JOIN US IN
LIMITED / EXCLUSIVE SEATING
About The Dialogues
As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, Qatar’s economic influence cannot be understated. Its affinity with Shariah as well as hunt for economic diversification has guided the State’s nurturing of its Islamic banking and finance industry, which continues to post steady growth year-on-year.
The IFSB ranks Qatar as the fifth top Islamic banking market by assets and the country has witnessed a handful of landmark Sukuk issuances. The State was decisive in prohibiting Islamic window operations in 2011 in pursuit of stronger Shariah governance and solid fundamentals for its Shariah finance industry. Authorities continue support the sector with new measures. In October 2022, Qatar Central Bank issued for the first time treasury Sukuk to aid Islamic banks manage their liquidity as well as to ease issuers entry into the Sukuk market.
Home to one of the largest Islamic banks in the world and an increasingly vibrant fintech market, Qatar’s Islamic finance prospects are truly exciting.
After our first ever event in Doha in 2015, we are thrilled to be back in Qatar in 2023. This time we are bringing the highly acclaimed IFN Dialogue series to the Arabian Peninsula. With the help of leading market experts and industry practitioners, we will navigate the Qatari Islamic finance landscape with the aim of harnessing the State’s latent potential across different sectors of the Islamic finance economy, from banking to Takaful and capital markets as well as fintech.
WHAT THEY SAID
The efforts of IFN in bringing together sustainable elements in Islamic finance and in driving the panel discussion toward blitz-scaling the current efforts in Islamic finance were truly commendable. Over the course of the entire session, the focus was on identifying a common sustainability playbook in the existing Shariah compliant Islamic financial structure. During this session, we discussed the significance of regulators, market players and the trends influencing the implementation of ESG pillars for Islamic finance. Panel discussions concluded with discussions on strategies for driving and converging sustainability to Shariah compliant Islamic finance structures in the future.
The panel discussion on Islamic sustainable and responsible investing brought together a good blend of stakeholders from various aspects of the industry including Islamic finance, sustainable investing, ESG advisory, insurance, banking, legal and projects. This made the discussion very interesting and insightful, bringing different perspectives to the table.
This prestigious event carried out interesting discussions on the Islamic finance landscape in Saudi Arabia and provided business networking opportunities for industry stakeholders. The analytical insights shared by the panelists into the development, growth and challenges of its constituent sectors, including Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets, Waqf and Islamic fintech are thought-provoking. I congratulate the organizers for successfully hosting this event in the globally largest Islamic finance industry by asset size.
We enjoyed participation from lawyers, bankers, regulators and clients at IFN Dialogue Riyadh. The quality was impressive, thanks to the good reputation and skills of the organizers. Over time, these events make a difference; our industry adapts and changes because our professional community stays more coherent because of these events.
IFN has done it again. Getting together Islamic finance influencers to assure the free flow of ideas and information. This is how innovations in our field are born. Bringing in the financiers from GCC, Europe and Southeast Asia is a great recipe for the effective distribution of intellectual products. Kudos to the organizers for a perfectly assembled event
An Introduction to 2023
We were delighted to be back in the conference rooms in 2022 following a near two-year hiatus, and it seems you were too.
We saw capacity audiences for the UK, Asia and Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment Forums, and strong numbers everywhere else. We believe 2023 will surpass pre-pandemic numbers in all our core markets.
We have also learned much this past year and will implement the following:
- The Forum format is essential in certain markets, and will remain in London, Muscat and Kuala Lumpur in 2023.
- Our exclusive Dialogues have been warmly welcomed by all those participating and attending, and we will increase this offering in 2023, with events in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, Jakarta, and Manama.
- Live streaming has not taken off as many expected. However, watching recorded content has skyrocketed — certainly for us anyway. So, all Forums will be recorded and posted online for our global audience within a week of each event.
- But, as our audiences enjoy recorded content, we will be organizing various country and sector ‘OnAir’ events and posting online for all to view.
- Islamic sustainable is big. Our ISFI Forum in Kuala Lumpur in 2022 was outstanding and will remain for 2023. And, with COP28 in the UAE in 2023, we are introducing the ISFI Dialogues, which will be held in Dubai.
We are excited for the new year and look forward to welcoming you to our events and assisting in the continued global growth of the Islamic financial markets.

