A new halal certification scheme is set to be introduced in Hong Kong following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong.

Announced on May 10, the agreement outlines plans to develop a halal-related quality mark, or Q mark, for products and services that meet Shariah-compliant standards. The Islamic Community Fund will issue the certification, which aims to boost the confidence of Muslim consumers both locally and internationally.

Federation chairman Steve Chuang Tzu-hsiung said the Q mark is expected to help local businesses tap into the global Muslim market, which represents more than 2 billion people, or approximately 25% of the world’s population. 

The initiative is part of a broader strategy to tap into the Muslim travel market, which is projected to reach $300 billion by 2026, according to the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index 2024.

In 2024, Hong Kong welcomed 44.5 million visitors, including a 42% increase in arrivals from Indonesia (366,973 tourists) and a 50% increase in visitors from Malaysia. These gains follow targeted outreach by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), including Muslim-friendly accreditation and marketing.

By March 2025, the number of halal-certified restaurants in Hong Kong had doubled to 200 from 100 in June 2024. Certified venues range from international chains such as KFC to local fine-dining restaurants like Chinesology and bakeries like Kee Wah. Hotels, including the Kowloon Shangri-La, Regal Airport Hotel, and Dorsett Tsuen Wan, now offer halal menus and prayer facilities, with some reporting double-digit revenue growth from Muslim clientele. The Grand Hyatt, for example, attributed part of its increase in Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern bookings to its CrescentRating score and halal service offerings.

The Halal Q Mark is backed by a detailed certification process. Requirements include the exclusion of pork and alcohol, the use of halal-certified meat sources, and verified supply chains. The standard has been adopted across a range of venues, from the Islamic Centre Canteen, known for halal dim sum, to high-end buffet providers like Café Kool. Major cultural events, such as the Halal Food Festival held in April 2025 in Tsim Sha Tsui, have drawn significant public participation and helped showcase halal offerings across the city.

While the Q Mark is gaining traction, challenges remain. Hong Kong’s traditionally pork-heavy cuisine and limited prayer facilities outside of major hotels can be obstacles for observant Muslim travelers. There have also been instances of non-compliance, including mislabelled Qibla directions and expired certifications.

Groups such as HKMuslim and the Islamic Community Fund continue to monitor adherence, while the HKTB is working to scale up staff training and expand its accreditation program.

Looking ahead, initiatives such as the proposed seasonal Ramadan Bazaar and the integration of Arabic language signage and halal infrastructure at transit hubs reflect continued government and industry engagement.

These measures aim to position Hong Kong alongside global halal tourism leaders like Dubai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.

For businesses, obtaining the Halal Q Mark offers access to a growing consumer base. Certification includes training, supply chain audits, and promotional support from the HKTB. Restaurants such as La Vache! and FOG have reported growth in Muslim customers since certification. The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre also recently earned a gold Muslim-friendly rating, expanding halal offerings in the MICE segment.

With over 300,000 Muslims residing in Hong Kong and a 175-year Islamic heritage, the certification provides economic opportunities and pathways for deeper community integration.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as a transformative force within the Islamic economy, driving innovation across sectors from finance and food to tourism and education. 

By enhancing Shariah compliance, improving accessibility, and enabling personalized services, the technology is reshaping how the Islamic economy operates, while preserving its ethical foundations.

More broadly, the technology’s potential economic impact is substantial - AI could contribute up to $320 billion to the Middle East's economy by 2030, according to PwC.  

“The synergy between AI and the Islamic economy is immense,” says Badr Saidi, quality manager and technical auditor at Halal Consulting S.L., a Spain-based halal certification body.  

“By leveraging AI in areas like Shariah compliance, ethical finance, halal supply chains, smart cities, tourism, and education, we can drive sustainable growth while staying true to Islamic ethical principles.”

To succeed, Saidi emphasizes the need for collaboration between AI developers, Islamic scholars, and industry leaders to ensure technological advances align with religious values.

Transforming Islamic finance

AI’s most visible impact is unfolding in Islamic finance, where it is streamlining compliance processes, improving fraud detection, and fostering financial inclusion.

“With AI, Islamic banks and financial companies can better understand their customers - how they invest, what they need, and even their risk tolerance,” says Sara Husain Hammad, innovation and technology project manager at Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI). 

“This helps create personalized financial products that comply with Islamic guidelines while still being innovative,” she says.

