The world has changed. How our industry – global Islamic banking, finance and investment – chooses to respond to these changes may be a generation defining moment. How can Islamic finance mobilize to address the imminent challenges of the real economy and provide not just liquidity support, but solvency support to the vital SME and corporate sector? Can Islamic finance use this opportunity to become truly responsible, inclusive and ethical? How can we as an industry ensure this is substance over form on a permanent basis? What opportunities do the UN Principles for Responsible Banking offer Islamic financial institutions, and what obligations and responsibilities to their stakeholders are placed on those institutions? How can the core values of Islamic finance be further applied to sustainable and socially responsible finance and investment strategies? We ask a respected panel for a roadmap to success for Islamic banking, finance and capital markets.

Muhamad Umar Swift, CEO, Bursa Malaysia

In the shadow of COVID-19, what role can social, pandemic and disaster recovery bonds play and how can Islamic finance solutions feature? How can Sustainable Development Goal 3 – promoting health and wellbeing – be made an achievable priority and what do SDG bonds, and potentially SDG Sukuk, offer? Beyond credit, what types of new vehicles will begin to feature in the financing of sustainable, social, humanitarian projects and what do Islamic finance structures offer? Are ratings, reporting, regulatory frameworks and screening technologies among the most significant changes facing sustainable finance today, and how has the sector responded? Where are the latest touch-points between Islamic finance and green and sustainable initiatives and where will we see the examples of overlap and cooperation? 

How large, potentially, is the Halal economy, both domestically and internationally? What are the prime sectors and opportunities available in this exciting sector? How do we undertake effective value chain analysis of the Halal economy, what role does technology play and how have recent market challenges changed our industry? Are companies in the Halal economy exclusively using Islamic financial services, and if not, why? How do Islamic financial institutions position themselves to offer effective financing through trade and export finance, Takaful, SME banking, treasury and other key financial services? How can Islamic capital markets and Sukuk also play a meaningful role in the financing and development of the Halal economy? We explore this vital and dynamic sector.

We ask an expert panel to examine spreads, pricing and ratings and identify what factors drive these in the short to medium term in Southeast Asia. How will external factors such as business sentiment, consumer behavior and fluctuating oil prices continue to influence credit fundamentals as well as issuer access to capital markets? In what ways will Sukuk play a prominent role in funding governments, corporates and projects? What innovation might we see in regional Islamic capital markets going forward and what structures offer issuers flexibility and efficiency? In times of stress and volatility, do Sukuk offer some semblance of stability? Will coming months see significant levels of debt restructuring and refinancing? We seek the thoughts of industry leaders.

How is technology playing a role in today’s Shariah compliant corporate, investment banking, capital markets and Islamic wealth management sectors? Where is disruption and disintermediation taking place in the capital raising process and what do FinTechs have to offer in terms of innovation? What disruption is taking place in the SME funding sector in particular? What are the challenges for new, high-growth technology companies and do they offer sufficient scale to be a major threat to the traditional financial services players? Where and how can FinTech play a meaningful role in key Islamic social financial activities such as Takaful, Zakat and Waqf?