Global Islamic finance executives at Dubai Summit

The International Islamic Finance Forum, being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, and organised by IIR, opens on Sunday, March 17 at Dubai's Dusit Hotel.

Three days of debate will follow on the world's fastest growing financial sector - already worth a staggering $200 billion - that is predicted to maintain double digit annual growth rates for the next 15 to 20 years.

More than 200 delegates and speakers are taking part in a virtual Who's Who of the global Islamic financial industry from countries including:

Australia, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Ghana, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

The opening day of the forum will be dedicated to a Chief Executive Summit with a panel of senior executives from around the world examining the strategic issues and challenges facing Islamic finance.

Among the dozens of areas to be discussed at this highly topical forum will be:

The global impact of virtual Islamic finance

Rebuilding consumer confidence post 9/11

The lessons of Enron for Islamic investors

The huge importance of the Islamic financial market and the International Islamic Finance Forum is emphasised by Adnan Al Bahar, Chief Executive of Albaraka & The International Investor, the newly-created group with worldwide assets of more than US$3 billion.

"In a matter of 10 years or so, Islamic banking has grown from nothing to around $200 billion with millions of customers in 75 countries and captured market share in some countries of over 30 per cent," he said. "And it is growing at a rate of around 15 per cent, far outstripping that of the conventional market."