Islamic finance executives from 25 countries meet in Dubai

The International Islamic Finance Forum which opens in Dubai on Sunday (23 February) is under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence.

Organised by the Institute for International Research (IIR) in association with Dow Jones Indexes, the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO) and iHilal Financial Services, the International Islamic Finance Forum (www.iiff.net) is the leading business-to-business event in the industry.

His Excellency Dr Mohammed Khalfan bin Khirbash, UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry and chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank - the world's first Islamic bank - will give a welcome address to around 300 participants from 25 countries.

The twice-a-year Forum has been dubbed "the Islamic finance equivalent of the Davos World Economic Forum." Debates centre on the challenges faced by a financial sector worth $230 billion that is predicted to maintain double digit annual growth rates for the next 15 to 20 years.

Among the dozens of areas to be hotly debated at the Dubai forum will be:

• The international regulatory environment and how it affects Islamic finance
• Muslim country stock exchanges and Islamic financial centres
• The pros and cons of Islamic hedge fund plans
• Wealth management post 9/11
• The mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital Islamic market
• New Islamic indexes, funds and the sukuk market
• International moves in the Islamic mortgage market

With the impending crisis with Iraq, there will also be a special address on the consequences and impact for regional economies.

The first day of the forum will take the form of a Shariah Symposium with three moderators leading separate sessions with some of the world's leading Shariah scholars and academics including Dr Mohamed Ali Elgari, of Saudi Arabia; Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, of Bahrain; Sheikh Mohammed Daud Bakar, of Malaysia; and Dr Mahmoud El Gamal, of the United States.

"The world of Islamic finance is one of increasing sophistication and reach but with a growing convergence of global standards for financial service regulation," said IIR conference director Chris Mullinger.

"In only 10 years or so, Islamic finance has grown from virtually nothing to a business worth well in excess of US$230 billion. Islamic finance now has customers in 75 countries and in some of those countries has already captured more than 30 per cent of market share.

"Shariah-compliant businesses and financial service providers operate in almost every Muslim majority country and in countries where Muslims are a minority.

"The forum, with its searching panel sessions, cases studies and lively debates also provides the international Islamic financial industry with an unparalleled networking opportunity."

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