KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank of Malaysia, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on cooperation in development of the financial services industry here on Monday.

    BNM said in a statement that the field of cooperation of the long-term strategic partnership laid particularly in Islamic Finance.

    It also said both parties had agreed to further strengthen cooperation in key areas including capacity building and human capital development, facilitating and promoting the development of an effective financial market infrastructure as well as boosting cross-border activities.

    BNM quoted Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the HKMA, as saying that the signing of the MoU marked the beginning of a new area of cooperation between the HKMA and BNM, reflecting the joint commitment between the two parties to further developing the Islamic finance industry.

    He said it also paved the way for future initiatives that would benefit both Malaysia and Hong Kong.

    Zeti, Governor of BNM, said following the inking of the MoU, opportunities for increased economic and financial flows between Hong Kong and Malaysia would be further provided.