AI-powered tools are already transforming traditional processes. According to Saidi, machine learning algorithms are now automating the verification of financial transactions to ensure they adhere to Shariah law, avoiding elements such as Riba (interest), Gharar (excessive uncertainty), and prohibited investments.

He adds that AI-driven robo-advisors are also curating tailored halal investment portfolios, while predictive analytics are optimizing Sukuk (Islamic bonds) issuance and improving fraud detection in Takaful (Islamic insurance).

Banks across the Muslim world are already deploying AI. Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is using AI tools to assess the Shariah compliance of companies and financial instruments. Bahrain Islamic Bank has launched a digital platform offering access to more than 1,800 Shariah rulings to help simplify complex regulations and encourage industry collaboration. 

Outside of the GCC, Bank Muamalat Malaysia has partnered with Google Cloud to to deploy generative AI and advanced data analytics to help it evolve into a fully digital Islamic institution. Egypt’s Faisal Islamic Bank has embraced AI to modernize and expand its services.

AI is also helping extend financial services to underserved communities. By analyzing alternative data - such as mobile payment history and social behaviour - AI can help individuals with limited credit histories, including those in rural areas or small business owners, to qualify for financing. This supports Islamic finance’s mission of ethical and inclusive banking.

“Combined with Islamic finance’s focus on ethical and community-centered banking, AI can open doors for more people to access financial services in a way that respects their beliefs,” says CIBAFI ‘s Hammad.

Securing the halal supply chain

Beyond finance, AI is shoring up the halal economy by ensuring product traceability, authenticity, and safety. One of the biggest challenges in halal certification is verifying that ingredients and production processes comply with Islamic dietary laws. 

“AI can assist in several ways, including in ingredient label analysis. AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP) can scan product ingredient lists and detect potential non-halal components like gelatin, alcohol, or animal-based enzymes,” says Saidi.

AI-powered blockchain platforms now provide end-to-end tracking of halal products, from source to shelf, while computer vision systems monitor production lines for contamination, he adds. Image recognition tools are detecting fraudulent halal logos, and IoT sensors help safeguard halal-certified goods during transportation and storage.

AI is also playing a crucial role in laboratory testing. Advanced spectroscopy and chemical analysis, supported by AI, can identify traces of non-halal substances in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals with high accuracy. Meanwhile, AI-driven analytics are helping businesses forecast demand for halal products, ensuring better inventory management and reduced waste.

However, standardization remains a challenge. According to Saidi, differing certification criteria across countries make it difficult to create a universal AI model, and smaller enterprises may struggle with the costs of adopting these technologies.

Enhancing Muslim-friendly travel

The Muslim-friendly travel market is another area where AI is making strides. According to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2023/24, AI is enabling personalized travel experiences and improving customer service with virtual assistants and predictive analytics.

“Platforms can now generate customized itineraries for Muslim travelers, factoring in prayer times, halal food, nearby mosques, and Muslim-friendly accommodations,” says Saidi.

The Saudi Tourism Authority is pioneering AI-powered services, having recently launched "Sara," a virtual tour guide offering real-time travel advice. The authority has also partnered with Visa to create a Tourism Data Lab to analyze visitor behaviour and spending trends.

Facilitating Islamic education

AI’s role in Islamic education is growing rapidly. NLP models can help scholars and students in deepening their understanding of Quranic and Hadith texts, while AI-based edtech solutions can offer personalized Islamic education and smart learning platforms for different age groups, according to Saidi.

Innovators are developing AI-powered Islamic chatbots, voice assistants, and digital Da’wah tools to facilitate knowledge sharing.

Startups are already making an impact. Pakistan’s Xeven Solutions recently launched Shahada GPT, offering Quranic translations, Hadith explanations, and halal guidance. Similarly, India-based QuranGPT answers religious queries. 

“The primary motivation behind developing QuranGPT was to bridge the gap between religion and modern individuals,” says Raihan Khan, an AI applications engineer and creator of QuranGPT. 

“Nowadays, people don’t want to spend hours flipping through books to find an answer or determine if something aligns with the teachings of the Holy Quran. QuranGPT simplifies this process by providing instant responses in natural language.”

However, combining AI with religious guidance carries significant risks. Without human oversight, AI can easily misinterpret Islamic teachings, spread misinformation, and inadvertently cause harm.

“While AI has the potential to enhance various aspects of the Islamic economy, its intersection with religion must be approached with extreme caution,” Khan warns.

“The biggest concerns lie in the inherent biases of AI models, the risk of misinformation, and the challenge of ensuring religious authenticity. Without strict monitoring, AI could do more harm than good in this space,” he adds.

