The organisers of the annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2013) held a press conference in Bahrain to announce the launch of the 20th Anniversary special edition of the event.
David McLean, Chief Executive of WIBC noted that, “For two decades the annual World Islamic Banking Conference has remained the world’s largest and most influential annual gathering of international leaders in the global Islamic banking and finance industry.
“The theme of the 20th Anniversary WIBC 2013 will focus on ‘Industry Transformation to Improve Global Competitiveness’ across key areas of the Islamic finance sector, including regulatory, strategic, Shari’ah, operational and risk transformation to ensure that the industry is able to build critical mass, expand its geographic reach and depth, and participate in large-scale deals seamlessly across jurisdictions – and, ultimately and most importantly, to successfully meet the needs of an ever-growing base of sophisticated investors, customers and end-users.”
The three day event will commence on 3 December 2013 with a series of focused pre-conference summits.
The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) will be hosting a pre-conference seminar on Islamic Capital and Money Markets. Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) said that, “While Islamic banking has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past few years, there is undoubtedly substantial room for the industry to expand further particularly in the Islamic Capital and Money Market segment. Over the years, the Islamic finance industry has developed a diverse range of financial products throughout the key markets of the Middle East, Europe and Asia. There are exciting times ahead for the global Islamic finance industry with increasing interest from more countries to allow Shari’ah compliant banking and also from key financial centres keen to support its growth.
“An interesting trend that we have been noticing now is an increasing number of Sukuk issuances in non-local currency, such as an issuer based in the UAE issuing a Sukuk in Malaysian Ringgit, or an issuer based in Malaysia issuing a Sukuk in Chinese Yuan and so on. Another positive development is issuance of perpetual Sukuk both by corporate as well as financial institution for strengthening their capital base. These trends highlight the rapid global growth of Islamic finance – though, in terms of Sukuk, there is lot of room for further growth and innovation, including for instance more issuance of Sukuk for infrastructure projects.
“Though the Islamic Financial Services Industry has now established itself as a viable alternative financial system, the Islamic Capital and Money Markets in many OIC jurisdictions are still in the infancy to development phases. Given the Islamic finance industry’s strong inter-linkages with the global financial system, it is necessary that the Islamic Capital and Money Markets develop the key products to meet the needs of the industry which are a pre-requisite to bring a risk-sharing approach in our industry.”
Dr. Khaled Al Fakih, Secretary-General and CEO of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) said, “Islamic finance has grown to be an important component of the global financial system and there has never been a more vibrant and exciting time for the global Islamic finance industry. Not only is the industry rapidly becoming more complex and sophisticated in its core traditional markets of the GCC and South East Asia but is also expanding to new emerging markets including in Europe, Africa and Central Asia. With the ever increasing global footprint and the changing dynamic of the Islamic finance industry, standardization of Shari’a, accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and risk management for the industry is now even more critical. In addition to developing new standards, it is also essential to revisit and revise the existing standards to keep up with market development, and this requires continuous dialogue between the standard setting organizations and industry practitioners.”
Ashar Nazim, Partner, Head of Islamic Banking Excellence Center, Ernst & Young said, “The ongoing rebalancing of the world economy means that a group of 25 Rapid Growth Markets (RGMs) will decisively dominate the GDP growth and the trade flows between now and 2020. The future success of Islamic finance hinges upon being embedded in these markets.” He noted that “previously, questions were asked on the quality of growth of Islamic banking. Growing balance sheets did not necessarily translate into better profitability or robust institutions. And with quick wins behind us, most Islamic banks agree that future incremental growth in key markets of GCC and Malaysia will only come from embracing technology and being more analytical about serving customers. Regional growth is also on the board agendas. And the debate on creating holistic Halal economy – though still a concept at this stage – provides for an exciting future for the industry.”
*This article was published by CPI Financial. Read the original article here.