The approval from Bursa Malaysia means that the investment bank is on the rolls of the Islamic Securities Selling and Buying — Negotiated Transaction (ISSBNT) framework, the world’s first such trading platform.

The ISSBNT, which was launched in December 2017, was developed as a mechanism to provide a facilitative trading environment and improve trading liquidity and velocity of shariah-compliant securities.

Bursa Malaysia CEO Umar Swift said the addition of more participating organisations under the ISSBNT framework demonstrated the exchange’s commitment to growing the Islamic equity market in response to increased demand for shariah-compliant assets.

“We look forward to the increased participation and continued support from our brokers to spur the growth and vibrancy of our marketplace, upholding Malaysia’s position as the world’s leading Islamic equities market,” he said in a statement today.

As an approved supplier and user, Maybank IB will facilitate the buying and selling of shariah-compliant securities, as well as enable hedging and risk management activities for market participants while adhering to shariah principles.

Fad’l Mohamed, CEO of Maybank IB, said the investment bank saw strong demand for shariah-compliant assets among investors.

“We are excited to be an approved supplier and user under the ISSBNT framework which will enable us to support our clients’ investment management strategies,” he added.

Fad’l said there was potential to further develop the Islamic capital markets and Maybank IB would continue to play an active role in making Malaysia a leader in this space as shariah-compliant securities made up 79% of Bursa Malaysia listed securities.

Recently CGS-CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd and Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd were also appointed as approved supplier and user representatives under the ISSBNT framework.

To date, there are 179 shariah-compliant securities eligible for ISSBNT transactions, as reviewed and approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia’s shariah advisory council.