31st May 2023
Hamad Bin Khalifa University Auditorium
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
#IFNQATAR2023
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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)Ayman Doukali has over a decade of experience in Islamic finance, particularly in the debt capital markets and corporate and institutional banking areas. He is currently the head of Islamic and structured finance at the Qatar Financial Center (QFC). Prior to joining the QFC, Ayman worked for HSBC in Malaysia and held multiple positions within the global banking and debt capital markets teams, with his last assignment being the head of Sukuk for Asia Pacific. Before working at HSBC, he was part of the debt capital markets team at Dukhan Bank in Qatar, leading the execution of a flow of Sukuk and syndicated financing transactions in the GCC.
Henk Jan Hoogendoorn
Chief of Financial Sector Office, Qatar Financial CentreHenk Jan Hoogendoorn is the Chief of Financial Sector Office at QFC, where he is responsible for delivering on QFC’s mission of attracting financial and regulated businesses to Qatar through the QFC platform, in line with the Second Financial Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.
He has extensive experience in international finance, management, and transforming and building businesses in the financial sector. Henk has held senior management roles at ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands and the Middle East and has a solid track record of implementing businesses in the financial sector.
Prior to joining QFC, Henk served as Mashreq Qatar’s Country CEO and Managing Director of Deutsche Bank, Head Non-Bank Financial Institutions, where he was responsible for insurers, pension funds, fintech, and implementing strategic and business plans across Europe.
He holds a master’s degree in Law from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has participated in executive education at the London Business School and INSEAD.
Advisory Board
Ajmal Bhatty
Ajmal Bhatty, Executive Director, Badri Management ConsultancyA thought leader in takaful and microtakaful, Ajmal Bhatty is recognized for his outstanding contributions to the takaful industry internationally. He has pioneered research, promotion and development of takaful, contributing to the evolution of ideas and concepts of ethical savings and protection, working with standard setting bodies of Islamic Financial Services Board, the Accounting & Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (1998-99) and the insurance regulatory bodies of Bahrain, Malaysia, Brunei and Afghanistan.
He heads MassesGlobal UK, is Executive Director of Badri Management Consultancy UAE, and is on the Advisory Board of United Kingdom’s Islamic Finance Council for the promotion of micro-financial solutions with a focus on takaful’s global promotion including the ESG metrics of Green Economy.
His professional and leadership experience spans over 30 years in managing insurance and takaful businesses globally, holding C-level and Board positions with HSBC (in the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), with Tokio Marine Group (in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt), and other insurance entities in the GCC.
He is a registered actuary in the UAE and Bahrain, a member of Actuaries Without Borders and has worked as a member of the special committee of Islamic Development Bank and Bank Negara Malaysia to develop and promote takaful amongst the members of Organization of Islamic Countries.
Akber Khan
Akber Khan, Senior Director, Asset Management, Al Rayan InvestmentAkber has more than 25 years’ experience in the investment industry. He is a Senior Director, Asset Management Group and has been with ARI since 2009, with overall responsibility for the management of client portfolios. ARI has an enviable track record of investing in Sharia-compliant GCC equities and global sukuk. Prior to ARI, Akber was at Deutsche Bank, London for more than 11 years, in European and emerging markets equities. Akber graduated from University College London in Economics & History. In each year since 2013 he has been in MENA Fund Manager Magazine’s ‘Power 50’ list of the most “influential, innovative and powerful people” in the regional industry. Akber has lived in Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Karachi and London.
Amjad Hussain
Partner, K&L Gates LLPAmjad Hussain is a partner in the firm’s Doha office. He focuses his practice on finance, corporate and commercial matters with a particular emphasis on banking and Islamic finance.
Since 2002, Amjad has worked for clients in the Arabian Gulf across a range of sectors including financial services; telecoms, media and technology; and infrastructure. He advises government and private sector clients based within and outside the Middle East on matters of English, Qatar and Qatar Financial Centre laws.
In 2021, Chambers Global directory of lawyers in Qatar rated Amjad as Band 1, stating: “Amjad Hussain is widely considered a leader in Qatari finance matters. He is acclaimed by clients for his strengths in Islamic and asset finance, and offers further expertise in M&A [merger and acquisition] transactions and commercial contract work. Sources describe him as a lawyer who is ‘very pragmatic, practical and offers a good level of service,’ further noting: ‘He’s a really pleasant guy to work with.’”
Andrew Dahdal
Associate Professor, Section Head, Law and Policy (Economic Diversification), Centre for Law and Development, Qatar UniversityDr Andrew Dahdal teaches at the College of Law, Qatar University and is the chair of the Commercial Law Discipline Group at the International Association of Law Schools and the section head (economic diversification) at the Centre for Law and Development, an industry-funded think tank also hosted within the College of Law.
