Abradat Kamalpour - Partner, Ashurst
Alain Verbeken - Director, Cross-Border Tax, Deloitte Tax & Consulting
Alberto Brugnoni - Managing Director, ASSAIF
Ammar Dabbour - Managing Director, Excellencia-IM
Andreas Heinzmann - Partner, Bonn & Schmitt
Asim Khan - Managing Director, Khalij Islamic
Ayman Khaleq - Partner, Morgan Lewis
Bishr Shiblaq - Head, Dubai Representative Office, Arendt & Medernach
David Testa - Chief Executive Officer, Armila Capital
Denis Noonan - Vice President, Product Management, Clearstream Banking
Dennis Cox - Chief Executive Officer, Risk Reward Limited
Habib Motani - Partner, Clifford Chance
Harris Irfan - Managing Director, European Islamic Investment Bank
Laurent Marliere - Chief Executive Officer & President, IsFin
Lawrence Oliver - Deputy Chief Executive Officer, DDCap Group
Lawrie Chandler - Director, Wholesale & Institutional, Emirates NBD
Mansur Mannan - Executive Director, Dar Capital
Nigel Denison - Director, Head of Markets and Wealth Management, Bank of London and The Middle East PLC
Philip Churchill - Founder Partner, 90 North Real Estate Partners
Sufian Bataineh - Counsel, OPF Partners
Website: www.eethiq.com
EETHIQ Advisors is a Luxembourg-based advisory firm that specializes in cross-border Shariah compliant investments, created by a group of passionate experienced professionals.
EETHIQ Advisors has executed more than EUR1 billion (US$1.08 billion)-worth of cross-border alternative investment strategies and financing in a Shariah compliant context and thus benefits from a unique expertise in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, where it has gained in-depth knowledge of real estate and private equity transactions.
Within these jurisdictions, EETHIQ Advisors’ associates address the most complex needs of both institutional investors (through fund structures) and high-net-worth individuals (family offices and entrepreneurs) by the following:
EETHIQ Advisors provides tailored, honest, transparent and independent advice to individuals and institutions targeting Islamic alternative investments.
Website: www.icd-ps.org
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral development financial institution and is part of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.
The ICD was established in November 1999 to support the economic development of its member countries through the provision of finance for private sector projects, promoting competition and entrepreneurship, providing advisory services to governments and private companies and encouraging cross-border investments.
The ICD has an authorized capital of US$4 billion. Currently, the shareholders of the ICD are the IDB (50%), 53 Islamic countries (30%) and five public financial institutions (20%).
ICD mandate and objectives
The ICD fosters sustainable economic growth in its 53 member countries by:
The ICD selects the financing projects based on their contribution to economic development considering factors such as job creation, Islamic finance development, contribution to exports, etc. The ICD also provides advisory services to governments and private sector groups on policies designed to encourage the establishment, expansion and modernization of private enterprises, the development of capital markets, best management practices and to enhance the role of the market economy. The ICD operates to complement the activities of the IDB in member countries.
The ICD is rated ‘AA/FQ’ by Fitch Ratings, ‘Aa3/P-1’ by Moody’s Investors Service and ‘A+’ by Standard & Poor’s.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Tel: (966-12) 6361400; (966-12) 6441644
Fax: (966-12) 644 4427
Email: icd@isdb.org
Website: www.icd-ps.org
Website: www.akbars.ru/en/
AK BARS Bank is registered with the Central Bank of Russian Federation and has been successfully operating in the Russian financial market since 1993. On the 29th November 2013 AK BARS celebrated its 20th anniversary.
AK BARS (rated ‘BB-’ by Fitch and ‘B1’ by Moody’s , with a stable outlook stable) is the largest bank headquartered in the Republic of Tatarstan (subject of Russian Federation) offering over a hundred banking services to corporate and retail customers. The bank is listed among Russia’s Top-20 financial institutions by equity and by assets. Its branch network includes 44 branches and 355 other offices.
The bank has more than 2.9 million retail customers and over 53,000 corporate clients. AK BARS is the leading bank in the region providing highest quality retail, corporate and investment banking services and representing 38% of the total assets and 50% of the total equity capital in the banking sector of Tatarstan.
