gif Event Review
2nd Annual World Islamic Finance Conference: Issues Exist, but Development Grows
Author: Yassine Chaachaa, Global Islamic Finance Magazine Team, United Kingdom
On 27th March 2012, a number of Islamic finance leaders and experts came together in London for the 2nd Annual World Islamic Finance Conference. Their task was to tackle issues facing the Islamic finance industry and economic framework. Debate focused mainly on methods of enhancing cross-border liquid- ity between non-Muslim nations, but also on the broader point of the general state of to- day’s Islamic finance industry.
Although Islamic finance still represents just a small fraction of the global finance market, the industry saw double-digit rates of growth in 2011. This sector appears to be a good deal more resilient than conventional banks are to a generally negative economic environ- ment. By some estimates, the total assets held by Islamic financial institutions globally are set to reach USD1.85 trillion by 2013.
The 2nd World Annual Islamic Finance Con- ference covered a wide range of different top- ics. In his keynote speech, entitled “Islamic Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility”, Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, head of the Islamic
Banking Division of CIMB Group, stressed that Islamic finance and corporate social re- sponsibility are closely linked. Ghani provided a fresh perspective on the social responsibil- ity of Islamic banks and financial markets. In- terestingly, Lord Mohamed Sheikh, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, spoke on the same topic insisting that the Islamic finance principles can boost financial stabil- ity and ethics within Islamic banks and finan- cial institutions. Lord Sheikh’s speech was entitled: “The potential for Islamic finance principles to enhance financial stability and ethics”.
Halthan Abdou, director of the ITS Group, tackled the Islamic finance industry from a different perspective. In his keynote speech, “Transforming to Electronic Finance and Commerce”, Abdou advocated that utilising the latest technology architecture, (SOA) soft- ware solutions, can help the business user to define and maintain financial products, ac- counting flows, marketing and cross-selling rules within the industry.
Also covered during the first day of the confer- ence were: Hedging Risk, Corporate Govern- ance, Sukuk, and Islamic Debt Capital Mar- kets. On the same day, the CEO Roundtable featured presentations by:
• Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, from CIMB Group, • Mike Clark, from the UK arm of Qatar Is- lamic Bank • Richard Thomas, from Gatehouse Bank;, • Omar Shaikh, from the UK Islamic Fi- nance Council, and • Dr. Humayon Dar, from Edbiz Consult- ing.
The second day of the conference saw par- ticipants discuss a whole new range of topics, including;
• Thailand: An Islamic Bank in a Non-Mus- lim Country, • Progressive Markets - Germany, • Islamic Finance and Financial Sector De- velopment,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88