HE Abdullah Salim Al-Salmi, Executive President, Capital Market Authority, Sultanate of Oman

Dr Qais Issa Al Yahyai, Executive Vice President, Central Bank of Oman

Through a select group of senior market participants, we ask the important questions relevant to developments in the Omani Islamic financial market. How have the local Islamic banks performed? How important was the recent sovereign Sukuk and did it successfully create an effective benchmark for corporate Sukuk issuers in the capital market? How has the Islamic capital market performed? What can the Sultanate offer the burgeoning Halal financing sector and how can Islamic finance further contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals? How can Oman grow and develop the domestic Takaful market? We also seek an update on the Sultanate’s Islamic Banking Regulatory Framework and the new Takaful regulation.

Assessing the recent Omani rial sovereign Sukuk program — what it means for the Sultanate’s domestic capital market. Will the sovereign Sukuk provide the catalyst for more corporate Sukuk issuance? How was the Oman’s first REIT received by the market? What do innovative equity-linked investment products such as exchange-traded funds offer local investors and what are the pros and cons of passive investment tools such as these? What can technology, particularly tools such as blockchain, offer capital market innovation in Oman? Lastly, we examine the Sultanate’s infrastructure requirements in the coming years and ask what can be funded through Islamic facilities, how can risk be effectively managed and do public–private partnerships offer a viable opportunity?

What are the major challenges and opportunities facing Omani banks in their digitization programs and strategies for the adoption of financial technology? How is digitization within local banks driving effective segmentation and the development of ever more efficient product delivery channels? What opportunities do blockchain and distributed ledger technology offer Islamic financial institutions and consumers in Oman? Where do crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending potentially fit in the Omani financial system and what can be done to develop and nurture these important components? Where and how can fintech play a meaningful role in key Islamic financial activities such as Takaful, Zakat and Waqf?

Now in its fifth year, the highly acclaimed IFN Oman Dialogue will once again bring together a select group of leading Islamic finance practitioners and regulators to discuss the opportunities, challenges and issues facing the Shariah compliant financing and investment market in Oman today.

This thought-provoking, invitation-only, closed-door session is based on the Chatham House Rule —– that anyone who attends the dialogue is free to use the information from the discussion but is not permitted to attribute comments made. The Oman Dialogue will feature a small, select group of local regulators, financial intermediaries, consultants, advisors, academics and issuers.