A comparative study on the level of efficiency between Islamic and conventional banking systems in Malaysia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the difference (or lack of difference) in the efficiency level of Islamic and conventional banking in Malaysia. Are the Islamic banks performing as good as the conventional banks, even though they are constrained by Islamic tenets? Design/methodology/approach: Data envelopment analysis is used to measure the efficiency levels of banks in both sectors. Findings: It is found that there is no significant difference in the level of efficiency between Islamic banks and conventional banks. Research limitations/implications: The period of study is only three years, with only two banks which have been operating for more than three years, while the other Islamic banks in this study are just beginning their operation in Islamic banking. The inclusion of foreign banks operating in Malaysia in this analysis might distort the findings, as foreign banks have different capital structures and objectives compared to local ones. Practical implications: The paper shows that even though Islamic banks are limited by Islamic tenets in their operations, they are able to maintain a performance that is equivalent to the conventional banks. Originality/value: The paper makes comparisons of the efficiency levels between two different banking systems

Malmquist indices of productivity growth for islamic and conventional banks in Malaysia.

This paper studies the total factor productivity (TFP) of banks in Malaysia with the emphasis on comparing the relative productivities of Islamic and Conventional banks. The Malmquist index approach is used to decompose productivity growth into technical efficiency and technological change. The productivity growth is measured and decomposed into technical change and efficiency change. The efficiency change is further decomposed into pure efficiency change and scale efficiency. It is found that Islamic banks’ productivity growth is limited by its lack of technological change compared to its conventional counterparts. Nonetheless, both types of banks are operating at the correct level in terms of scale or size

The effect of oil price fluctuations on the Malaysian and Indonesian stock markets

This study is pursued with the objective of examining the effect of changes in crude oil price on the share prices of public listed companies on Bursa Malaysia and the Jakarta Stock Exchange as proxied by the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) and Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), respectively. The study employs the Engle-Granger Cointegration test and Error Correction Modelling (ECM). Using time series data from January 1986 through December 2006, this study finds a significant long-term relationship between the movement of crude oil price and the performance of the two stock markets. The two observed variables in both stock markets are also found to be positively correlated. The test results from Impulse Response Function and Variance Decomposition show the presence of a dynamic interaction between the movement in crude oil prices and the two stock market indices

Revisiting the test of purchasing power parity and structural breaks of East Asian countries

This paper re-examines the long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) relationship for five Asian countries’ (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand) relative to US dollars during a period with structural breaks. The result indicates the evidence of PPP for all the countries with relative to the USA after allowing for a single break in the fourth quarter of 2008 and/or in the fourth quarter of 1997. Nevertheless, allowing for multiple breaks is warranted when testing the validity of long-run PPP for Asian countries because there is evidence that Asian countries have been impacted by 1997 Asian crisis and 2008 US financial crisis. The results suggest that if structural breaks are present but being ignored, the conventional Johansen procedure may yield erroneous results and lead policy-makers and arbitragers to make decisions which are less accurate

Trade liberalization and ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh

The study aims at examining the effect of trade liberalization on ready-made garments (RMG) industry in Bangladesh.It employs Johansen-Juselius Cointegration test and Vector Error Correction Modeling (VECM) on yearly data from January 1990 through September 2011. The results reveal a significant long-term relationship between RMG export of Bangladesh and the three tested explanatory variables (merchandise export of China and India plus domestic inflation in Bangladesh). The Granger Causality test shows the presence of dynamic relationship between the performance of RMG export of Bangladesh and the value of merchandise export from China and India. However, this dynamic relation is non-existent in relation to the inflation factor

Capacitive electrode sensor: design and testing

This paper proposed an alternative method of measuring water level using a Printed Circuit Board(PCB). The design of the electrode water level sensor went through circuit sketching, printing of sketch on PCB and etching. The signal conditioning circuit board was fabricated using a donut board and other electrical components. Experimentation was carried on the fabricated electrode sensor and the capacitance and current for each electrode finger was measured using digital multimeter and LCR meter. The multiple correlation of the water level, measured current and measured capacitance produced a value of 0.921 with P-values less than 0.05 showing the strength of the data obtained from the test conducted. The electrode water level sensor has proven to be consistent and reliable under normal working condition

Tessellation planning: relationships between the physical environment and the neighbourhood / Anniz Fazli Ibrahim Bajunid, Mohamed Yusoff Abbas and Abdul Hadi Nawawi.

The fundamental objective of the national housing agenda is to ensure a better quality of life. The challenge is to develop affordable houses whilst sustaining positive social neighbourhoods. In the western world, research equated the physical environment as a dominant influence on the spatial behaviours of communities. Quality of living in Malaysia is only obtainable to the upper echelons in organic planning of housing. These perceived as successful neighbourhoods such as the cul-de-sac or Tessellation Planning create a relationship between the physical environment and the neighbourhood. This paper initiates a search for such literature and identifies key concepts for further deliberations

A laser pointer communicating toy

This paper aims to design a smart communicating toys system equipped with laser sensors that can send and receive the data message based on the conversion of data from ASCII to binary code. The system intents to offer two-ways communication toys that will be a new medium for educational purposes for kids in their developmental stages in which both players can send and receive the data to and from each other and equipped with sound indicator module to alert the player. Lastly, functionality and system testing were conducted to verify the functionalities of the system

Design and implementation of visible light communication based toys

This paper presents the design and implementation steps of a smart visible light communication based toy system equipped with laser sensors that can send and receive the data message based on the conversion of data from ASCII to binary code. The toy system intends to offer two-ways communication that will be a new medium for educational purposes for kids in their developmental stages in which both players can send and receive the data to and from each other toys equipped with sound indicator module to alert the player. Lastly, functionality and system testing were conducted to verify the functionalities of the system. A thorough implementation methodology details are presented in the paper