“Islamic finance has grown to be an important component of the global financial system and there has never been a more vibrant and exciting time for the global Islamic finance industry,” Dr. Khaled Al Fakih, Secretary-General and CEO of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) told a joint Press conference on Tuesday.
“Not only is the industry rapidly becoming more complex and sophisticated in its core traditional markets of the GCC and South East Asia but is also expanding to new emerging markets including in Europe, Africa and Central Asia. With the ever increasing global footprint and the changing dynamic of the Islamic finance industry, standardization of Shari’a, accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and risk management for the industry is now even more critical. In addition to developing new standards, it is also essential to revisit and revise the existing standards to keep up with market development, and this requires continuous dialogue between the standard setting organizations and industry practitioners,” he added.
“The annual World Islamic Banking Conference has been a key platform for the industry to come together and deliberate on the most pressing issues. This year being the 20th anniversary of this prestigious event, we are looking forward to some interesting discussions on how AAOIFI standards can further support and boost growth of the global Islamic finance industry,” Dr. Al Fakih added.
The main WIBC 2013 conference, which begins on the 4th of December 2013, 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 keynote address by Saeed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, Chairman of the Board of the International Investment Bank Bahrain.
The World Islamic Banking Conference, in its 20th Anniversary celebrations, will set the stage for pioneers, industry titans and global leaders who have trail-blazed the development of Islamic finance to gather in the Kingdom of Bahrain not only to celebrate the tremendous growth that the international Islamic finance industry has achieved over the past 2 decades but also to revisit and re-mould the critical success factors that will enable the industry to achieve the next set of milestones.