The regulatory feasibility and public intention to adopt Islamic banking in Uganda : lessons from the Malaysian experience

Abstract

In 2016, Islamic finance assets are estimated to have exceeded USD 2.3 trillion with over 100 products and an annual growth of over 20.7% across more than 76 countries, most of which are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Despite this remarkable market expansion, numerous OIC members such as Uganda are yet to fully adopt this unique financial system due to regulatory constraints. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which Uganda can benchmark the Malaysian experience and best practices to overcome the regulatory challenges in introducing Islamic Banking System. Additionally, this study examines the factors that determine public intention to adopt Islamic Banking in Uganda. The study has employed the embedded mixed method design. Interpretive analysis has been used to analyze data, where the quantitative data set has offered a supportive and secondary role to the primary qualitative results. Thus, the study has used documentary review to elicit relevant information from the existing laws in Uganda that would accommodate Islamic Banking System. On the other hand, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been used as a theoretical framework and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique has been applied to determine the relationship between attitude, subjective norm and public intention to adopt IB. Thus, a sample of 300 bank customers has been surveyed using a questionnaire. Findings indicate that the Malaysian experience and best practices of IB regulation need to be benchmarked by regulators. Relevant laws which require amendment include; section 37(a) and 38(1) of the Financial Institutions Act 2004 and section 29(3)(a) of the Bank of Uganda Act 2000. Similarly, tax legislation needs amendments to ensure a level playing field for Islamic finance and conventional finance products. Specifically, Section 4 of the Stamp Duty Act (2014) requires amendment to accommodate alternative financing modes such as Islamic finance products. On the quantitative side, initially the measurement model has not fit the data well. So, the model has been modified by removing an indicator with a lower loading. Finally, the structural model under maximum likelihood estimate analysis has confirmed a good model fit for the data. Key findings are; attitude positively influence intention to adopt IB whereas subjective norm influence to intention is mediated by attitude. Furthermore, public intention to adopt IB in Uganda can be predicted by attitude (R2 = .89) which also mediates the prediction of subjective norm to intention (R2 = .58).