3 December, 2019
On 22 August 2019, Republic Act No. 11439 (“Islamic Banking Act”) was signed into law. The Islamic Banking Act provides for the organisation, regulation and powers of Islamic banks to be established in the Philippines.
Implications for business in the Philippines
While there are millions of Filipinos practicing the Islamic faith in the Philippines, Islamic banking system is not a widely known banking concept in the country. In fact, there is only one Islamic bank in the Philippines, which has been operating since 1973.
Now that a well-defined policy has been set, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP” or the Central Bank of the Philippines) is confident that domestic and foreign financial institutions, even those not operating under Islamic principles, will be encouraged to invest in Islamic banking operations. Further, the passage of the law will entice Muslim business owners and entrepreneurs in the Philippines and abroad to enter the Philippine market now that they have the option to transact with, and entrust their investments in, Islamic banks.
The full article can be found from Zicolaw's site here.
For more information, please contact:
Felix T Sy, Partner, Insights Abodago Philippines (a member of ZICO Law)
felix.sy@insights-law.com