Dr Andrew is also an industry consultant who researches and publishes on a range of financial services topics, particularly relating to technological innovations. He has taught law in Australia, Europe and the Middle East and currently heads an international project exploring the regulatory changes needed in Qatar to strengthen the fintech landscape.
Dr Andrew holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree and PhD from the University of New South Wales.
Dr Dalal Aassouli
Asistant Professor of Islamic Finance, Hamad Bin Khalifa UniversityDr Dalal Aassouli is an assistant professor of Islamic and sustainable finance at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.
Dr Dalal was previously a visiting academic at the Durham Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, Durham University Business School. Prior to that, she worked at the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) in Malaysia where she assisted with the establishment of the IILM’s Sukuk program. Before that, she held several corporate finance positions in Europe where she had exposure to the African, European and Latin American markets.
Dr Dalal serves on several industry working groups and non-profit global forums such as the CIBAFI Sustainability Working Group, Qatar Financial Center Islamic Finance Taskforce and the Global Impact Fintech Forum. She is also an invited speaker in international conferences and events and provides her consultancy expertise to various organizations on issues related to sustainable and Islamic finance.
Dr Dalal holds a Master’s degree from NEOMA Business School and Paris Dauphine University and a PhD from ENS de Lyon in France.
Dr Dalal’s areas of research interest include Islamic finance in general and its implications for liquidity management, corporate finance, ethical finance, development finance, green finance, food security, sustainable development and SRI.
Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah
Associate Dean Academic, Associate Professor, Islamic Finance, College of Islamic Studies, HBKU, Qatar FoundationAssoc Prof Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid is currently an associate professor at the College of Islamic Studies, HBKU Qatar Foundation. He holds a PhD in finance from the University of Nottingham in the UK. He also has a Master in International Economics and Finance degree from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor in Business Administration (Finance) degree from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
Before joining HBKU, Dr Eskandar was an associate professor and associate dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance or INCEIF, a postgraduate university specializing in Islamic finance, established by Bank Negara Malaysia.
Dr Eskandar’s primary teaching and research interests are in corporate finance, portfolio management and the Islamic capital market. He has published articles in several top-tier journals and participated in conferences as an invited speaker, panelist and paper presenter.
Dr Eskandar was a financial sector specialist consultant for the World Bank and advisor for the Brunei Institute of Leadership and Islamic Finance in Brunei. He was involved in several consultancy projects with government agencies and financial institutions such as the Ministry of Energy, Malaysia; Afghanistan Ministry of Finance; CIMB Islamic Bank; Responsible Finance Institute; and ZICO Shariah Advisory.
Tamer Aref Serour
Unit Head - Structured Finance, Wholesale Banking - Government, Dukhan BankDialogues Partners
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
PARTNERS
DDCAP Group
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in London, with an office in Dubai and a presence in both Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, DDCAP is a leading provider of asset facilitation services and financial technology and system solutions across a diverse range of Shariah compliant products, asset classes and instruments in both the primary and secondary markets. DDCAP’s wholly-owned subsidiaries include DD&Co and DDGI. 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, focused principally on providing service to Islamic financial market participants around the world. DDCAP has its own Shariah supervisory board comprising esteemed Shariah scholars from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait. DDCAP’s multi-award-winning Shariah compliant ETHOS Asset Facilitation Platform is 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.
IdealRatings
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:
- Equities – A web-based platform covering over 40,000 stocks, where fund managers can screen equities using different, custom-built ESG/SRI/Responsible Investments and Shariah rulebooks or guidelines. This solution caters to different purification calculation methodologies with a comprehensive set of reports for fund managers to manage their portfolio.
- REITs – Global coverage of all listed REITs that could be screened in accordance with different standard Shariah rulebooks or guidelines.
- Indexes – Co-branded and jointly marketed by FTSE-Russell Indexes and a separate series with Thomson Reuters for the global markets, designed for fund management and investment benchmarking. In addition, IdealRatings is able to provide custom-built indexes for the fund management industry.
- Sukuk – A unique solution which includes the global Sukuk and a pioneering Sukuk-screening solution that enables fund managers to customize their Sukuk selection in accordance to their Shariah rulebook, guidelines or investment preference, and
- Brokerage – The solution provides broking houses the ability to screen global equity markets, a technical analysis of the markets and equities, buy/sell/hold recommendations and purification amounts.
CONSULTANCY PARTNER
Redmoney Consulting
Launched in April 2021, Redmoney Consulting is a new and highly focused advisory firm focusing on global Islamic, Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Finance. Redmoney Consulting is a logical extension of REDmoney Group, the Islamic finance industry’s leading media house with a truly global audience. In addition to Islamic finance, the Group has steadily increased its coverage of the green and sustainable finance sector as the two markets continue to converge. Redmoney Consulting provides an expansive service allowing its consultants to provide advisory and consulting services at the highest level for the most discerning of clients.
LEAD MEDIA PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNER
In The News
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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.
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