Ayaz Ismail is the director of wholesale banking at CIMB Islamic in Malaysia, where he covers Islamic investment banking transactions. He has been involved in various groundbreaking and award-winning ringgit and non-ringgit Sukuk offerings. Prior to joining CIMB Islamic, he was with Malaysian multinational conglomerate Sime Darby, carrying out various roles in the CEO’s Office, including legal, strategy and communications functions of the group.

Ayaz graduated with an MBA in financial studies from the University of Nottingham in the UK as a Chevening Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from the same university, a diploma in Shariah law and practice from the International Islamic University Malaysia and a Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance charter. Recently, he completed his PhD in Islamic finance at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance or INCEIF in Malaysia and was appointed as a Grand Councillor of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals.

Bilal Parvaiz joined Standard Chartered Saadiq (Malaysia) in 2014 as part of the Islamic corporate team. He currently heads the Islamic corporate, commercial and institutional banking team and is also responsible for some of the regional initiatives of Saadiq in the ASEAN markets. Bilal leads the Halal360 initiative and is the country champion for sustainable finance.

Bilal has been instrumental in closing some of the landmark and market-leading transactions in the ESG and Islamic banking space. Prior to his move to Malaysia, he was with Standard Chartered Saadiq (UAE) as part of the global Islamic banking team managing structured trade finance and transaction banking.

Bilal is a certified expert in sustainable finance from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and has also completed the Sustainability Leadership Program from the University of Cambridge. He is also an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals.

Chung spearheaded Cagamas’s entrance into the international bond market and was instrumental in establishing the company’s US$5 billion Multicurrency EMTN Programme, under which Cagamas’s inaugural and Southeast Asia’s largest offshore renminbi bond was issued. Under his leadership, Cagamas also concluded the country’s largest Sukuk issuance in 2013, and was the driving force behind Cagamas’s inaugural issuance of the first ASEAN sustainability SRI Sukuk for affordable housing and ASEAN sustainability bonds for the SME sector in Malaysia.

Chung is currently the chairman of the International Secondary Mortgage Market Association, and previously served as the first chairman of the Asian Secondary Mortgage Market Association.

Chung has 29 years of experience with Bank Negara Malaysia in the areas of financial system stability and the financial sector. He has served as the director of the Banking Supervision Department and the Risk Management Department, and has carried out assignments for the IMF, the IFSB and the Asian Development Bank.

Clare has been leading the investor relations team in Axiata Group since 2014 and in this capacity, she was the co-lead for Axiata’s US$1.5 billion multi-currency Sukuk in 2020. Her various stakeholder engagements with shareholders, bondholders and rating agencies has lifted Axiata’s sustainability profile globally, which is also reflected in its current MSCI ESG rating of ‘AA’. Clare is a member of the board of directors of Malaysian Investor Relations Association and Axiata Digital Innovation Fund.

Prior to joining Axiata, Clare was a sell-side equity research analyst. Her last posting was with CLSA Securities, where she was head of Research Malaysia, and head of Asean Telecoms. Clare is an economics graduate from London School of Economics and Political Science.

Colin Chen is the head of ESG finance, Asia Pacific, for MUFG Bank. In this newly-created role, he will build upon MUFG’s ESG finance strategy in the region and deepen its market presence by further establishing the bank as a center of excellence for green financing.
Colin joined MUFG Bank in 2000 and has been involved in structured finance for over 30 years. Prior to his current appointment, he was MUFG’s head of the Structured Finance, Asian Investment Banking Division, responsible for the project finance, real estate and asset finance businesses for the bank for the Asia and Oceania region. Under his leadership, MUFG has consistently been ranked one of the top project finance lenders in Asia Pacific and renowned for the inroads it has made in renewables financing in Asia.
Over the course of his career, Colin has worked in London, New York and Singapore covering both advisory roles as well as arranging roles. He is currently based in Singapore.

Colin has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and an MBA from the University of Rochester in New York.

Elias trained and worked with Mayer Brown in London before moving to Dubai, and joined Trowers & Hamlins in 2014 from Clifford Chance. Elias has a broad range of experience both in the conventional and Islamic finance spheres. He has significant experience in representing the full spectrum of stakeholders on a range of banking and finance transactions including project financings and real estate financings as well as capital market issuances.

Dr Hamim Syahrum Ahmad Mokhtar is currently the deputy director in the Financial Inclusion Department of Bank Negara Malaysia. His role includes leading and guiding strategic development policies of social finance, microfinance and green finance. Previously, he was the deputy director in the Financial Surveillance Department and Islamic Banking & Takaful Department.