#IFNDIALOGUES2023
Dialogues Agenda
9.15 – 9.20
Welcome Address
9.20 – 9.30
Keynote Address
9.30 – 11.30
Dialogue One: Diversifying Qatar’s Economy - The Role of Islamic Financial Markets
- What is a realistic assessment of today’s Shariah compliant capital and financial markets in Qatar?
- How does the domestic regulatory environment allow for the growth of the Qatari Islamic capital markets?
- Could amendments be made to capital markets regulations, or could more be done by regulators? If so, what form would this evolution take?
- What can Islamic finance and investment offer in the drive towards the diversification of the Qatari Economy?
- What steps should Qatar take to drive post-FIFA direct investment, and what role can Shariah compliant structures play?
- Are Qatar’s Shariah compliant financial institutions in a favorable position in a post-FIFA environment in terms of liquidity and ongoing projects?
- Developing the Islamic capital market in Qatar: increasing market depth and liquidity, driving product innovation, and widening the investor base
- How has the Qatar Central Bank 2022 Treasury Sukuk issuance helped domestic Islamic banks manage their liquidity as well as ease issuer entry into the Sukuk market?
- Funding routes for Qatari corporates: Islamic capital markets versus bank funding
- How can Shariah compliant structures be further applied to the funding of projects and infrastructure in Qatar?
- How will privatization and the private sector continue to play a role in the provision of infrastructure and public services in Qatar?
- In the shift away from hydrocarbons, what sectors and activities are ripe for growth and development in Qatar, and how can Islamic sustainable capital markets products facilitate this rotation?
- How can Shariah compliant transition, sustainable and sustainability linked finance and investment products be further incorporated into the Qatari market?
Aymane Doukali, Head of Islamic and Structured Finance, Qatar Financial Centre
11.30 – 12:00
Coffee
12:00 – 14.00
Dialogue Two: Achieving National Objectives through Islamic Banking - Innovation, Transformation and Digitalization
- How have domestic bank mergers altered the Islamic banking sector in Qatar, and what further changes are on the horizon?
- How does the domestic prudential banking regulatory environment allow for the growth of the Qatari Islamic banking sector?
- Could amendments be made to banking regulations, or could more be done by regulators? If so, what form would this evolution take?
- How are Qatar’s Islamic banks positioned post-FIFA in terms of liquidity and asset growth?
- Do Tier-1 and Tier-2 Sukuk offer Qatari Islamic banks the most flexible, efficient and user-friendly way of satisfying regulatory capital requirements?
- What other funding options are open to Qatari Islamic banks, and what liquidity management tools are available?
- The digitalization of Islamic financial services in Qatar: what is working, what is viable and what is not?
- What do the answers to these questions mean for the evolution and transformation of Islamic financial services in Qatar?
- With Qatar emerging as a leading Islamic fintech centre, how significant is the work of Qatar FinTech Hub’s acceleration and incubation programs?
- Does the digitalization of Islamic financial services allow us to better address issues such as product authenticity and the minimization of uncertainty, and we are leveraging on this sufficiently?
- Is it feasible to require Islamic banks in Qatar to incorporate ESG frameworks as part of a wider Islamic banking philosophy?
- How can Shariah compliant banking be applied to social impact initiatives in Qatar, enriching lives through the advancement of education, housing, health, culture and well-being?
Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Chief of Financial Sector Office, Qatar Financial Centre
14.00
Luncheon
Dialogues Speakers

Aymane Doukali
Head of Islamic and Structured Finance, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)
Henk Jan Hoogendoorn
Chief of Financial Sector Office, Qatar Financial CentreAdvisory Board

Ajmal Bhatty
Ajmal Bhatty, Executive Director, Badri Management Consultancy
Akber Khan
Akber Khan, Senior Director, Asset Management, Al Rayan Investment
Amjad Hussain
Partner, K&L Gates LLP
Andrew Dahdal
Associate Professor, Section Head, Law and Policy (Economic Diversification), Centre for Law and Development, Qatar University
Dr Dalal Aassouli
Asistant Professor of Islamic Finance, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah
Associate Dean Academic, Associate Professor, Islamic Finance, College of Islamic Studies, HBKU, Qatar Foundation
Tamer Aref Serour
Unit Head - Structured Finance, Wholesale Banking - Government, Dukhan BankIn The News

IFN Monthly Review: February — Egypt’s Sukuk success
Egypt's long-awaited Sukuk have finally been issued and received overwhelming demand; Russia started implementing an Islamic finance experimental pilot project...

Qatar Central Bank’s new treasury Sukuk initiative a boon for Islamic banks
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) officially introduced in October 2022 some enhancements to its treasury bills issuance mechanism…

Plenty of areas for growth for Qatar's Islamic finance and banking industry, experts say
The State of Qatar, while being one of the smaller countries in the GCC region, remains an important player in the global…

Qatar: Islamic banking and finance on the rise
It has been more than a year after the 2017 Saudi-led GCC embargo on the State of Qatar was lifted and diplomatic relations…
The Previous IFN Qatar OnAir Roadshow
IFN Qatar OnAir Roadshow 2022
This was the 3rd IFN Qatar event.
Qatar’s’ Islamic banking industry, with four fully-fledged Islamic banks, enjoyed 26.1% of the total market share of global Islamic banking assets as at the third quarter of 2019.
The four Takaful operators enjoyed a 45% domestic market share.
Abroad, QIIB had founded Umnia Bank in Morocco, while Masraf Al Rayan-owned Al Rayan Investment was working on establishing a fintech-based Islamic bank in Kazakhstan.
Islamic fintech was an area of focus, with Qatar Fintech Hub launching incubator programs to develop fintech start-ups focusing on Islamic finance, including Takatech and Shariah compliant cryptocurrency.
Qatar remained a global leader for the Islamic finance industry and with its sturdy regulations and progressive regulators, its position was not in jeopardy.
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.
For any inquiries contact us
Our team will be glad to answer any questions you may have about this event.