10th June 2014
IRIB International Conference Center (IICC), Tehran

About The IFN Iran Forum

Another first on the Islamic Finance news forum calendar, the IFN Iran Forum will be a breakthrough event for the industry, as opportunities abound in the world’s largest Islamic banking industry by assets. The Iranian Islamic banking system, which is said to be 100% Shariah compliant, poses great potential in terms of creating traction on a global scale. Opportunities in the oil and gas and infrastructure sector are also attractive to foreign investors and issuers seeking new markets to enter.

The Iranian capital market has also gradually begun to open up to Shariah compliant funds, including ETFs, and instruments to allow for liquidity management and the flow of funds within the interbank money market. Support from the government and its regulators are crucial at this juncture, to allow for growth within the Iranian Islamic banking system.

Forum Agenda

08:00 – 09:00

Registration

09:30 – 09:45

Keynote Address: Securities Market Overview and Opportunities

Dr Ali Saleh Abadi – CEO, Securities and Exchange Organisation

09:45 – 10:45

Session 1: Islamic Capital Markets in Iran: Current Developments & Future Growth

  • Structure of the capital markets in Iran and comparison with other markets
  • Roles of market players and regulators
  • Regulation:recent developments and the current agenda to support growth
  • Developing the local sukuk market and the primary market to balance the active equity market and secondary market
  • Experience with domestic sukuk and outlook for domestic sukuk in 2014
  • Internationalising the Iranian capital markets: what would it take, what are the opportunities (both inward and outward) and challenges
  • Cross border sovereign and corporate sukuk issuance: what are the challenges, how can they be overcome and what are the opportunities
  • International capital market benefits for local companies exploring offshore opportunities
  • International settlement linkages

Moderator:

Hooman Sabeti-Rahmati – Director, SDF Partners, Singapore

Panelists:

Dr Ali Saeedi – Deputy for Supervision of Financial Institutions, SEO
Dr Behrouz Khodarahmi – Secretary General, Iran Institutional Investor Association
Dr Hassan Ghalibaf Asl – CEO, Tehran Stock Exchange
Dr Hamed Soltani-Nejad – CEO, Central Securities Depository of Iran
Dr Masoud Rahi – Deputy for Finance and Economic Affairs, Pars Oil Company

10:45 – 11:15

Coffee and Networking

11:15 – 12:15

Session 2: Key Issues Facing Foreign Players and Investors in Iran

  • Entry of foreign players into the domestic market – regulations, ease of entry, ownership rules
  • Understanding the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA)
  • Addressing regulatory challenges to ease foreign investor participation in the domestic investment markets
  • Key Sharia considerations for foreign investors and relevant Sharia differences
  • What foreign market players and investors seek, how they view Iran as an Islamic investment destination
  • What must the local market do to attract foreign players and investors
  • Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment
  • What international investment structures may be appropriate in Iran
  • Dealing with currency exposure

Moderator:

Dr Ghasem Mohseni – Director, SEO

Panelists:

Abolfazl Koudei – Deputy, Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance
Hamid Azarakhsh – CEO, Mofid Securities
Bishr Shiblaq – Partner, Arendt & Merdenach, Luxembourg and Dubai
Rouzbeh Pirouz – Chairman, Turquoise Capital

12:15 – 12:30

Presentation on Islamic Banking Intelligence: The First Comprehensive Global Islamic Banking Database and Analytical Dashboard

Innovation & Development Corp

Omid Torabi – Managing Director, Innovation & Development Corp
Marjan Naseri – Senior Islamic Banking Expert, Innovation & Development Corp

 

Download presentation

12:30 – 14:00

Luncheon

14:00 – 15:00

Session 3: Banking Industry Landscape of Iran and Potential Foreign Participation

  • Structure of the banking industry in Iran, its features and challenges
  • Regulation: background, recent developments and the current agenda to support growth
  • Iran’s changing landscape and its impact on the development of Islamic banking
  • New Islamic banking products and developments in 2014
  • What is the industry-wide strategy required to take Iran’s Islamic banking sector to the next level
  • Cross-border trade: Pursuing investment flows from Asia and the Middle East
  • What are the opportunities to participate in Islamic banking in Iran: equity participation, free zone licences, joint ventures and others
  • Connecting Iran to the global Islamic finance market
  • What would attract foreign players into the banking sector

Moderator:

Dr Farhad Nili – Director of MBRI and Advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of IR of Iran

Panelists:

