Financial technology industry focus of Bahrain forum

The 23rd World Islamic Banking Conference opens on Monday in the Bahraini city of Muharraq, featuring some key figures in the world of banking and finance.
The three-day event is taking place at the Art Rotana Hotel, Amwaj Islands.
The world’s largest annual Islamic banking convention is being organized in strategic partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain. 
The conference theme — “Economic Uncertainty: Vigilance and Growth” — reflects the current status of global economy that stands at an inflection point. 
The three-day event will shed light on the latest developments in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the most active and influential markets for Islamic finance. 
Saudi Arabia is home to several dedicated Islamic banks as well as Islamic window operations offered through conventional banks, which makes it one of the biggest markets in the GCC.
Ahmed Al-Kholifey, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), will be one of the three main keynote speakers on Tuesday, providing a better insight into market opportunities. 
The two other speakers will be Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and Kairat Kelimbetov, governor of Central Asia’s Astana International Financial Center.
This year’s conference is giving a special focus to the financial technology industry, known as FinTech. 
Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of the London-based Innovative Finance, delivers a keynote speech on Monday morning prior to the launch of “The Bahrain Islamic Venture Capital Report” by Thompson Reuters.
Innovate Finance, a non-for-profit membership association founded in 2014, aims to support the next era of technology-led financial service innovators from start-ups to institutions.
The Saudi-Russian agreement on curbing oil production will also be among key topics to be included in the discussions. 
Moreover, Russia is looking into using Islamic finance as a way of welcoming international investors from emerging markets.

Source: Arab News