EPF to offer Islamic investment option by 2017, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's $160 billion state pension fund will offer an Islamic investment option to its members by 2017 which would create the world's largest sharia-compliant fund of its kind, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Thursday.

Malaysia has one of the world's largest Islamic finance sectors and authorities are keen to develop it further. They envision the industry accounting for 40 percent of the country's total banking assets by 2020 compared with latest figures of around 23 percent released last year.