Website: www.deloitte.com
Deloitte Luxembourg (www.deloitte.lu) is among the top professional services firms on the market. For over 60 years, it has delivered high added-value services to national and international clients, offering a full range of services in the fields of audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting.
Thanks to its multi-disciplinarity, Deloitte has developed a business model that brings together a huge pool of competencies, allowing cross-departmental exchange of advice and support.
Deloitte Tax & Consulting, société à responsabilité limitée, is an affiliate of the Luxembourg member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world’s leading networks of professional services firms, which focuses on client service through a global strategy executed locally in 150 countries. With access to the deep intellectual capital of around 200,000 people worldwide, Deloitte delivers services in various professional areas, such as large national enterprises, public institutions, and successful, fast-growing global growth companies.
Website: www.khalijislamic.com/
Khalij Islamic (KI), established in 2008, is an Islamic finance investment and advisory boutique with a presence in the UK, the UAE and Bahrain. Khalij Islamic (UK) is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
KI offers strategic consulting, and specialized expertise for developing, structuring, sourcing and placing bespoke Shariah compliant financial products focusing on ‘true asset’ investment products as well as Islamic liquidity and risk management solutions.
KI, adds value by providing a broad range of professional and reliable world class end to end Shariah services by harnessing the skills and collective intellectual capabilities of a seasoned management team that boasts over 100 years of collective investment banking and consulting experience, together with the connectivity with highly respected world-renowned Shariah scholars and affiliation and collaboration with influential industry bodies in the Islamic finance space.
KI focuses on bringing new asset classes and high quality Islamic investment products to Islamic investors. This not only gives Islamic investors increased opportunities to invest in high quality investment products but also helps them to diversify their portfolios from the traditional asset classes.
Website: arabesque.com/
Arabesque offers a unique asset management service combining state-of-the-art portfolio management technology with the values of the UN Global Compact, the principles for responsible investments (PRI) and Islamic investment principles.
Arabesque was developed by Barclays Bank from 2011-13 in cooperation with leading universities including Stanford, Cambridge and Maastricht and was established through a management buy-out in June 2013.
The management team comprises of experienced specialists from international investment banks and asset managers and currently has 18 staff in London, Frankfurt and New York. Leading industry professionals and academics have committed themselves to Arabesque’s Advisory Board.
The Arabesque Prime League is a globally diversified index of blue chip stocks that have passed a rigorous and systematic stock selection procedure.
The Arabesque Fundamental uses a five star-rated fundamental investment technology that aims to outperform passive global equity indices by 5% per year. The Arabesque Systematic uses a technology developed by Barclays Bank and aims to give investors risk-controlled equity upside by delivering an average annual return of 10% with maximum drawdowns of less than 25%.
Arabesque combines values and performance without compromising either. For further information, please refer to www.arabesque.com
Website: www.arendt.com
Arendt & Medernach is the leading independent business law firm in Luxembourg. The firm’s international team of more than 275 legal professionals represents Luxembourg and foreign clients in all areas of Luxembourg business law from our head office in Luxembourg and our foreign offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Moscow and New York.
Our philosophy is expressed through our five values: vision, commitment, people, independence and energy. We strive for excellence in order to achieve the best results for our clients and we always look for creative solutions.
Our specialized practice areas allow us to offer a complete range of Luxembourg legal services tailored to the client’s individual needs across all areas of business law.”
Website: www.blme.com/
Website: www.bonnschmitt.net/
Bonn & Schmitt is a leading Luxembourg law firm with an extensive international practice. The firm’s attorneys are experienced practitioners in the Luxembourg legal environment and represent a broad spectrum of expertise that allows them to deliver unrivaled legal solutions in one of Europe’s leading financial centers.
Bonn & Schmitt has established strong working relationships with leading law firms throughout Europe and in the international community with whom the firm interacts closely and collaboratively to provide its clients with innovative and integrated solutions to multi-jurisdictional matters.
The firm’s truly global client base stretches through Europe, Asia, the US, South America, South Africa and Russia.
Bonn & Schmitt is the trusted legal partner of leading international institutions, industrial corporations, national governments as well as media companies, pharmaceutical groups and food and beverage groups listed on the Forbes Global 2000 list.
The International Financial Law Review awarded Bonn &Schmitt twice ‘Luxembourg Law Firm of the Year’ in 2013 and 2014.
