Key Islamic finance issues to be probed

Gulf Daily News: Albaraka Banking Group will hold a symposium on Islamic economy in Saudi Arabia.

The 29th symposium will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah from September 6 to 7.

Issues to be discussed will include international commodities and the rules that govern them and protection of the capital of deposits by reason of the applicable laws, Albaraka Banking Group president and chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.

Other topics to be discussed will be the acceptance of the shares of a bank that deals in interest as security to the debt of an Islamic bank's customer, using the word "interest" as a substitute to the word "profit" or "yield", buying the shares of a company that has Sharia-compliant purposes but deals in interest-bearing deposits or loans and the subject of defaulting debtors who are capable of paying.

The symposium will also review some of the Sharia opinions of earlier Albaraka symposia.

The event will be attended by a select group of prominent Sharia scholars, thinkers and researchers in the area of Islamic economy and Islamic banking as well as executives and managers of Islamic financial and banking institutions from inside and outside Saudi Arabia.

In an effort to broaden the participation and maximise the benefit to English speaking participants, live translation from Arabic to English and vice-versa will be provided. English speakers will therefore be able to participate effectively at the symposium.

To meet the demand for the group's publications on Islamic economy and Islamic banking, Albaraka publications will be distributed to the participants at the symposium.

"Albaraka Banking Group was proud to be a pioneer and leader in seeking to provide the theoretical umbrella and Sharia framework for the majority of products now available in the Islamic financial market," Mr Yousif added.

"Albaraka symposia on Islamic economy have become an economic and Sharia forum that seeks to develop Islamic banking from technical point of view and Sharia compliance.

"The resolutions of these symposia represent a valuable Sharia opinions reference for researchers, university students and different research centres," he added.

The first Albaraka symposium on Islamic economy was held in Medina in 1983 under the auspices of Albaraka Banking Group chairman Shaikh Saleh Abdulla Kamel.