Innovation Can Spur The Development Of Islamic Finance

Bernama : The 6th International Islamic Finance Conference 2008 in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 13-14, will provide new insights into the innovations and market strategies for Islamic finance.

The conference is organised by the Institute of Bankers Malaysia, Monash University and the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia.Monash University's director of banking and finance, School of Business, Prof Bala Shanmugan said the conference is expected to attract 300 local and international participants.

"It will address current trends and the way forward in Islamic finance.We think innovation is something that will spur the development of Islamic finance," Bala said during a media briefing Friday.

The conference theme is, "Innovation in Islamic Finance:A Fast Track to Global Acceptance".

According to Bala, it means Islamic finance players need to constantly reevaluate their respective operational strategies and be innovative to stay ahead of the competition.

He noted that the conference would also provide a platform and networking channel for researchers, academicians, business leaders and industry practitioners.

Among the topics to be covered are Shariah law and legal issues in the Islamic finance industry, Islamic accounting standards, the Islamic capital market,capital adequacy as well as takaful and retakaful.

Another interesting highlight of the conference, Bala explained, is that there will be international speakers including Dr Yahia Abdul Rahman from American Finance House-LARIBA, Abu Zafar Chowdhury from the Dhaka Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd,, Takahiro Sekido from the Japan Centre for International Finance and Daud Vicary Abdullah from the Asian Finance Bank.

The conference will also discuss the takaful and retakaful business.

"The retakaful business in Malaysia is still limited in terms of capacity and therefore has a huge opportunity for further expansion," Bala said.

To further expand this sector, he said, requires specialised skills and knowledge of the risks.