HDC CEO: ASEAN countries account for up to 25% of global halal consumption and production market

The halal industry accounts for approximately 10% of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP), Mohamad Hadi Hamzah, a special representative in the Office of the Director General of the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) Malaysia, said during the panel discussion "Strategic Leadership Dialogue on Ethical Halal Business Models and Risk-Resilient Financing" which was held as part of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) annual meetings in Baku, Report informs.

"Malaysia's halal journey was not originally conceived as a purely economic or industrial project. Consumer trust and confidence have always served as its foundation," he emphasized.

As the HDC representative noted, over more than three decades, this system has evolved into a large-scale ecosystem: today, approximately 12,000 halal-certified companies operate in the country, with approximately 222 of them listed on the stock exchange, accounting for approximately 9.3% of the total market capitalization.

"The industrial assets of this sector are valued at approximately $100 billion, with approximately 20% of this coming from foreign direct investment," added Hamzah.

He identified the principle of convergence - the ability to consolidate the work of all government agencies into a single industry strategy and expand it regionally - as a key lesson from the Malaysian experience. According to his estimates, ASEAN countries account for 20 to 25% of the global halal consumption and production market.