Limited adoption

Despite AI's promise, adoption in the Islamic economy remains in its early stages. Most Islamic tech startups have yet to fully embrace AI, focusing instead on basic automation rather than sophisticated, AI-driven innovation.

“As of now, AI’s role in fostering innovation in the Islamic economy - particularly in tech startups or digital finance - is minimal,” says Khan. “While AI has the potential to enhance areas like Islamic banking, halal certification, and ethical investment screening, most Islamic tech startups have yet to fully explore or implement AI-driven solutions.”

There was a palpable silence at the end of a premier screening of the documentary ‘Before 1770’ held late last year, punctuated only by distant sobs and the ruffling of tissue packets emanating from the audience of largely Muslim Australians.  

The reason why the feature documentary - showcased in multiple screenings across the country - evoked such an impassioned response was because it represented the connection Australia and its First Nations people held with the Muslim world.  

This deep connection, starting sometime in the mid-1600s, lasted for centuries until 1907 when the last ‘Perahu’ (sailing boat) from Makassar visited Arnhem land in Northern Australia. 

The reason why it resonated strongly with Muslim Australians, was because it was an untold story omitted from Australian history books; a tale intricately linking them with Australia’s First Nations people and their legacy. 

Before White colonisation, Muslim Bugis and Makassar traders would sail with the monsoon winds via the Flores and Savu seas, arriving on the shores of Northern Australia in places like the Kimberley and Arnhem Land to meet First Nations trading partners like the Yolŋu people.  

They would trade in trepang, a type of sea cucumber which was a delicacy and an aphrodisiac they would sell to lucrative Chinese markets. While their motivations for visiting Australia might have been for trepang, this was all part of wider regional trade patterns which connected Arab, Indian and Chinese markets via the Malay Archipelago.

These same Bugis seafaring traders would find themselves immersed in mercantile activity in historic port cities dotted across the Indian ocean like Aden, Muscat, and even as far as Zanzibar.  

Australia for them, was just part of an ancient maritime silk road that swapped out camels for Perahu sailing boats that covered vast distances with monsoonal winds. 

Fast forward a hundred years or so with the rise of the modern global Islamic economy, the vibrant Australian Muslim community like the Bugis before them, are rekindling historic linkages with the Muslim world through trade, halal food and Islamic finance.  

Australia is a melting point of a vibrant and dynamic Muslim population base comprising more than 70 different ethnicities. Nearly a million Muslims - more than half under the age of 25 -reside in growth areas in all the major cities and help create robust networks for business and investment opportunities.  

Halal food is now an AU$2 billion industry that helps serve the local Muslim community as well as major export markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Over 70% of Australian abattoirs are now reported to be halal certified.  

Muslim students from around the world are fostering long-lasting linkages with Australia. More than 30,000 students from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan and over 15,000 from the GCC are enrolled across universities and higher education institutes in the country. The Brunei government sends hundreds of students on scholarships to Australian universities each year. 

Education services with Muslim-majority countries amount to nearly AU$4 billion annually, generating revenue as well as creating investment opportunities across several quarters, including student accommodation, migration and employment, and halal food services. 

Lastly, Islamic finance is perhaps an untapped gold mine for Australia, having remained under the radar of Islamic investors worldwide for decades. For enterprising investors, Australia emerges as an unexpected yet compelling destination for Islamic investment. 

For select Islamic investors, Australia is not a distant continent, rather a destination that is geo-strategically situated on the fringes of vibrant Southeast Asian economies and one that offers a unique combination of a well-regulated market alongside growth opportunities for Islamic-conscious capital. 

The recently signed Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is the first Free Trade Agreement between Australia and a Middle Eastern country, facilitating investments in local projects. Shariah-compliant real estate investment has gained ground too, with institutions such as the National Australia Bank (NAB) offering Islamic products, enabling Muslims to finance their projects.

This unique offering has facilitated numerous partnerships between Islamic investors from the GCC and Southeast Asia and the vibrant and entrepreneurial Muslim business community in Australia. 

Shariah-compliant fixed-income solutions is another area of opportunity with Australia one of the rare AAA rated countries in the world according to Moody's, S&P and Fitch. There is a slew of ASX100 companies that are investment grade and above, offering a huge opportunity for Islamic fixed-income products or Sukuk bonds. 

