Kuala Lumpur, 5 April 2011 – Seventeen international speakers have confirmed their participation in this year’s 8th Annual Summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) scheduled to be held on 10 – 13 May 2011 at the New Conference Centre Kirchberg in Luxembourg.
The Banque centrale du Luxembourg, the only EU country that is a member in the IFSB, is hosting the Summit. The Central Bank of Luxembourg is also a founding member of the recently established International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), which was an initiative promoted by the IFSB.
This year’s Summit theme, ‘Enhancing Global Financial Stability: Challenges and Opportunities for Islamic Finance‘, which is both topical and pertinent, addresses the increasing globalisation of Islamic finance and its expanding role in contributing to global financial stability and economic growth. The Summit attempts to highlight the role of the various stakeholders towards developing a robust future for the Islamic financial services industry, which is reflected in the five sessions:
It will indeed be interesting to see the discussions surrounding these issues, which may include greater cooperation among the guardians of the industry be it at the global or regional level and the need for international cooperation in the financial services industry as a key theme in enhancing global financial stability.
The five Sessions will examine the implications of Basel III and the IFSB Standards for banking; the implications of Insolvency II and the IFSB Standards for insurance (Takāful); the implications for capital markets; cooperation in home-host supervision; cooperation in developing legal infrastructure for capital markets instruments; the role of multilateral organisations; capacity building in the financial sector; enhancing disclosure and the role of rating agencies; the danger of lack of market discipline and its consequences; liquidity management infrastructure; insolvency regimes and safety nets.
The one-and-a-half day Summit aims to bring together an experienced international group of chairpersons and speakers, with a projected audience of over 200 delegates from all sectors of the financial services industry across the globe.
The Summit keynote speech will be delivered by Dr. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director of the World Bank Group. Central banks Governors who have confirmed their participation in the Summit include the IFSB Chairman, Faris A. Sharaf of the Central Bank of Jordan; Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj of the Central Bank of Bahrain; Yves Mersch of the Banque centrale du Luxembourg; Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz of Bank Negara Malaysia; Sanusi Lamido Aminu Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
Also confirmed attending are Raed H. Charafeddine, First Vice-Governor, Banque du Liban; Mohammed Iqbal Belath, Second Deputy Governor, Bank Mauritius; Huseyin Erkan, Chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Turkey; Paul Koster, Chief Executive, Dubai Financial Services Authority, UAE; Dr. Tunc Tahsin Uyanik, Sector Manager, The World Bank; Makoto Utsumi President and Chief Executive Officer of the Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. and Former Vice Minister of Finance; Dr Philipp Wackerbeck, Principal Booz & Company Germany; Dr. John Lee, Group Chief Risk Officer of Maybank Group, Malaysia; Paul-Henri Pruvost, Associate, Standard & Poor Rating Group, France; Professor Volker Nienhaus, Former President University of Marburg, Germany and IFSB Consultant; Professor Simon Archer Visiting Professor, ICMA Centre University of Reading, UK and IFSB Consultant; and the IFSB new Secretary-General Jaseem Ahmed.
The main proceedings will be preceded by three pre-Summit events: i) Workshop on Islamic Finance and IFSB Standards for Institutions Offering Islamic Financial Services and Islamic Capital Markets; ii) IFSB Country Showcases; and iii) Special Session On Liquidity Management in the Islamic Financial Services Industry, which the IFSB is organising on 10 and 11 May 2011, respectively.
The IFSB Country Showcases, which targets high profile, focused group of potential investors and stakeholders, are platforms for the IFSB member countries to highlight their Islamic finance initiatives and experiences in adopting and promoting the growth of a sound and stable Islamic financial services industry. The Country Showcases also provide an excellent opportunity for networking and opening doors to potential investments and business partnerships – from among the IFSB members as well as the local, regional and international financial community – specifically those attending the Summit. In this year’s Summit, Luxembourg and Malaysia will be showcasing.
For more information on the 8th IFSB Summit, please visit the Summit website at www.ifsbluxembourg2011.com.
