ADB and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Mark Seven Years of Cooperation and Success in Developing Islamic Finance in the Philippines

Manila, Philippines, 26 November 2024—Following its successes in Indonesia and Malaysia in September 2024, ADB and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) brought their Philippine Islamic Finance Roadshow back to Manila for its concluding session.

The roadshow also served as the official launch of the market analysis and landscape report entitled Unlocking the Potential of Islamic Finance in the Philippines (the Report) which explores the potential of Islamic finance in the Philippines for domestic and international investors and identifies a promising potential market for Shariah-compliant financial products and services.

A joint ADB-BSP team—Maria Cecilia T. Sicangco, ADB Counsel and Co-Team Leader of the Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance; Mohammad Farrukh Raza, Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS) and Finance Specialist (Consultant) of ADB; and BSP Assistant Governor Arifa A. Ala, Chair of the Islamic Finance Coordination Forum—gave the main presentation during the roadshow. Together, they made the case for the Philippines as a promising destination for investment in Islamic finance, drawing on the findings of the Report, and the results of the roadshow’s sessions in Indonesia and Malaysia. Ms. Sicangco succinctly pointed out to the stakeholders in attendance: “The Philippines is the right location…today is the right time…and the right support is there.” 

The event was graced by the presence of H.E. Dato’ Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino, Ambassador of Malaysia, and H.E. Agus Widjojo, Ambassador of Indonesia.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona, Jr. delivered the keynote address. Monetary Board Members Walter C. Wassmer, Jose L. Querubin, Rosalia V. De Leon, and Romeo L. Bernardo were in attendance, along with Deputy Governors Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. and Chuchi G. Fonacier and Assistant Governors Ala, Veronica B. Bayangos, and Lyn I. Javier. 

Senior officials of governmental agencies and Islamic leaders also attended as a show of support. Secretary Amenah Pangandaman of the Department of Budget and Management was among those present, together with undersecretaries of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Department of Trade and Industry. Congressman Mujiv Hataman of the Lone Congressional District of Basilan, Congressman Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo of the 1st District of Lanao Del Norte, and former Congresswoman and now Mayor of Basilan City Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman—who authored the Islamic Banking Act of the Philippines—were also present, as well as officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Philippine House Committee on Muslim Affairs, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, and the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy.

Likewise present were senior officials of DOF-supervised agencies—the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of the Treasury, the Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission—the Philippine  Deposit  Insurance Corporation (PDIC), and the Philippine Interpretations Committee.

Financial institutions were present in force—Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, Asia United Bank, Bank of China (Hongkong) Limited-Manila Branch, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, ING Bank N.V., Land Bank of the Philippines, Maybank Philippines, Inc., Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, MUFG Bank Ltd, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, SB Capital Investment Corp., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation-Manila Branch; LOLC Bank Philippines Inc., Card Bank, Inc., Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines, Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc., Bankers Association of the Philippines, CIMB Islamic Malaysia, Development Bank of the Philippines, CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corporation, Citibank, N.A. were all represented, as were fintech companies, such as GCash and INFOPRO. 

The event was a celebration of the progress of Islamic finance in the Philippines, especially in the past decade. In his keynote speech, BSP Governor Remolona summed up some of the milestones: “We now have tax neutrality regulations, we now have takaful guidelines, we now have Shari’ah-compliant deposit insurance, we now have the country's first sovereign US dollar sukuk, and we look forward to peso sukuks,…We now have the establishment of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. We now have one Islamic bank, and we have licenses for two new Islamic banking windows, and also for two Takaful operators.” 

Asghar Ali Syed, ADB Corporate Services Department Advisor and Co-Team Leader of the Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance, in his opening remarks, highlighted ADB’s support for the capacity building of Filipino finance professionals: “Over 1,500 people trained in Islamic finance in the Philippines today, from a very small number when we started. And of those, 138 are formally trained, and several more will be taking the highest qualification of Islamic finance [offered] by the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia.” 

Deputy Governor Fonacier, for her part, urged everyone, “Together, let us leverage on the vast opportunities offered by Philippine Islamic finance and transform it as a cornerstone for an inclusive financial system that leaves no Filipino behind.”

This event also marked seven years of partnership between ADB and BSP, in the framework of the Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance, which is implemented by the Law and Policy Reform Program of ADB’s Office of the General Counsel. Ms. Sicangco and Mr. Syed, the two co-team leads of the TA, closed the ceremony by honoring all the people who contributed to the TA and to the development of Philippine Islamic finance.

Watch the Philippine Islamic finance roadshow here.