Website: www.ddcap.co.uk
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in London, with an office in Dubai and a presence in both Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, DDCAP provides asset facilitation services to over 300 financial sector clients worldwide.
DDCAP is majority-owned and controlled by IPGL, a private holding company with an interest in a number of financial services companies. IPGL is also a significant shareholder in NEX Group (previously ICAP), a leading markets operator and provider of post-trade risk mitigation and information services.
DDCAP has an extensive track record within the Islamic finance industry, employing over 35 professionals with broad and complementary skill sets drawn from diverse financial industry backgrounds.
DDCAP has its own Shariah supervisory board comprising esteemed Shariah scholars from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait.
DDCAP recently announced the launch of its multi-award-winning Shariah compliant ETHOS Asset Facilitation PlatformTM, a bespoke, real-time trade and post-trade services platform providing 24-hour coverage, enabling clients worldwide to purchase from a diverse asset inventory, including commodities, via a secure, web-based portal.
Website: https://www.eigertrading.com
Eiger Trading Advisors (Eiger) is a UK-based asset-trading and technology company founded in 2008, which specializes as an intermediary in Islamic financial products.
As a leading intermediary and technology provider within the commodity Murabahah space, Eiger has the unique capabilities to deliver Shariah compliant commodity trading solutions through the Eiger Trading Platform (ETP), a web-based trading system, that we tailor to our bank clients’ exact operational requirements.
The ETP automates the structuring and execution of Islamic banking products for wholesale and retail commodity-backed transactions, including two new enhanced modules:
Eiger is authorized and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, and is both a member of the London Metal Exchange and an associate of the London Platinum and Palladium Market.
Website: www.emiratesnbd.com/en/
Emirates NBD Group
Emirates NBD is a leading banking group in the region. As at the 31st December 2016, total assets were AED448 billion (equivalent to approximately US$121.94 billion). The group has a leading retail banking franchise in the UAE with more than 219 branches and over 1,012 ATMs and CDMs in the UAE and overseas. It is a major player in the UAE corporate and retail banking arena and has strong Islamic banking, global markets and treasury, investment banking, private banking, asset management and brokerage operations.
The group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK and representative offices in India, China and Indonesia.
The group is an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development initiatives and of the various educational, environmental, cultural, charity and community welfare establishments.
Emirates NBD Capital
Emirates NBD Capital (EmCap) is the investment banking subsidiary of the Emirates NBD Group, licensed to operate in the Dubai International Financial Center. EmCap comprises an experienced team of professionals combining an international perspective with in-depth regional knowledge spanning debt capital markets (DCM), syndicated/club loans, financial advisory, equity capital markets and project finance. The DCM franchise of Emirates NBD is a leading bond and Sukuk house globally and has helped issuers raise approximately US$60 billion in capital market issuances since 2013. The product suite includes Sukuk (rated and unrated), conventional bonds, subordinated structures and private placement transactions.
Website: www.idealratings.com/
IdealRatings was incorporated in 2006 in San Francisco with a corporate objective to provide SRI/ESG and Shariah compliant solutions to ethical investors and enable them to identify such instruments across different asset classes in the global market. IdealRatings serves clients in over 30 countries with a range of capital market solutions including:
Website: www.isfin.net/
Created in 2011, ISFIN (Emerging markets advisors) became in less than 6 years, the world’s leading emerging markets advisory (included Islamic Finance and Halal industry). ISFIN offers a wide range of services to companies wishing to enter these emerging markets, and deal with specific products for Muslims consumers and companies worldwide.
We collaborate closely with other firms /consultants specialized in a specific field. We also propose legal and tax advices (throughout our partners in 75 countries) and marketing packages to companies willing to develop Halal/Islamic finance products on their existing and new markets. Working collaboratively and internationally with the best consultants and financial institutions is our strength!
Each member of our team is specialized in a field:
Website: www.kbl.lu/
KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb), founded in 1949, is headquartered in Luxembourg with a pan-European presence in nine countries. With over 2,000 staff and EUR42 billion (US$57.9 billion) in assets under management and EUR41 billion (US$56.52 billion) in assets under custody (as of the 31st December 2013), KBL epb is widely recognized as a private banking leader.
The group provides a range of additional investment solutions through its global investor services, global financial markets and asset management departments.
