New growth path for Islamic finance
Posted On » November 24 - 30, 2010 (Volume:9 / Issue 47)
More than 1,200 delegates from over 50 countries are taking part in the 17th annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2010) which ends today at the Gulf Hotel.
The three-day event has been convened under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and held under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Under the theme 'Building a new growth paradigm - Islamic banking and the new global financial landscape', the event has featured a series of pragmatically-focused workshops and executive briefing sessions led by experienced and respected industry experts.
David McLean, managing director of the WIBC, said this year's event was the most crucial in its 17-year history as it came at a juncture when the major industry players were seeking to revisit key strategies that will focus on charting a new growth path for the Islamic finance industry in light of the global financial landscape that has emerged post crisis.
A key highlight of WIBC 2010 was the specially-convened Guru keynote session featuring world-renowned investment leader and emerging markets guru, Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group.
He said: "Economic growth in emerging markets is sustainable in view of their strong fundamentals with high productivity, low debt to GDP ratios, and high foreign exchange reserves."
Arshad Khan, chief executive officer and managing director of the Bahrain Financial Exchange, said: "With extensive research of the market, we recognise that there are many opportunities still to be explored within the Islamic finance industry and believe that exchange traded solutions for the Islamic market are the next key step."
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