Global Islamic Finance Standards Come to Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand

Global Islamic Finance Standards Come to Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand PR Newswire DUBAI, UAE, June 11, 2012 DUBAI, UAE, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- It takes 7 hours to fly from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur; 6 more to Sydney. And then there's the trip back. Throw in airports, jet lag, and delays, and it is no wonder that a short business trip to South East Asia from most parts of the world feels like it takes a week. In a world of Skype and streamed video, air travel just does not have the same appeal anymore. As a result, while 90% of the countries offering Islamic finance now follow one set of standards, namely AAOIFI's, South East Asia has been left behind with its own set of standards. This is about to change. Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance, the most heavily-enrolled Islamic finance program in the world, will be the first globally recognized institute to bring fully AAOIFI-compliant certification to Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand. AAOIFI is the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, the de facto standard for over 90% of the world's jurisdictions. "Because of the vast distance between the Gulf and South East Asia, the two regions historically developed their industries quite separately from each other. With Ethica's 100% online platform, we finally bridge the distance with globally recognized certification that harmonizes standards across regions," said Ethica's spokesperson.