IBA’s Center for Excellence in Islamic Finance (IBA-CEIF) successfully conducted the World Islamic Finance Forum (WIFF). The Conference was themed ‘Expanding the Footprint of Islamic Finance: Innovation, Fintech and Regulation’ and was held on 19th and 20th March 2018 at Movenpick Hotel, Karachi.
The Conference, commonly referred to as ‘WIFF 2018’, aimed to define future direction for the global Islamic finance industry in light of rapidly changing dynamics, driven by technological developments and growing need for innovative products to cater to upcoming sectors. As such, on each day, it hosted special Industry Sessions on Days 1 and 2 on “Implementing Industry Vision”, Fintech, “Islamic Finance: Building the Brand Proposition”, “Completing the Financial Circle – SMEs, Agriculture, Financial Inclusion”, and a concluding Power Session with Islamic Finance Visionaries. The latter included Dr. Zamir Iqbal (Vice President, IsDB), Prof. Dr. Necdet Sensoy, Member of the Board, Central Bank of Turkey, Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin (ISRA, Malaysia), Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman (Chairman & CEO, LaRiba Bank, USA), and industry leaders from Pakistan, such as Meezan Bank CEO Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, and CEO of Al Baraka Bank Pakistan Mr. Ahmed Shuja Kidwai, Mufti Irshad Ahmad Aijaz, and Dr. Mufti Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani (Resident Shari’a Board Member, Meezan Bank).
As the Conference’s title of expanding Islamic finance footprint suggests, Day 2 hosted a special industry session on “Completing the Financial Circle”, chaired by Prof. Dr. Humayon Dar, the Chairman of HD-Edbiz Group of Companies. The discussion included Dr. Aishath Muneeza (INCEIF), Mr. Syed Samar
Hasnain (Exec. Director, Development Finance Group, State Bank of Pakistan), Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari (Acting Secretary General, AAOIFI), Dr. Salman Syed Ali (Senior Economist at IRTI) and Mufti Muhammad Hassaan Kaleem (Resident Shari’a Board Member of Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan). The leaders addressed the need for Islamic finance in Pakistan to target the agriculture sector, the issues of financing the SMEs (such ascredit guarantees), and the need to increase financial inclusion through Islamic finance. They also emphasized that Islamic finance industry could use Fin tech integration such as digital payment systems, branchless banking etc. to address the over 70%+ unbanked population of Pakistan. It was also emphasized that Islamic financial institutions, not just in Pakistan but across the world, should focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well when designing or modifying their corporate strategy.
The Chief Guest at the Conference was H. E. Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman, AAOIFI Board of Trustees. He delivered the inaugural address at the conference. The special guest of the Conference was the Pakistan’s Federal Advisor to the Prime Minister (Dr. Miftah Ismail), the honorable Shaikh Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, prominent Shari’a scholars, renowned academicians, Fin Tech experts, Governor, Deputy Governor and regulators from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and highlevel delegates from Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Deloitte & Touche in addition to key local and global Islamic financial institutions. Over 400 participants, students, Academic researchers, industry leaders, regulators and scholars attended the event, from Pakistan, Malaysia, USA, Bahrain, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Germany etc.
One of the key objectives of WIFF was knowledge enhancement through intellectual input from the academia. Thrust of CEIF is on bridging the gap between academia and industry through facilitating focused research that can be put to practice. Furthermore, CEIF aims at promoting development of case studies to impart Islamic finance knowledge through real life examples. In this pursuit, CEIF received over 70 research papers and case studies on the themes of Islamic finance, including takaful, monetary policy, financial inclusion, agricultural sector, Fin Tech integration, Islamic banking and stability, product innovation etc., of which a selected 21 were presented at WIFF 2018.