Dr Hamim was also involved in a number of working groups and taskforces established by the ISFB including the following groups: Capital Adequacy Standards (Sukuk Securitisation and Real Estate), Governance of Islamic Collective Investment Scheme, Guides on Islamic Deposit Insurance and Guidance Notes in the determination of Alpha in Capital Adequacy Ratio.

Dr Hamim holds a degree in accounting with honors, an MBA and a PhD in Islamic banking and finance. He has published and presented a number of papers at both domestic and international conferences, including a paper on the efficiency and competition of Islamic banking in Malaysia which was accorded the ‘Highly Commended Award’ by award-winning international journal Emerald Literati Network. He is also a chartered accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and a chartered banker. He received the central bank’s Excellent Individual Performance Awards in 2009.

Ismitz Matthew De Alwis is CEO and executive director of Kenanga Investors. He also serves as a non-independent non-executive director on the board of directors of Kenanga Islamic Investors, i-VCAP Management, as well as all subsidiaries of Kenanga Investors.

With more than 30 years of experience, Ismitz has a Capital Markets Services Representative’s License from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). He is a certified financial planner and Islamic financial planner. Ismitz is the chairperson of the Malaysian Association of Asset Managers, and is currently on the board of the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia. He is a member of the SC’s Assessment Review Committee – Fund Management as well as a member of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and the Industry Competency Framework Advisory Panel for the Malaysian Capital Market project undertaken by the Securities Industry Development Corporation. Additionally, he is a member of the Sustainable Investment Platform Steering Committee – Malaysia Sustainable Investment Initiative and a council member of the Institutional Investors Council Malaysia. Ismitz is also the investment advisor for the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s Trust Management Committee.

Julian M Hashim, an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaysia, was a founding partner of a leading Kuala Lumpur law firm. In his 25 years of legal practice, Julian has advised on all aspects of corporate transactional work including international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, takeovers and capital market transactions. Julian also advised his clients on their ongoing reporting obligations, corporate governance requirements and other compliance matters.

As the chief regulatory officer of Bursa Malaysia, Julian and his team at Bursa Regulation undertakes regulatory functions of Bursa Malaysia and its licensed subsidiaries ranging from regulatory strategies and policies, listing, market and corporate surveillance, governance and sustainability, participant supervision, investigation and enforcement.

Kelvin Tan is the head of sustainable finance and investments of ASEAN for HSBC. He oversees the provision of sustainability-linked finance, the development of innovative climate solutions and leads cross-business and cross-market collaboration in sales enablement and risk management. Kelvin also works closely with other ASEAN CEOs to help them drive the conversation with external stakeholders.

Prior to this role, Kelvin was CEO of HSBC in Thailand from 2015 to 2021, managing the bank’s franchise for the country. He was responsible for overseeing and growing HSBC’s wholesale and private banking business. He also held several other senior roles during his tenure in Thailand, including as chairman of the Association of International Banks in Thailand and was the founding member of the Thailand–UK business leadership council.

Kelvin’s banking career spans over three decades, with a focus on corporates and multinational corporations across industries in Singapore and Asia Pacific. Prior to joining HSBC Singapore in 2009, he started his career with Citibank and had worked at JPMorgan and Societe Generale.

Kelvin holds an MBA in accountancy from Nanyang Technological University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore.

Magdy Eissa took on the role of global business development when he joined IdealRatings in 2010 and he has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, working closely with global investment firms, research houses and financial institutions. Prior to IdealRatings, Magdy’s latest role was as the regional manager for a group of Euromoney institutional investor companies, responsible for the Middle East and Africa where he spent several years growing the business in the region and enhancing the products offered to include macroeconomic indicators, company information and Islamic finance data. Magdy holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Egypt along with postgraduate qualifications in information technology from the UK.

Marcel Omar Papp is the principal officer of Swiss Re Kuala Lumpur Branch since August 2018, overseeing both the conventional and re-Takaful operations of Swiss Re in Malaysia. He came to Swiss Re Kuala Lumpur Branch in February 2009 with the responsibility to set up and head the re-Takaful operations, and it has since since become the global center for Swiss Re’s Family and General re-Takaful business leading the development of the firm’s Islamic reinsurance business, products and processes worldwide. Under his leadership, Swiss Re Retakaful has become a market leader in Southeast Asia and has won several ‘Best Retakaful operation’ awards.

Prior to moving to Malaysia, Marcel Omar was based in Hong Kong and Singapore for 10 years in various underwriting roles, including head of the Casualty Treaty Desk and product manager of casualty for Asia.

