THE POTENTIAL OF ISLAMIC BANKING & FINANCE IN ONE BELT ONE ROAD (OBOR) COUNTRIES: A WAY FORWARD

Abstract

One Belt One Road (OBOR) is the initiative from China on transforming the political and economic landscape. OBOR is not a new dream but a revival of Silk Road history. If it is a success, it will be the greatest economic integration. Five major goals for OBOR are policy coordination, facilities connectivities, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-topeople bonds. Malaysia is one of participating countries of OBOR. However, OBOR receives some responses in the fear of sovereignty relinquish. Thus, researchers try to see if OBOR can unite the countries through Islamic banking and finance. This is because OBOR unites more than 40 billion of Muslim and the demand of Islamic banking and finance product can be expected. It is also found that OBOR countries are progressing toward Islamic finance. Malaysia for example among the top-ranked countries which have comprehensive Islamic banking and finance system. Thus, it is hope that the union of Ummah can be benefited from the integration of Islamic banking and finance among the countries. Therefore, this paper intends to review the OBOR project, review the development of Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) and the feasibility of IBF in OBOR countries.