IslamicFinance.de

A delegation from Azzad Asset Management joined representatives from the Saudi Arabian and U.S. business communities in Washington, D.C., for a conference designed to foster trade ties between the two nations. Azzad has investments in Saudi Arabia through its international fixed-income fund. The U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority in conjunction with the Council of Saudi Chambers and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council, served as an opportunity for executives and officials to explore investments in energy, transportation, health, education, and financial services. Signing ceremonies between U.S. and Saudi businesses were a feature of the event.

REDmoney Events in partnership with Islamic Business and Finance Development Fund (IBFD Fund), will organize the IFN CIS & Russia Forum on the 9th of December 2015 in Moscow. The event is expected to draw market players and regulators from key Islamic finance markets globally and within the Russian Federation and CIS. Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Azerbaijan have developed Islamic banking since 2005 resulting in the creation of number of Islamic financial institutions. On its part, Tajikistan has recently started preparing a draft law on Islamic banking and finance. Russia as the largest country in CIS is also involved in Islamic finance development process.

IFSO – Islamic Finance Students Organization, association des étudiants et diplômés en Finance Islamique de l’Université de Strasbourg, organise dans le cadre de ses Universités Européennes de la Finance Islamique, une conférence sur le thème “Crowdfunding et Finance Islamique, convergences et perspectives”, le Samedi 10 octobre 2015 de 15h00 à 17h30 à Paris. Avec la participation de M. Tariq BENGARAI Abou Nour, enseignant chercheur en finance islamique, porte parole du CIFIE (Comité indépendant de la finance islamique en Europe). M. Amine NAIT DAOUD, co-fondateur 570 Asset Management et autres.

The World Bank Group’s Global Islamic Finance Development Center (GIFDC) has announced the launch of its Annual Symposium on Islamic Economics and Finance. The symposium is organised by GIFDC in partnership with Borsa ?stanbul, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and Guidance Financial Group. The inaugural symposium, “Islamic Finance: A Catalyst for Shared Prosperity,” will be held on September 8-9, 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The organisers hope that the symposium will contribute toward a better understanding of the role Islamic finance can play in promoting inclusive growth, reducing inequality, and accelerating poverty reduction.

Istanbul will discuss halal tourism on Dec. 1-3, where more than 1,000 attendees will come together in the city for the second annual International Halal Tourism Conference. Industry and sectoral professionals are expected to formulate new strategies concerning the $150 billion sector. The concept of halal tourism, which concerns nearly 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world, is the fastest growing trend of global tourism. The conference will be crucial for professionals who are actively engaged in the sector or seeking ways to operate in this market. While countries such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are prominent actors in this sector, many more countries are trying to attract Muslim tourists from all over the world.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) far exceeded global expectations after the first day of the 2-day gathering engaged the responsible investments industry from across Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Over 150 leaders from the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and faith-based investing sectors participated in historic discussions on various facets of ethical finance with the view of collectively forging the next chapter of the industry through collaboration and convergence. The final panel from the first day included a discussion among distinguished historians on the faith-based roots of ethical finance.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF 2015) will serve as a platform for historic discussions on what Islamic financial governance can help address ethical lapses in the ethical finance industry. GEFF 2015 will take place on the 1 and 2 of September in Edinburgh. Experts from organizations such as the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Al Rayan Bank, HSBC Amanah Malaysia, European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB-Rasmala) and Ernst & Young will engage fellow ethical finance leaders as part of GEFF's mandate to bridge the disconnect between Islamic finance and the rest of the ethical finance universe. During the panel discussions, experts will review the established regulatory infrastructure in Islamic finance. Find more information at www.geff2015.com.

Islamic Finance is an ideal tool of financial inclusion and can address the poverty issues in East Africa effectively, according to Mr. Zubair Mughal, the Chief Executive Officer of AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE). He was addressing a gathering of the banking and financial industry of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam during an Islamic Banking and Finance event. The overall objective of the event was to create awareness, knowledge development and sharing the best practices of Islamic Banking and Finance with local financial market, so that the Tanzanian Islamic financial market could be established with solid footing using Shariah & technical expertise as concrete.

Moody's Investors Service will hold its first Banking and Islamic Finance Workshop in Bahrain on Wednesday 2nd of September. The workshop will focus on Bahrain's banking sector amid low oil prices and global headwinds. It ill kick-off with a presentation from Jean-Francois Tremblay, Associate Managing Director, Financial Institutions Group, surrounding key global developments within credit markets. The workshop will also provide Moody's assessment of the local operating environment and the creditworthiness of banks in Bahrain and the rest of the region. In addition, the workshop will also discuss the latest developments in the Islamic Finance sector as well as growths trends and liquidity management challenges.

There is little doubt that real estate as an asset class has become more important since the financial crisis with billions of dollars of investment emanating from the GCC and Muslim jurisdictions increasingly seeking Shariah compliant investment opportunities in key global real estate markets. With recent GBP1.35 billion financing of the Battersea Power Station - one of the largest real estate financings in the UK in recent years, the IREF Summit comes at a good timing. This year's IREF Summit provides a focused platform to discuss key issues, identify opportunities and forge new business relationships. For further information on the Summit please visit www.irefsummit.co.uk or contact info@icg-events.com

The TBLI Conference Europe 2015 is going to take place at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Zurich on November 19-20, 2015. The cost of the event is CHF 625 (USD 639). A set of three private meetings with potential investors and business partners is available for an additional fee of CHF 500 (USD 511). Additional meetings can be booked at CHF 150 (USD 154) each. TBLI Conference offers a series of presentations and workshops that focus on environment, social, governance (ESG) and impact investing topics. This year’s conference will focus on ESG and impact investing across asset classes. Find more information on http://www.tbligroup.com/tbliconference/europe2015.html.

