Islamic funds increase in global appeal

The French Pavilion will feature a delegation led by Paris Europlace, while the Malaysia Pavilion will be led by the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre, as both centres come in full force to showcase the latest developments and innovations in their Islamic finance markets.

The Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative is undertaken by the collective efforts of Malaysia's financial and market regulators, together with industry participants from the Islamic banking, takaful and capital market community in Malaysia. HE Dato' Syed Sultan Idris Ambassador Embassy of Malaysia (Bahrain) will accompany the Malaysian delegation.

Paris Europlace, which was created in 1993 to develop and further modernize the Paris financial market and promote its key advantages at the regional, European and international level today gathers 150 member institutions, brings together a multiplicity of players in the financial industry: corporate issuers, financial intermediaries, asset management companies, law and accounting firms and consultancies-all of which participate to the association's actions and activities

With the general expectations that Shari'ah-compliant investments are better positioned to withstand the strains of the global financial meltdown, WIFMC 2009 key note address will set the stage for discussions on promoting stability and strengthening the Islamic investments industry. Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al-Baker Executive Director of Financial Institutions Supervision Central Bank of Bahrain and Dr. Mohamed Nedal Alchaar Secretary General AAOIFI - The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions will deliver the keynote speech.

WIFCMC 2009 has attracted the support of the leading players in the global Islamic investments industry. Platinum sponsors include HSBC Amanah, Bahrain Islamic Bank, and Reef Real Estate Finance. Other leading institutions partnering with WIFCMC 2009 include Bahrain Financial Exchange, Tharawat Investment House, LM Investment Management, Deutsche Bank, ITS, BNP Paribas, ELAF Bank, DLA Piper, BLME, Capinnova, DCAP Limited, NCB Capital, Ernst & Young, Dowjones, Khandwala Securities Limited, BMB Islamic, Bahrain Association of Banks, Riyada Consulting, MA Foi, Path Solutions, Ohad Trust, SKOPOS Consulting, Gulf Custody Company, Standard & Poor's and Al Sanabel.

More than 400 industry leaders will gather in Bahrain on the 25th & 26th of May for the 5th Annual World Islamic Funds & Capital Markets Conference 2009, the world's most important platform for discussions that will shape the future of the Islamic investments industry.