200 international participants attend 1st Annual World Islamic Infrastructure Finance Conference

Attended by more than 200 international business and government delegates from 15 countries, the conference highlighted the important trends within Islamic and Shari'ah international investment and project finance. With keynote speakers from leading industry players such as Qatar's QNB Al Islami, Qatar Islamic Bank, Bahrain's Kuwait Finance House, Ernst & Young, Al Safa Islamic Banking, Kuwait Investment Company, Fitch Ratings, Masraf Al Rayan, Doha Islamic Bank, European Islamic Investment Bank, Standard & Poor's & Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the forum for open discussion was set.

Highlights of the day included the Shari'ah & Business Open Forum on Islamic Infrastructure Finance with panellists, Dr. Sheikh Ali Qurah Daghi, Vice Chairman, Shari'ah Advisory Board, QNB Al Islami, Dr.Mohammed Burhan Arbouna, Shari'ah Advisor & Senior Manager - Shari'ah Department of Kuwait Finance House and Dr. Hussein Hamid Hassan, Shari'ah Advisor for Dubai Islamic Bank.

The session involved a powerful debate on Shari'ah compliance and the impact on infrastructure finance structures & innovation of Islamic infrastructure finance and role of the Shari'ah scholars.

The first day conference luncheon, hosted by Al Safa Islamic Banking and the Gala Dinner hosted by Masraf Al Rayan were also superb opportunities for delegates, exhibitors and media partners to openly discuss topics in a more informal and dynamic atmosphere.

"With demand for project finance becoming more broad-based outside the energy sector, Islamic finance will continue to deepen and become more sophisticated", were encouraging words from Daniela Hanna, Head of Global Markets, Standard Chartered Qatar.

The second day's agenda, culminating in the aptly titled PowerTable, hosted by Ernst & Young and moderated by Dina Salem, Programme Editor and Presenter, Al Arabiya News Channel, is bound to spark discussions and hopefully lead to some very productive and positive conclusions as how Islamic banks and institutions can best work together using Islamic mechanisms in this rapidly expanding market.