With the full support of its shareholder, Precision Capital, a Luxembourg-based bank holding company, KBL epb is consolidating its presence across Europe.
In line with its mission to be a preferred European private banking group KBL epb cares for clients and colleagues as if they were members of its own family, always putting their long-term well-being first.
For further information, please visit: www.kbl.lu
Website: www.kpmg.com/lu/en/pages/default.aspx
KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. We have more than 162,000 outstanding professionals working together to deliver value in 155 countries worldwide.
KPMG Luxembourg is a leading provider of professional services in Luxembourg and abroad. Our MENA Desk is run by a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team, specialists in tax, real estate and infrastructure, transaction services (including due diligence), accounting, Islamic finance as well as valuation services, who are dedicated to business relationships with clients from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia.
We help clients from the region to establish their Luxembourg vehicles by assisting them in the selection of the most suitable and efficient structure, providing corporate secretarial and accounting services, due diligence and valuation services on main deals, as well as ongoing audit and tax services.
Website: www.morganlewis.com/
Morgan Lewis has strong experience in advising clients on Shariah compliant debt capital markets, structured transactions and investment fund formations across the Middle East, the US and Europe. Our award-winning team focuses on structuring cross-border Islamic finance transactions particularly where foreign issuers and fund managers are seeking to raise debt or equity from Islamic investors. As such, we have advised clients on complex and innovative transactions across more than 30 jurisdictions including, for example, the first corporate Sukuk issuances out of the US, Luxembourg, Germany and Oman; the first capital protected fund; multiple asset-backed structured notes; as well as a wide range of feeder and parallel fund structures for some of the largest global buyout and real estate fund managers.
We provide innovative advice to international organizations, financial institutions, corporations, investment banks, private equity firms, government entities, and credit agencies on a full range of Shariah compliant investment and financial products. We also have strong relationships with prominent Shariah advisors whether based in the Middle East or beyond.
Morgan Lewis offers more than 2,000 lawyers, patent agents, benefits advisors, regulatory scientists, and other specialists in 28 offices across the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. For more information, visit us online at www.morganlewis.com.
Website: www.opf-partners.com
OPF Partners is a leading Luxembourg independent business law firm. The firm focuses on key practise areas including corporate/M&A, private equity and venture capital, tax, investment funds, banking and finance, structured finance, real estate, restructuring and insolvency, civil and commercial, and litigation. Specific expertise and assistance is provided in Islamic finance, aircraft finance and shipping finance.
OPF Partners’ multi-lingual professionals offer integrated advice on legal and tax matters. They regularly advise on complex cross-border transactions and have sound experience in the creation of regulated and non-regulated investment vehicles.
Highly ranked in renowned legal guides, OPF Partners has built a strategic network in key financial centers worldwide and serves an international clientele ranging from multi-national corporations, leading financial institutions, private equity houses, investment funds to high net worth individuals.
Website: www.pwc.lu
PwC Luxembourg is the largest professional services firm in Luxembourg with 2,300 people employed from 57 different countries. It provides audit, tax and advisory services including management consulting, transaction, financing and regulatory advice to a wide variety of clients from local and middle market entrepreneurs to large multinational companies operating from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. It helps its clients create the value they are looking for by giving comfort to the capital markets and providing advice through an industry focused approach.
The global PwC network is the largest provider of professional services in audit, tax and advisory. We’re a network of independent firms in 157 countries and employ more than 184,000 people. Tell us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com and www.pwc.lu
Website: www.russell.com/indexes/
Russell Indexes offers a comprehensive family of global equity indexes that give investors and fund managers a more precise view of the markets, provides a basis for investments, benchmarks and track performance of distinct segments consistently. The resulting index methodology produced the broad-market Russell 3000® Index for the US market and a series for the global markets. Russell Indexes also pioneered the Value, Style, Growth, Stability and Theme-based Indexes. Russell Indexes has partnered with IdealRatings to co-brand the Islamic index series for the global markets. The Islamic indexes are supervised and audited by the Shariah Supervisory Board.
Russell Indexes calculates more than 700,000 benchmarks daily, covering 98% of the investable market globally, 83 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately US$5.2 trillion in assets is benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.
Website: www.trasset.com/
TRASSET is a fast growing IT solution provider for financial institutions with headquarters in Milano and offices in Europe, Middle East, North America and ASEAN regions.