ICG-Events is organising its annual IREF Summit which is now in its 11th year. The event is scheduled to take place on the 1st-2nd of December 2015 in London. On the evening of the 1st of December, ICG will also be hosting the IREF Summit Awards of Excellence which will take place at the event's Gala Dinner. The IREF Summit prides itself on being industry led and industry focused and over the years has established itself as the foremost gathering based on its ability to bring together the leading industry experts and institutions to explore the key issues impacting the sector and its future development. For further information on the Summit please visit www.irefsummit.co.uk or contact info@icg-events.com

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) and the World Bank are pleased to announce their joint international conference on "Corporate Governance for Islamic Financial Institutions: Lessons from Recent Global Developments", which is due to take place in Amman, Jordan on 15th and 16th September 2015. The one and half day conference aims to bring together various stakeholders from the private sector, multilateral development institutions, international and national regulatory bodies, policy-makers, and academia to discuss the issue of corporate governance in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI).

Samina Akram left her job at Merrill Lynch International Bank eight years ago to start her own consultancy in London specializing in Shariah-compliant finance. Now she's seeking to empower women in male-dominated Islamic banking. What started as an informal ladies lunch club with other women in the industry will this week become the first global Women in Islamic & Ethical Finance Forum, a conference for more than 200 people at KPMG LLP's Canary Wharf offices in London. Akram is seeking to support women in an industry where they face more obstacles than in conventional banking because of religious conservatism, restrictions on mixed-gender working environments and stereotypes.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire are co-hosting the Islamic Finance Forum on 17-18 September 2015. The event aims at stimulating development of the local and international market of Islamic finance in Africa and particularly in Côte d’Ivoire in line with government’s National Development Plan 2016-2020 and to explore cross border trades between international investors and African nations through opportunities made available through Islamic finance. This invitation-only event is designed for the benefit of local and international market players to explore the development opportunities in Islamic finance both in the Cote d’Ivoire, locally and regionally.

KazanSummit 2015, the 7th International Economic Summit of Russia and OIC countries, will be held in in Kazan, Russia on June 15-16, 2015. The international partner of KazanSummit 2015 is the Islamic Development Bank. Within the framework of KazanSummit 2015, the Russian-Arab Business Council will organize an event called «Business dialogue Russia– the Arabic world. New stage of interaction: trade, suborders, investment, and finance». TATNEFT became the golden partner of KazanSummit 2015. Find more information on the website http://www.kazansummit.com/

Michael Gassner, Editor of IslamicFinance.de presented on the 3ème Congrès International de la Finance Islamique “Les Banques Islamiques et le Financement des Entreprises: Pratiques et enjeux théoriques” en Marrakech, 25/26 Mai 2015.

The presentation discussed that exponential growth of debt in Islamic finance is ruled out, nevertheless, debt and equity finance exists. The specific significance of equity finance (musharaka, mudaraba) lies in need for solid debt/equity ratio, as Muslims shall never die being in debt. Still Islamic banks barely provide any equity finance and the reason often given are moral hazard costs. This is denied as debt as well as equity has specific moral hazard problems, and if anything, even conventional banks would offer a mixture of debt and equity. Rather the assumed reason appears to be in the regulation (capital weight) and taxation (interest deductibility), which makes equity financing from a bank 2-4 times at least more expensive than debt finance, and thus not worth being offered.

The attached presentation is in French.

The Crocus-Expo Center in Moscow has opened Moscow Halal Expo 2015. Over 200 halal companies from Russia and other countries will be presenting their products until May 23. The main theme of the exposition this year will be growth and development of national manufacturers and international commercial and investment relations with the Islamic world. Food, fashion, tourism, financial and medical companies are taking part in Halal Expo this year. Madina Kalimullina, the director of the exposition, explained that one of the main goals of the Halal Expo was to demonstrate development of the halal market in Russia.

Mozambique will next month host the annual meeting of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an event which is expected to be attended by 700 delegates. It will take place on 8 and 11 next June. Eduardo Macuà¡cua, Deputy Executive Director of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) said that the private sector in coordination with the Government, through the Investment Promotion Centre, is already preparing to not only participate in meeting but also, and above all, present projects and business opportunities that the country offers, and perhaps form partnerships. To this end, the CTA is organizing the Private Sector Forum on 8 June, which discusses the role of the private sector in the development of the IDB member countries, particularly those in Africa.

As Islamic finance regulators and thought leaders converge on the commercial capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, for the 12th Annual Summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the world of Islamic finance is buoyed by a series of encouraging developments in the weeks leading up to the Summit. The Summit is scheduled to be held on 20-21 May 2015. The transformational impact of the Islamic finance industry can only be truly enhanced inter alia if the requisite infrastructure is in place. As such, issues relating to ‘Core Principles for Islamic Finance: Integrating with the Global Regulatory Framework,’ the Summit theme, is pertinent and follows the adoption last month by the IFSB of a new Standard on Core Principles for Islamic Finance Regulation (CPIFR)(Banking Segment) (IFSB-17).