In a speech by at the 5th World Islamic Banking Conference Asia Summit, held in the city-state, he noted that Singapore is the only non-Muslim majority country among the top 15 countries for Islamic finance. The industry has grown globally in the past years, with Islamic financial assets worldwide rising to $1.8 trillion by the end of 2013, from $1.5 trillion in 2012. Due to the absence of linkages to interest rates, which are against Shariah principles, Islamic banks are relatively resilient to market volatility. 

"Islamic assets under management have surged nearly fourfold over the last five years. More than 40 per cent of the Islamic assets in Singapore are managed by our asset management industry. Fifteen banks are also involved in Islamic banking, double the number five years ago, and hold about a third of Islamic assets in the city-state," said Menon. 

Beyond Malaysia, the seat of Islamic banking in the region, more countries are catering to the market. Indonesia, for one, has begun developing its capital markets, while India started introducing Islamic financial products and services in 2013. 

"The scope for cross-border Islamic finance increases... with movements within Asia, as well as between Middle East and Asia," added Menon.

For a list of terms in Shariah investment and finance, click here.

Some industry figures worry that the $1.5 trillion Islamic finance sector, which is still relatively small compared with markets in the West, is hampered by a lack of global, uniform standards on what sort of products and services are deemed correct under Shariah. To view a story on the issue, click here.