Marcel Omar started his career in insurance more than 25 years ago as a claims broker in the London market working for Willis. He then moved to Union Re (Zurich) working in client market and underwriting functions before joining Swiss Re in 1998.

Marcel Omar holds a Masters of Arts degree in business administration from the University of Zurich (Switzerland) and is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London.

Marlena Kareem is a senior journalist at Islamic Sustainable Finance and Investment (ISFI), the Islamic sustainable finance arm of Islamic Finance news. She played an instrumental role in the launch of ISFI. She covers developments in the Islamic sustainable finance space in the form of case studies, reports and podcasts.

Marlena holds a Master’s of Science degree in Islamic finance from INCEIF University and is currently a PhD candidate at INCEIF University. Her areas of academic interest are Islamic socialist economics and the Islamic political economy.

Michael Orzano (Mike) is the senior director of global equity indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). He is responsible for the product management of S&P DJI’s global equity, real estate and Islamic indices including the S&P/ASX and S&P/TSX series. In this role, Mike leads S&P DJI’s efforts developing new benchmarks for international equity markets and promotes their use among global clients. He also regularly publishes research, analytical reports and market commentary on a variety of international investment topics.

Prior to joining S&P DJI, Mike was a research analyst at Endurance Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, where he was responsible for evaluating investments in banks and other financial institutions. He has also worked as an investment performance analyst at Cambridge Associates.

Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the New York CFA Society.

Dr Mohamad Zabidi Ahmad has worked in the banking industry for 38 years. He has amassed 19 years of experience in group treasury products and functions (conventional and Islamic) including corporate (deposits, investments, client solutions), interbank, fixed income and derivatives, product development, structuring and marketing. He previously served as the senior managing director and regional head of Islamic treasury, treasury and markets in group wholesale banking for CIMB Group. During that time, he was responsible for the development of CIMB Group’s regional Islamic treasury franchises, managing over RM100 billion (US$23.88 billion) of Islamic assets for CIMB Group Islamic Banking. His country-focused treasury remits included Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand and for five years, he was based in London as a chief dealer. His innovations included the introduction of CIMB’s Islamic repo contract.

Dr Mohamad Zabidi has held various additional executive management positions within the CIMB Group, including the chairman of the Investment Account Oversight Committee and a member of the Group Islamic Management Committee, the Treasury and Market Committee and the Group Islamic Wholesale Banking Committee. He has been widely recognized for his leadership, with CIMB announced as ‘Best Islamic Bank for Treasury Management’ at the IFN Awards in 2019. He previously participated in the Bursa Malaysia/Bank Negara Malaysia Working Group resulting in the formation of the Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ Commodity House and the Working Group resulting in the establishment of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation.

Dr Mohamad Zabidi served as a proactive chairman of AIBIM Treasury & Markets, leading the CMTC Sukuk Index Task Force in the successful launch of the Sovereign & Corporate Bloomberg-AIBIM-Bursa Sukuk Index in September 2012. In 2018, under his leadership, AIBIM also published the practice notes for Qard Hasan and commodity Murabahah for adoption by AIBIM members. He has presented papers on Islamic treasury products to various central banks, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Indonesia and Bank Negara Malaysia.

Among his academic and professional achievements, Dr Mohamad Zabidi holds a doctorate in business administration from Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia and has a Bachelor in Accountancy degree with honors from Universiti Teknologi MARA.

A qualified chartered accountant, Dr Mohamad Zabidi is a practicing member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a certified senior financial market practitioner by ACI-Financial Market of Malaysia and the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers and holds an Associate Qualification in Islamic Finance from the Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia and that of senior associate from the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance.

Mohammed Paracha is a banking and finance lawyer based in Dubai. He is the head of the Middle East, as well as the head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Islamic finance practice for the Middle East and Africa.

Mohammed has been active in the Middle East for nearly 20 years, having worked in Norton Rose Fulbright’s London and Bahrain offices before moving to Dubai in 2011. He became the head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Middle East practice in January 2021.

Mohammed’s practice focuses on all types of Islamic finance covering a wide range of asset types, investment classes and industrial sectors. With a background in asset and project finance, Mohammed advises on Shariah compliant asset finance, trade finance, real estate finance and project financings. He also advises on the structuring of Islamically acceptable investment funds and has advised on the establishment of new Islamic financial institutions in various countries. Mohammed has strong relationships with many of the internationally renowned Shariah scholars and is a regular speaker at conferences and seminars on Islamic finance topics.

