15th WIBC jointly inaugurated by Central Bank of Bahrain and Monetary Authority of Singapore governors

The conference enjoyed the support of regional and international government bodies including the Central Bank of Bahrain, Singapore Monetary Authority, UK Trade & Investment and the Bahrain Economic Development Board. In their opening addresses, the two Governors highlighted the significance of several key issues in maintaining stability in the Islamic finance industry of business diversity, liquidity management and sound corporate governance.

The 15th Annual WIBC started yesterday with workshops focusing on the WIBC McKinsey Competitiveness Report 2008, which examined the structural advantages and challenges being faced by Islamic banks in the current financial climate. Today's inaugural Plenary Session's discussion focused on International Perspectives on Creating an Effective Regulatory Framework. The session highlighted the importance of more proactive regulation to enable sustainable industry growth, as well as the regional and international initiatives being implemented at Government level to promote ongoing industry success.

The keynote plenary session focused on Tailoring Strategies for a Challenging Global Economic Environment, and featured prominent financial figures David Pace, Chief Financial Officer of Unicorn Investment Bank, Sohail Masood, Head of Islamic Banking, Samba Financial Group, and Eric Pittomvils, Director, European Business Development, Allianz Global Investors Europe GmbH.

A Crisis of Confidence was the topic of a parallel roundtable session by UKTI led by Jamie Bowden, British Ambassador to Bahrain; which focused on UK perspectives on the impact to the Islamic Financial Services sector. Speakers were Darko Hajdukovic, International Product Manager, London Stock Exchange, Khalifa Al Harmasi Al Hajeri, Head of Islamic Finance, HSBC Amanah Bahrain, Neil D. Miller, Global Head Islamic Finance, Norton Rose, Humphrey Percy, CEO, Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) and Darshan Bijur, Director Islamic Finance Advisory, KPMG.

Other sessions at the first day of the conference were focused on Creating the Next Generation of Islamic Finance Solutions and Achieving Harmonistation of Shari'ah Rulings.

The first day of the conference ended on a high note with a closed-door strategy session where CEOs representing leading global Islamic financial institutions debated the WIBC McKinsey Competitiveness Report 2008 research findings, led by Ozgur Tanrikulu, Partner (Principal), McKinsey & Company.

Details of Conference Sessions and Speakers
Sameer Abdi, Partner-Head of Islamic Financial Services, Ernst & Young Bahrain chaired the session centered around creating the next generation of Islamic Finance solutions and product innovation as a key driver of industry growth: Speakers and panelists during this session were Yousif Khalaf, Chief Executive Officer, Ajman Bank, David Testa, Chief Executive Officer, Gatehouse Bank, Dr. Jamil A.K. El Jaroudi, Chief Executive Officer, Elaf Bank, Mohamed Hedi Mejai, Executive Director Direct Investment & Business Development, International Investment Bank (IIB),Nader Al-Khalili, Chief Investment Officer, Tharawat Investment House and Samir Safa, Business Development Manager-Islamic Banking, Misys.

The Shari'ah & Business Open Forum session on Achieving Harmonisation of Shari'ah Rulings was chaired by Abradat Kamalpour, Partner, Ashurst LLP. Panelist were Dr. Mohamed Elgari, Shari'ah Advisor & Professor of Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University ,Amar Meher, Senior Associate Allen & Overy LLP, Nadim Khan, Partner & Head of Islamic Finance ,Herbert Smith LLP, Dr. Aznan Hasan, Shari'ah Advisor & Assistant Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia and Dr. Mohammed Burhan Arbouna, Head of the Shari'ah Compliance Department, Seera Investment Bank.