TRASSET offers STP IT solutions, and its systems are being implemented in more than 20 countries around the world, including major international and regional financial institutions like ING, Raiffeisen, Allianz, AXA, Al Rajhi, VIG etc.
TRASSET systems manage the core activities of any conventional or Islamic bank in one integrated system (covering the treasury management, corporate/SME financing, trustee banking, custody/depository activities) and supports the end-to-end activities of the investment fund managers.
Our robust product features a multi-entity, multi-currency and multi-time zone as well as modular and open architecture, making us one of the most comprehensive, flexible and scalable banking solutions available on the market, ready to manage within one system the international activities of any financial group.
Visit www.trasset.com
Website: www.wvb.com
World Vest Base provides a broad range of informational products directed at institutional investors, universities, bankers, analysts, tax and audit practitioners, government agencies and asset managers, M&A, private capital, equity and fixed income markets.
The company’s latest offering includes the WVB Shariah Compliance Ratings which is a relational database of financial, statistical and market information on active and inactive global companies.
The database covers 153 countries with over 44,600 active listed companies and 30,000 inactive companies. This covers approximately 99% of all listed companies and a global market capitalization of almost 100%.
WVB data is based on the country of incorporation. It describes a company as a legal entity, not individual issues or listings and offers complete documents with indexed financial transparency to the data.
For more information, visit www.wvb.com
Website: www.islamicfinancenews.com
Islamic Finance news is the industry's leading, capital markets focused, e-newsletter bringing you unrivalled editorial coverage every week on the global Islamic financial market.
This weekly newsletter provides insightful and intelligent editorial coverage from around the world helping you keep ahead. In addition to a comprehensive weekly review of all the stories from around the globe, interviews, forums, market statistics and data, key industry practitioners contribute via non-biased, educational and up-to-date country and sector reports, giving you a firsthand knowledge and understanding of the Islamic finance markets and instruments from an experts' point of view.
For a trial subscription, please contact +603 2162 7800 or email subs@IslamicFinancenews.com
Website: businessislamica.com/
Launched in November 2006, Business Islamica is the first monthly magazine of its kind in the UAE, specifically covering all aspects of Islamic business and finance, both regionally and internationally.
The magazine’s objective is to spearhead awareness initiatives, heighten knowledge of its core principles and practices, as well as to feature the latest developments in this industry.
Our editorial covers interviews with key industry leaders, case studies, and includes features on a wide range of topics such as; Islamic Banking, Wealth Management, Takaful (Islamic Insurance), Islamic Retail Finance, Marketing and Branding of Shari’ah-Compliant products, Regulatory Issues, Islamic Business Challenges and Risk Management.
Website: www.capitalbusiness.me
Website: www.arab-bankers.co.uk/
The London-based Arab Bankers Association (ABA) was founded in the 1970s and is the only professional body in the United Kingdom for those involved in Arab banking and financial markets. Its mission is to foster improved relations, information sharing and understanding between Arab and British financial sectors. Members include not only Arab banks operating in London and international banks active in the Middle East, but also professional services firms such as lawyers, accountants and financial advisors.
The Association organizes a wide range of events for the Arab financial community in London, including seminars on international taxation, regulatory developments affecting Arab banks in London, and the London property market.
The Association also brings the Arab Financial Community together for social events. Its Gala Dinner, held in October, attracts nearly 300 guests. We also organize an Iftar to mark the start of Ramadan, and a reception shortly before the Christmas holidays.
Website: www.blassys.com/
Website: www.eyeofriyadh.com
Website: www.financialplaces.com/
Website: www.hedgeconnection.com
Website: www.ifso-asso.com/
Website: www.inovatifmedia.asia
Website: voicesofleaders.com
Voices of Leaders (VL) is a global business network for top executives and companies to Meet, Share and Grow locally, regionally and internationally.
The data-driven business profiles allow you to Meet top executives across a wide variety of industries, sectors and countries. Share your business needs among members looking for specific business opportunities and Grow your business network at a local and international level, while increasing the possibility of creating synergies, and finding partners and investors.
VL is committed to giving leaders from around the world a voice and in response to the demands of the digital age, VL produces interactive ebooks on the countries visited and the networking events it covers.