Mohammed is recommended as a leader in his field by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, Acritas and IFLR.

Mohd Ekmal Mohd Zazi is the regional head of wholesale banking at CIMB Islamic and is responsible for developing and growing the Islamic wholesale banking business of CIMB Group. Prior to joining CIMB Islamic in April 2020, he was with CIMB Bank, carrying out capital and balance sheet management roles of the group. He was a key person in the liquidity and interest rate management of the group, ensuring sustainable assets growth through a lean and optimized balance sheet. He started his career as a management trainee with CIMB Investment Bank back in July 2007.

Mohd Ekmal graduated with a Master of Science degree in risk management and financial engineering from Imperial College London in 2012. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in actuarial science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Chartered Professional in Islamic Finance charter.

Mushtaq Kapasi is ICMA’s chief representative for the Asia Pacific region. He has been based in Hong Kong since 2002, engaged in senior strategy, capital market and legal roles covering the region at international banks actively in Asia. He has worked as a lawyer in debt capital markets and derivatives, a structurer in equities and fixed income, a manager of complex trades with regulatory and accounting considerations and an advisor to top executives on emerging market strategy. He has also served as a consultant on financial structures of renewable energy projects in frontier markets. He is a member of the New York State Bar, and studied mathematics at the University of Texas and law at Yale University.

Nicholas Gandolfo joined the SFS team as the commercial lead for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore. He has approximately 15 years of experience in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore). He has worked in the private and semi-government sectors in both developed and emerging markets.

The bulk of Nicholas’s career to date has been spent at HSBC Group in commercial/corporate banking undertaking global relationship management and team management roles as well as being involved in projects, initiatives in relation to corporate governance and strategic projects for Asia Pacific at the bank. Nicholas also has deep experience in credit risk management, risk management, governance, business and market development and managing regulatory-related projects/initiatives.
Nicholas’s most recent job before joining Sustainalytics was managing BlueOrchard’s (Global Impact Investors) Asia Pacific Business (as the regional manager) which manages the largest microfinance/impact fund in the world and is active in many emerging markets providing funding to support financial inclusion.

Nicholas holds double degrees: a Bachelor of Arts (Indonesian) degree and a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) degree, after which further study was undertaken to obtain the Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment (Securities Institute of Australia).

Nor Masliza Sulaiman is the deputy CEO overseeing the origination, execution and syndication of fixed-income, equity-linked and equity transactions. She is primarily responsible for the capital markets franchise of CIMB Group which covers conventional, Islamic and ESG-themed transactions across G3 and regional local currencies for bonds (commercial papers, medium-term notes), convertible and exchangeable bonds, project finance bonds, securitization and structured finance (including asset-backed securities, corporate hybrids and regulatory capital), as well as underwriting and placements of primary and secondary equity market transactions.

Nor Masliza has more than 23 years of experience in the ASEAN debt markets, equity-linked products, derivatives and Islamic finance. She is the chairperson of the Debt Capital Markets Committee of the Malaysian Investment Banking Association. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (Distinction) majoring in finance and accounting with a minor in economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and is a CFA charterholder.

Raja Amir was appointed as CEO of HSBC Amanah in May 2021 and is responsible for executing the HSBC Group’s strategy for Islamic banking in Malaysia, driving sustainable leadership and value-based intermediation efforts while spearheading the development of talent, particularly in relation to Islamic finance and sustainability within the group. Prior to his appointment, Raja Amir was the head of debt capital markets for Malaysia.

Raja Amir started his career in London in the tech industry and moved to a local investment bank in 2006. Thereafter, he joined HSBC Amanah in 2010 and has since held various roles within the International Currency Business Unit and Debt Capital Markets team.

In recent times, Raja Amir led the government of Malaysia’s US$800 million sustainability Sukuk, being the world’s first-ever sustainability Sukuk by a sovereign as well as the issuance of Yinson Holdings’s RM1 billion (US$220.36 million) five-year sustainability-linked Sukuk Wakalah, Malaysia’s first-ever sustainability-linked Sukuk.
Raja Amir is also in charge of delivering Project Cocoon, a sustainability transformation program to truly embed sustainability in HSBC Amanah by achieving more than 51% of HSBC Amanah’s financing balances to be aligned to the ‘Triple-Bottom-Line’ principles.

Rejina Rahim (spelled with a ‘j’ and not a ‘g’) is legally trained and started off her career with a stockbroking house before joining the fund management industry in 1998.

