA )-hosted “ Live Webinar on Investment Opportunities in ASEAN ” were Indonesian Investment Promotion Centre ( Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia , Abu Dhabi ) director Iwan Ungsi , MIDA ( Consulate General of Malaysia , Dubai ) director Abd Mukti Abu Bakar , Thailand Board of Investments - Industrial Linkage Development Division ( Office of the Prime Minister , Bangkok ) executive director Sonklin Ploymee , and Philippine Com – mercial Attache to the Middle East and Africa Charmaine Mignon Yalong .

The webinar was organised by the regional commercial / trade chiefs of the Philippines , Indonesia , Thailand and Malaysia relative to the Novel Coronavirus ( Covid- 19 ) pandemic . They clarified what their countries could offer to foreign investors ; as it was last Aug 8

Walli Datoo , co-founder of Halalnivore , says business has never been better as Muslims surf online for quality meat

According to Datoo , England ’ s three million-strong Muslim population flocked to order online halal meat during the country ’ s three-month lockdown period .

The online premium halal meat store serves up high-end steaks , homemade sausages and pre-marinated chicken , along with bespoke recipes and meat rubs , for discerning meat consumers . They prefer a higher-end online service experience compared to the traditional halal butcher trip .

“ During lockdown , business went

Iwan Ungsi

Mignon Yalong

Abd Mukti

Sonklin Ploymee

crazy ,” said London-based Datoo , who put in emergency measures to be able to scale up by around 40 per cent on the firm ’ s usual business demand during that period .

Halalnivore , which began as a gourmet subscription service and meat club in 2016 , morphed into a straightforward e-commerce food delivery site last year , said Datoo .

“ We now sell direct to the consumer – as and when they want – and it ’ s a better model .

“ The lockdown surge has validated our business model . We are still quite lean with six employees , but we are also leveraging temporary staff when needed . Staffing was the biggest

when these countries alongside Singapore , Brunei Darussalam , Lao PDR , Cambodia , Myanmar and VietNam commemorated the 53rd anniversary of their Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ).

Southeast Asia is home to over 600 million consumers and talented , dynamic people .

Board of Investments ( Department of Trade and Industry , Manila ) governor Angelica Cayas was the main presenter for the Philippines . Still , he deferred answering the question raised during the open forum , claiming UAE-based Yalong ( webinar moderator ) is the more knowledgeable in the topic of interest .

The specific question raised was “ Can Arab Muslim investors live in Southeast Asia with their families , observe the halal lifestyle , including the Sukuk ?”

Ungsi cited that Indonesia was the world ’ s largest Muslim nation . Population estimates as of mid-2020 by the United Nations is over 273 million . Abu Bakar said the majority of the citizens and residents of Malaysia were Muslims ( 61.3 per cent ) and its halal institutions were among international players .

Ploymee pointed out that Thailand was a major halal hub . Halal education / training institutes abound in the kingdom . — Gulf Today challenge when meeting the higher demand in lockdown .

“ For two weeks we were struggling to cope – particularly as many of our consumable suppliers closed down or were producing less – but we were able to put measures in place within two weeks ,” added Datoo .

There are currently one million Muslims in London , and the overall value of the UK halal food market is £ 700 million ($ 921m ), according to the Muslim Council of Britain .

According to Datoo , young and upwardly-mobile Muslim consumers are demanding higher quality meat and higher customer service levels than can be found at the local side street butcher .

Manzil , a digital Islamic financial services and alternative financing company , announced on Aug 18 , 2020 , its Halal Prepaid Visa card launch in partnership with KOHO , Canada ’ s leading challenger bank .

KOHO is a full-service chequing account that comes with a reloadable prepaid Visa card and integrated app .

This partnership will give Muslims and non- Muslims the opportunity to save , spend , and budget without incurring any debt or paying exorbitant fees or interest rates like other card providers .

In June 2020 , Statistics Canada announced the household debt ratio rose to 176.9 per cent , meaning there was a $ 1.77 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income . This product will empower Canadians by taking an active role in their financial affairs and increasing financial literacy .

The Halal Prepaid Visas allow users to save and earn cashback on all purchases , round up spare change and save it , automate savings and earn up to an extra 5 per cent cashback at select merchants .

“ We are so excited to add this solution as part of the Manzil product offering and to help Canadians who are looking to adhere to their religious principles as well as those who are ethically conscious ,” said Mohamad Sawwaf , Manzil ’ s CEO and Co-Founder .

“ One of the main principles of Islamic Finance is to not enter into agreements that could potentially allow you to pay or receive interest and this prepaid Visa provides our user base with the peace of mind to not have to worry about that anymore .

“ Our data suggest that our community is quite a debt-averse , and having a product like this that rewards them for being a saver and a budgeter is a no-brainer . We expect that this card will be topof-wallet as a large percentage of this community is underbanked and stays away from conventional products .”

Daniel Eberhard , founder and CEO at KOHO stated : “ The team at KOHO is motivated to build holistic financial tools that are equally accessible to all Canadians . So , we are excited to extend our platform to Manzil ’ s user base to allow them the convenience and support of digital banking .”

This end-to-end halal product currently features no interest and halal cashback . Users will never have to worry about owing money .

“ The neighbourhood halal butcher is still the traditional way to buy meat , but consumers are becoming choosier ,” he said .

The entrepreneur says that the age group comprising 25- to 45- year-old professional British Muslims is where the company finds its “ sweet spot ”.

“ It ’ s the age where people are particularly busy and find that their time is valuable , as well as deeming the quality of the consumer experience important ,” he said .

Halalnivore , which ships all meat over the UK from Scotland to Penzance , is directly benefitting from maturing halal tastes and an unprecedented pandemic-fuelled e-commerce boom , said the co-founder .

“ Consumption and purchasing is changing . The more people buy online , the more they realise how convenient it is and how much time they free up . It is a growth model , and it ’ s here to stay .”— Arabian Business