International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) to hold specialized event in Pakistan

The "Islamic Financial Markets Conference & Specialized Workshops", will focus on sukuk (Islamic bonds), Islamic real estate investment trusts (I-REITs) and market uniformity and standardization issues, will be held in Karachi, Pakistan, under the patronage of State Bank of Pakistan.

The theme of the event is 'Setting the foundation of a robust and sustainable Islamic financial market'.

"Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing segments of international finance. The demand for Islamic financial instruments, too, has far outstripped that for conventional products," said Mr. Ijlal Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of the Bahrain-based IIFM.

Sukuks were the first Islamic products to be launched in 2000. Since then, the sovereign and corporate sukuk in excess of US$50 billion have been issued, with sukuk issuance expected to surpass the US$200 billion mark by 2010.

This year has seen the emergence of another Islamic product, Islamic REITs (real estate investment trust), which is an exciting development for the global Islamic financial services industry, said Mr. Alvi.

"Islamic REITs have the potential to develop into a viable investment alternative, although there are still some issues to be resolved," he said.

The increasing dynamism of the Islamic finance industry, as it enters a new phase of product development, is creating an even greater need for strengthening the skills of Islamic finance professionals.

"In this regard, the IIFM's upcoming conference in Pakistan, which targets a professional audience of industry practitioners and scholars, is an extremely useful tool in disseminating the latest developments and innovations in Islamic finance and financial instruments," said Mr. Alvi.

"Such events serve to supplement IIFM's core work of promoting transparency through Islamic capital market infrastructure initiatives such as contracts standardization."

The event is well supported by leading personalities of the industry including the participation in key sessions by H.E. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan and world renowned Shariah Scholar Sheikh Nizam Yaquby. The highly specialized event will comprise of technical and informative papers to be presented by industry experts from major financial centers of the world such as the GCC countries, United States, Europe and the Far East.

IIFM wishes to acknowledge the strong support of the State Bank of Pakistan as Patron of the event and others, Central Bank of Bahrain, IRTI of Islamic Development Bank, Meezan Bank, House Building Finance Corporation, European Islamic Investment Bank, International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance and others.