With over 23 years in the Malaysian investment management industry, Rejina has been actively involved in improving the professional standards of the funds, management and capital markets in Malaysia. She has worked, among others, on the Securities Commission’s Compliance Guidelines on Unit Trusts as well as the recent JC3 Climate Change & Principle Based Taxonomy. She remains involved with the industry through her role as an external advisor to Nomura Asset Management in Malaysia.

Rejina is a 2021 Listee of the Kindness & Leadership 50 Leading Lights Asia Pacific. She started Wahine Capital recently as a means of doing more for female empowerment through knowledge and technology. She is in the midst of building her start up.

Shahariah Shaharudin is the president of Saturna, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saturna
Capital Corporation. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in business studies from Knox College, Illinois and a Master of Arts degree in economics from University of Illinois, Springfield.

Shahariah has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of fund management, stockbroking and commercial banking. She started her career in a commercial bank with extensive experience in retail banking, trade finance and corporate banking and later joined a stockbroking company, overseeing both the stockbroking and futures broking business. She also worked for a fund management house under the Strategic Business and Market Development Division where her core responsibility was sourcing business and servicing both retail and wholesale clients. She was CEO and an executive director of Kenanga Islamic Investors until joining Saturna in October 2018.

Shahariah speaks at Islamic finance and ESG conferences. She is passionate about Islamic investment and has participated in the Brunei Roundtable; presented in events in Shenzen, China; and was nominated in the ‘Top 10 List for Women in Malaysian Financial Institutions’ by a local magazine.

Shahariah is currently a holder of the Capital Market Services Representatives License for fund management.

Sharifatul Hanizah is the executive director of Islamic capital market development of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). She leads a team that facilitates the developmental and operational initiatives for Malaysia’s Islamic capital market (ICM). This encompasses initiatives through the deepening and broadening of ICM products and services to further strengthen Malaysia’s position as a global hub for ICM as well reviews of industry proposals and Shariah status for listed/pre-IPO securities.

Sharifatul has extensive and diverse experience of over 30 years in the fields of investment analysis, portfolio management, equity trading and unit trust while serving in various organizations such as Permodalan Nasional (PNB), RHB Investment Management and Muamalat Invest. During her tenure in PNB and RHB, Sharifatul’s board experience was vast, spanning consumer goods, technology and manufacturing companies. She served on the boards of exchange-listed and private companies as a nominee director for PNB and RHB.

Prior to joining the SC in August 2019, Sharifatul was CEO of SIDC, the learning and development arm of the SC. She is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia, a certified financial planner, an Islamic financial planner and a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia.

Prior to joining Eastspring Al-Wara’ Investments, Tan Ming Han was the associate director in Amundi Malaysia where he managed regional and domestic equity portfolios for institutional clients from June 2012 to October 2018. Ming Han has past investment experience in the industry including Meridian, HwangDBS Investment Management and Philip Capital Management where he also managed both local and regional unit trust funds and discretionary mandates. He has long/short equity experience from his working stint as a hedge fund manager in Singapore in 2010. He started his career in corporate finance and brings with him more than 15 years of investment industry experience.

Ming Han holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in corporate finance and international business from the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Vinie Chong Pui Ling has extensive experience in financial management, strategy and commercial planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, treasury and investor relations. She has executed investment and fundraising transactions with a combined value of more than RM25 billion (US$5.58 billion), which have won numerous prestigious awards from Euromoney, Triple A Asset Award, International Financing Review, RAM Ratings and Alpha Southeast Asia for best transactions, pioneer awards and innovation in finance. Her effective engagement with the investment community had also led to her being twice-voted as the best investor relations professional in Asia in 2013 and 2015. She had twice turned around two loss-making companies in different industries within the first year under her leadership as CFO.

In her current role, Vinie drives the delivery of Cenergi’s performance through accelerating its business innovation and green growth strategies toward the benefit of the planet. Vinie is currently an independent non-executive director with Damansara Holdings.

Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin was appointed Deputy Chief Executive of the SC on 5 April 2018. He joined the SC in January 2011 as Executive Director, Islamic Capital Market and was appointed Managing Director, Development and Islamic Markets in November 2016.

He is also Chairman of Capital Markets Malaysia, an entity established by the SC to promote the Malaysian capital market, and a Board member of the Securities Industry Development Corporation. Zainal Izlan has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He began his career with Citibank before moving to MIDF Amanah Asset Management. Just before joining the SC, Zainal Izlan was the CEO of i-VCAP Management.

Zainal Izlan holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (dual concentration in Accounting and Finance) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.