With ongoing tariffs and geopolitical realities, perhaps Australia is not as far away as one might believe. With its growing young and dynamic Muslim community, Australia offers a combination of economic stability, diverse investment sectors, and financial governance. Throw delicious halal food in the mix and we have a sweet spot of opportunities. 

Perhaps now is the time for Islamic investors to set their sails Down Under. 
 
Dr Imran Lum is the head of Islamic finance at a major Australian bank. He is the host of the ‘Muslim Money’ Podcast and the author of 'A Comparative Study of Riba and Islamic finance in Australia and the UK (Routledge)'.

The opinions shared here are his own and do not reflect the views of his employer
 

Ramadan-related activities contribute between 800 million to 1.3 billion pounds to the UK economy, a new study has revealed. 

Activities include retail spending, charitable donations, supermarket sales, Eid shopping, volunteering, and more, enhancing economic growth and social cohesion, a report by UK-based think tank Equi suggested.

Approximately 2.6 million British Muslim adults observe fasts across the country, prompting a change in consumer spending, retail trends and charitable giving. 

Supermarkets and independent food retailers invest an estimated 159 million to 274 million pounds in the Ramadan value chain, while supermarkets alone generally approximately 228 million to 342 million pounds in Ramadan sales, increasing two-to-three-fold from a decade ago. 

“Ramadan plays a catalyst role in encouraging supermarkets to stock a wider variety of halal-certified products, from fresh meat and poultry to ready-made meals and snacks throughout the year. All of these changes require supply chains to adapt accordingly, necessitating significant investment by supermarkets in sourcing, logistics, and infrastructure,” the report read. 

British Muslims spend an estimated 200 million to 300 million pounds on clothes, gifts and travel during Ramadan and Eid, while mosques across Britain serve free iftar meals worth an estimated 15 million pounds during the holy month.  

On balance, British Muslims generate £70 billion a year for the UK economy, 30% of which are business contributions.

However, the study suggests that the Ramadan economy remains an underexplored area in policy discussion. 

“The rise of the Ramadan economy in the UK is an underappreciated phenomenon. With these increases in spending and changes in focus already prevalent, they present an unfulfilled opportunity to channel these shifts into strengthened local supply chains, boost small businesses, and encourage more sustainable consumer habits," the report added.  
 

Illinois has mandated public schools to provide halal and kosher meal options upon request. 

In a state first, Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed the Senate Bill 457, also known as the “Faith by Plate Act,” into law.

Illinois becomes the first US state to require public schools, hospitals, and other state-operated facilities to provide halal and kosher meal options upon request, according to information shared by the Muslim Civic Coalition and state senator Villivalam's office.

The law gives these institutions 12 months to establish the necessary infrastructure, with implementation costs - subject to appropriation - estimated at $10-$20 million in the first year.

Food service workers will be trained to address cross-contamination concerns and ensure compliance with Islamic and Jewish dietary guidelines.

The new mandate builds on a pilot program in Chicago Public Schools, where 14 schools already offer kosher meals, and nine provide halal options.

Officials say the legislation will help expand these services to rural districts and other parts of the state that have similar needs.

The growing clout of Muslim consumers across the country has prompted authorities to issue several directives to maintain the integrity and promote the availability of halal food. The state of Washington put into effect a bill to safeguard the integrity of halal food last June.

The Wilson bill protects Muslim consumers from purchasing food falsely advertised as halal, with violations punishable under the new Halal Food Consumer Protection Act. 

Malaysian pharmaceutical giant Pharmaniaga Berhad is looking to leverage opportunities to cooperate in pharmaceutical production within Uzbekistan. 

The Malaysian company has expressed interest in launching the production of halal-certified insulin at the Tashkent Pharma Park pharmaceutical cluster in collaboration with Uzbek companies, news agency Daryo reported. 

Pharmaniaga Berhad is working with Uzbekistan’s Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry to explore the joint production of various pharmaceutical products in the country. 

Pharmaniaga will transfer technologies from Malaysia to support insulin production in compliance with halal standards using Uzbekistan’s existing pharmaceutical infrastructure during the initial phase. Future stages will involve additional investment to expand and develop the business, the report added. 

Pharmaniaga Berhad operates four pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Malaysia, three factories in Indonesia, and a research centre. It is also engaged in logistics, medical product supply, and pharmaceutical sales and marketing.

The company supplies halal-certified insulin to public health institutions under government procurement contracts and has implemented a system for free distribution of insulin products across Malaysia, Zulkifli Jafar, Pharmaniaga Berhad’s executive director said.