SINGAPORE – CollabDeen and #HaveHalalWillTravel, Singapore-based Halal lifestyle digital platforms, in partnership with DinarStandard, a US-based research and advisory firm, are hosting a Southeast Asia launch of the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report (SGIE) 2020/21 at the inaugural Reimagine: Halal in Asia 2020 virtual conference on 2 and 3 December 2020.
Under the theme of ‘thriving in uncertainty’, the eighth edition of the Report is supported by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and presents an annual update on the Islamic economy, encompassing Halal products, Islamic finance, and lifestyle sectors and services.
This year’s SGIE Report, produced by DinarStandard, estimates that Muslims spent US$2.02 trillion in 2019 on food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, modest fashion, travel, and media. While this spending reflects 3.2% year-on-year growth, Muslim spending in 2020 is forecast to contract by 8% due to the impact of the pandemic.
In the Report’s Global Islamic Economy Indicator that evaluated 81 countries this year — Malaysia (#1), Saudi Arabia (#2), the United Arab Emirates (#3), Indonesia (#4), and Jordan (#5) lead the rankings.
The rankings recorded improvements by Saudi Arabia and Indonesia and welcomed new entrants Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria in the top 15. The indicator measures how leading national ecosystems are best able to support the development of Islamic economy business activities.
Fateh Ali, Co-founder & CEO of CollabDeen, said “Singapore’s entry in the top 15 signals both the important role and the momentum of the Islamic economy for Singapore. Singapore’s strong performance in Halal products, as well as the media and travel segments, are positive signs of Islamic economy’s role in economic revival post-pandemic.
Following a record year in 2018/19, investments in Islamic economy-relevant companies globally slowed in 2019/20, dropping by 13% to US$11.8 billion. Over 54% of investments were within the Halal products category, while Islamic finance and Islamic lifestyle attracted 41.8% and 4% of the investments respectively.
“The 33 ‘signals of opportunities’ identified in the Report, include the tokenisation of sukuks within Islamic fintech and accelerated digital transformations across all sectors prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other signals identified pertain to Halal products, supply chain shifts, food security investments, and nutraceutical demand,” Rafi’udin Shikoh, CEO of and Managing Director of DinarStandard said.
The SGIE Report 2020/21 has been produced in partnership with SalaamGateway.com, the largest Islamic economy news and media platform. Strategic partners of this year’s SGIE Report include The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) and CIMB Islamic, the CIMB Group’s Islamic banking and financial services franchise.
Read more: Bank launches Smart City Sustainable Finance Framework to help more companies
Discussion about this post