Kuala Lumpur, 13 January 2014 – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is pleased to announce the theme of its 11th Summit as “New Markets and Frontiers for Islamic Finance: Innovation and the Regulatory Perimeter”. The Summit will be held on 19 to 22 May 2014 in Port Louis, Mauritius. Bank of Mauritius is hosting this IFSB’s annual landmark event.
In emerging markets in Africa and Asia, the approaching deadline for attaining the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, and the challenging prospects for financing economic development post-2015 have spurred the search for additional sources of financing and raised interest in Islamic finance amongst both policy makers at national and international level as well as multilateral development banks. Amongst developed economies, there is greater recognition of Islamic finance as offering prospects for raising investment funds by accessing the deepening global pools of Sharī`ah-compliant savings. More broadly, there is greater awareness of the potential to attain wider applicability of Islamic finance in meeting global challenges such as climate change and social development and equity through such innovative proposals as “Social Sukūk” and “Green Sukūk”.
Underlying these developments is the challenge of striking the appropriate balance between encouraging financial innovation and widening the regulatory perimeter. Against this backdrop, the Summit will provide an overview of global financial and regulatory developments from the perspective of Islamic finance. It will also explore some recent innovations that are driving inclusive growth while examining different policy and regulatory approaches to manage risks.
Among the topics that will be discussed during the Summit are:
This 11th IFSB Summit, the first time to be held in Africa, aims to bring together experienced international chairpersons and speakers to discuss pertinent issues in the Islamic financial services industry attracting participants from all sectors of the financial services industry across the globe. Participants of the previous Summits have included key players of the global industry especially members of the IFSB from among regulatory and supervisory authorities, international inter-governmental organisations, market players and distinguished thought leaders.
More information about this 11th IFSB Summit will be announced in due course.