Tom Guest – Associate Director, Eiger Trading Advisors
Mohammad Farrukh Raza – Managing Director, Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services, United Kingdom
Hamid Tehranfar – Vice Governor, Central Bank of IR of Iran
Dr Parviz Aghili Kermani – CEO, Middle East Bank

15:00 – 16:00

Session 4: Potential Sectors of the Iranian Economy for Foreign Players

  • Potential growth sectors in the Iranian economy and opportunities for Islamic finance
  • Which sectors and classes of the Iranian economy are expected to perform well in 2014?
  • Outlook for Islamic asset and fund management
  • Government-linked investment and investment funds: prospects, opportunities and challenges
  • What are the borrowing needs and financing opportunities in the oil and gas sector
  • What are possibilities for dual listings or offshore sukuk for the industry
  • Outlook and opportunities in the power sector

Moderator:

Dr Hosein Abdo Tabrizi – Senior Advisor, Ministry of Transportation & Housing

Panelists:

Dr Seyed Ali Hosseini – CEO, Iran Energy Exchange
Datuk Noripah Kamso – former CEO, CIMB Principal Islamic Asset Management, Malaysia
Nicolas Poole – Chairman, PouyaFaraz Kish
Dr Mehrdad Sepahvand – Director of Foreign Investment Department, National Development Fund

16:00 – 16:10

Closing Remarks

16:10 – 16:45

Coffee & Networking

Forum Speakers

  • Abolfazl Koudei, Deputy, Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance
  • Dr Ali Saeedi, Deputy for Supervision of Financial Institutions, Securities and Exchange Organisation
  • Dr Ali Saleh Abadi, Chief Executive Officer, Securities and Exchange Organisation of Iran
  • Dr Behrouz Khodarahmi, Secretary General, Iran Institutional Investor Association
  • Bishr Shiblaq, Partner, Arendt & Merdenach, Luxembourg and Dubai
  • Dr Farhad Nili, Director, Monetary and Banking Research Institute & Advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran
  • Dr Ghasem Mohseni, Director, SEO
  • Dr Hamed Soltani-Nejad, Chief Executive Officer, Central Securities Depository Company of Iran
  • Hamid Azarakhsh, CEO, Mofid Securities
  • Hamid Tehranfar, Vice Governor, Central Bank of IR of Iran
  • Dr Hassan Ghalibaf Asl, Chief Executive Officer, Tehran Stock Exchange
  • Hooman Sabeti-Rahmati, SDF Partners, former partner of Allen & Overy and General Counsel of IILM
  • Dr Hosein Abdo Tabrizi, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Transportation & Housing
  • Marjan Naseri, Senior Islamic Banking Expert, Innovation & Development Corp
  • Dr Mehrdad Sepahvand, Director of Foreign Investment Department, National Development Fund
  • Mohammad Farrukh Raza, Managing Director, Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services, United Kingdom
  • Dr Masoud Rahi, Deputy for Finance and Economic Affairs, Pars Oil Company
  • Datuk Noripah Kamso, Former CEO, CIMB Islamic Asset Management, Malaysia
  • Nicolas Poole, Chairman, PouyaFaraz Kish
  • Dr Parviz Aghili Kermani, CEO, Middle East Bank
  • Rouzbeh Pirouz, Chairman, Turquoise Capital
  • Omid Torabi, Managing Director, Innovation & Development
  • Dr Seyed Ali Hosseini, Chief Executive Officer, Iran Energy Exchange
  • Tom Guest, Associate Director, Eiger Trading Advisors

Forum Partners

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STRATEGIC MEDIA PARTNERS

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About REDmoney Events

REDmoney events designs, organizes and hosts industry-leading conferences, forums, roadshows, seminars and dialogues focusing on the Islamic financial markets across a global, regional and national level. Leveraging an exceptional network of the industry’s elite and supported by the expertise of the REDmoney publishing and seminars divisions, REDmoney Events are able to provide access to a unique array of influential speakers, panelists and participants from a cross-section of the global industry to debate the most significant issues affecting the Shariah compliant financial markets.

REDmoney events are differentiated by their complimentary yet qualified attendance structure, ensuring the highest quality of both delegates and contributors. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, attendance ensures exclusive access to the leaders in their field across all sectors and markets.

TThe annual IFN Asia and IFN UK Forums are categorically recognized as their continent’s leading industry events since their inception in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The Dialogues series has also become an integral element of the REDmoney events series and have cemented their position as leading, must-attend, events. In 2022, we introduced the Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment Forum, which was an enormous success, and will become a mainstay.

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