Islamic finance industry exceeds $1tr mark

The global Islamic finance industry has witnessed phenomenal growth over the past decade, with the estimated asset size now exceeding $1 trillion. The annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), which over the last 19 years has established its pre-eminent position as the world’s largest and most significant annual gathering of global Islamic finance industry leaders, is set to be held from Dec.9 to 11, 2012 in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the official support of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The 19th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference 2012 set to gather more than 1200 industry leaders from over 50 countries to chart new growth map Announcing the focus of this year’s gathering, David McLean, Chief Executive of the World Islamic Banking Conference said that “the last several years has seen the international dimension of Islamic finance gaining tremendous significance as the industry continues to demonstrate its competitiveness and build scale in an increasingly globalised playing field.” “The Islamic banking sector is undoubtedly well placed to play a vital role in facilitating cross-border financial flows particularly between the emerging economies which, in turn, stands to further increase the international participation in Islamic financial markets. As Islamic finance continues to become an increasingly important component of the global financial system, it is also essential that the industry adapts to the new dynamics of global finance in order to achieve sustainable growth.” He also said that “held under the theme ‘Islamic Finance: Adapting to the New Dynamics of Global Finance’, WIBC 2012 will be a key enabling platform for industry players to innovate the next generation of Islamic finance solutions that will meet the increasingly complex needs of corporate borrowers, consumers, issuers and investors; and create the conditions that will build a more globally harmonised footprint for their institution - that, if achieved, will propel the Islamic finance industry to the next level of success.” The three day event will commence with a series of pragmatically focused pre-conference summits led by experienced and respected international industry standard-setting bodies and experts. The main WIBC 2012 conference, which begins on Dec.10, 2012, will be inaugurated by Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The inaugural address will be immediately followed by a special opening keynote address by Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, CEO and General Manager of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), Saudi Arabia. The session, focusing on capacity building to support the international development of Islamic finance, will discuss key initiatives that will enhance the supervisory architecture facilitating harmonisation, cross-border linkages and the international development of Islamic finance - and, crucially, its benefits to the real economy in key markets. WIBC 2012 will also feature a special guest address by Jaloul Ayed, Former Minister of Finance of The Republic of Tunisia, who will discuss the potential for Islamic finance in Maghreb countries as exciting new opportunities emerge in a transformational landscape. From Gulf Today