The winners of Brunei Darussalam Islamic Finance Symposium 2024’s Call for Papers competition expressed optimism in the development of Islamic finance in Brunei.
Farah A’liyah binti Haji Amer Hishamuddin, who received the best paper award in the academicians and practitioners category, said, “There are a lot of potential to develop Islamic finance in Brunei as the majority of the population is Muslim. There is a growing number of Islamic assets and close relationships to some of the major economies. Therefore, the Sultanate is in a good position to be a hub for Islam finance.”
Her winning research paper, ‘The Integration of ESG in Islamic Asset Management – A Practical Approach’, covered practical approach of integrating environmental social governance (ESG) in the sukuk market.
Farah A’liyah said, “Sustainability in Islamic finance is still relatively new. The first ESG issuance was in 2018 and my research on how to apply ESG in investment management framework will be beneficial in Islamic finance.”
The credit and ESG analyst at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Asset Management said, “I am pleased and honoured to be chosen as first place in the Call For Papers competition. It’s been a while since I have written an academic paper. Although it was a challenge, I am very pleased with the result.”
Meanwhile, Nurul Naqibah Izzati binti Muhammad Faizul from Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali took second place in the students category. She said, “Islamic finance is growing rapidly in Brunei and I can see vast potential where more people can participate in creating policies suitable for the country.”
The fourth-year student in Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Economics wrote ‘Achieving Economic Growth through Islamic Social Finance’. She said, “Islamic social finance can open more opportunities for economic growth and help achieving Brunei Vision 2035.”
Nurul Naqibah Izzati said it was the second paper written with a co-author and advice from a lecturer. – James Kon
