International Islamic Financial Markets Conference to explore opportunities in the Islamic Money and Capital Market

The conference will be held under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Rasheed Mohammad Al Maraj, governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency, who will deliver the opening address. H.E. Sheikh Saleh A. Kamel, the pioneer of Islamic banking & the chairman of the general council will be the keynote speaker.

The Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Bahrain, Jordan Islamic Bank and ABC Islamic Bank are lead sponsors of the event, which is being held on 16th & 17th May 2005 at the Gulf International Convention & Exhibition Centre at the Gulf Hotel. The Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) will sponsor the lunch apart from holding a special talk on BFH Sukuk.

A specialized workshop on the 'Technical and Shari'a Challenges of Sukuk Issuance', originally scheduled for 18th May 2005, as a closed door session will now be part of the main conference, to enable conference delegates to benefit from the proceedings on this important topic.

The conference and its specialized technical panels are jointly organized by the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI).

It is supported by the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) and the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank.

The conference, being held under the theme 'Opportunities in the Islamic Capital & Money Markets', will focus on various theoretical and practical aspects directly affecting the Islamic financial services industry, with particular focus on the sukuk and Islamic money markets issues.

"The IIFMC will be the first conference of its kind to deliberate on the nascent, but promising, Islamic money markets," said Mr. Ijlal Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of the IIFM.

The conference will also address the ways and means of establishing an effective Islamic money market, focusing on the experiences of such countries as Malaysia, Sudan, Indonesia, Bahrain and Bangladesh.

"The Islamic finance industry, in general, and Islamic capital and money market instruments, in particular the sukuk, have emerged as key growth areas," said Mr. Alvi.

"The conference will bring together distinguished market leaders and experts, who will explore key issues and challenges facing the growth of Islamic financial markets in the future."

The high-level speaker line-up will be led by H.E. Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency and Shaikh Saleh Kamel, Islamic banking pioneer and Chairman of CIBAFI.

Dr Ezzedine Khoja, Secretary General of CIBAFI, said the dramatic growth of the sukuk market in the past three years is a demonstration of the viability of tradable Islamic financial instruments.

However, continuous re-engineering and harmonization is needed to maximize the development of globally acceptable Islamic financial markets, confirmed Dr. Khoja.

The IIFMC will be attended by about 250 delegates representing all key market players, including sukuk issuers, arrangers, underwriters, market makers, investors, funds/portfolio mangers, regulators, reserve managers, Shari'a scholars, consultants and legal advisors.