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Date: 14th March 2017 Venue: Rixos President Astana
Conference Guide

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The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region has seen encouraging activity in recent years, including regulations– while the global market is also paying attention to the region as investors seek to diversify and tap new markets. The current geopolitical situation provides a further catalyst for the CIS region to develop its Islamic banking and finance capabilities.

A regional leader, Kazakhstan continues to make inroads in bringing Shariah compliant financing and banking by continuously working on bolstering the regulatory environment for Shariah finance by amending the legislation over the last few years. These amendments put Kazakhstan in a unique position within the CIS region as the only country with such progressive Islamic finance legislation, and could act as a catalyst for other CIS governments to consider following in Kazakhstan’s footsteps.

An increasingly important region for the industry and with vocalized support from multiple stakeholders, 2017 will see the second installment of IFN CIS Forum, this time in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and the event is expected to draw market players and regulators from key Islamic finance markets globally and all CIS and Russia.

NOTABLE SPEAKERS AND HONORABLE GUESTS:


Bakhyt Sultanov
Minister of Finance, Republic of Kazakhstan

Timur Suleimenov
Minister of National Economy, Republic of Kazakhstan

Dr Kairat Kelimbetov
Governor, AIFC

Yerlan Khairov
Vice-Minister of Investments and Development, Republic of Kazakhstan

Abdutalip Sultanov
President and the Chairman of the Board, Kyrgyz Stock Exchange, Kyrgyzstan

Asset Issekeshev
Mayor of Astana City, Republic of Kazakhstan

Daulet Abylkairov
Deputy Chairman, Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund

Alexey Simanovsky
Adviser to the Chairman, Central Bank of Russian

Gulmira Isaeva
Vice Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan

Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al-Thani
Governor, Qatar Central Bank

Dr Bolat Zhamishev
Chairman, Kazakhstan Development Bank

Dr Hussain Ali Al Abdulla
Chairman and Managing Director, Masraf Al Rayan

Khaled Al Aboodi
CEO, Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector

Michael Ryan
CEO, Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority

Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Ali Al-Thani
Head of Business Development Department, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)

Adel Mustafawi
Group CEO, Masraf Al Rayan

Mourad Mekhail
Advisor to the Board, Kuwait International Bank

Prasad Abraham
COO, Al Hilal Bank, Abu Dhabi & Member of the Board of Directors, Al Hilal Bank, Kazakhstan

Stella Cox
Managing Director, DDCap, the UK

Baljeet Kaur Grewal
Managing Director, Sovereign Wealth Fund - Samruk Kazyna

Taliya Minullina
Chief Executive, Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, Russia

Nurlan Kussainov
CEO, AIFC Authority

Elena Gupalo
Chairman, Zaman Bank

Arsad Thinoon
Executive Director, Amundi Islamic, Malaysia

Hamed Ali
CEO, Nasdaq Dubai

Ahmed Al Qassim
CEO, Emirates NBD Capital, UAE

Umut Shayakhmetova
Chairwoman of Management Board, Halyk Bank

Magzhan Auezov
Chairman of the Management Board, Fortebank

Marat Kabaev
President, International Association of Islamic Business (IAIB), Russia

Gordon Haskins
CEO, Al Hilal Bank Kazakhstan

 

Agenda

08:00 – 09:00 Registration
09:00 – 09:10 Welcome Remarks
Dr Kairat Kelimbetov - Governor, AIFC
09:10 – 09:40 Keynote Address
Khaled Al Aboodi – CEO, Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD)
09:40 – 10:25 Clearing the Roadblocks to Mainstream Islamic finance in the CIS
The CIS countries are believed to hold a great potential for the industry but history tells us that large scale adoption is a slow transition, not a massive jump. What are the stepping stones that will be put in place to facilitate growth of Islamic finance in the region?
Moderator: Baljeet Kaur Grewal - Managing Director, Sovereign Wealth Fund - Samruk Kazyna
Panelists: Abdutalip Sultanov — President and the Chairman of the Board, Kyrgyz Stock Exchange, Kyrgyzstan
Behnam Gurbanzada — Counselor to the Deputy Chairman of the Board, Sberbank of Russia
Dr Bolat Zhamishev – Chairman, Kazakhstan Development Bank
Marina Epifanceva – Head of Information Analysis, Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, Russia
Prasad Abraham - COO, Al Hilal Bank, Abu Dhabi & Member of the Board of Directors, Al Hilal Bank, Kazakhstan
10:25 – 10:55 An Audience With Regional Financial Regulators
A look at how the legal and regulatory framework has evolved and what further changes are anticipated to encourage growth of Islamic finance activities
Moderator: Michael Ryan – CEO, Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority
Panelists: Alexey Simanovsky - Adviser to the Governor, Central Bank of Russia
Nurlan Kussainov — CEO, AIFC Authority
10:55 – 11:25 Coffee & Networking
11:25 – 11:55 Inward Investment: From Agriculture to Infrastructure...
What investment opportunities the region’s got to offer the Islamic investment community in 2017? Why the CIS and not the rest of the world?
Moderator: Narmukhan Sarybayev – Chairman of the Board, KazAgroProduct, Kazakhstan
Panelists: Adil Utembayev – CEO, Kazakhstan Project Preparation Fund
Aidyn Tairov — CFO, Al Hilal Bank
Nurzhan Slamkulov – CEO, SK Leasing
Yerlan Baidaulet – Adviser to the Minister of Investments and Development, Kazakhstan
Zhenis Dulatov – Director of Microfinance Department, National Chamber of Enterpreneurs Atameken
11:55 – 12:25 Driving Regional Econ Dlpment through Shariah-compliant Capital Raising
How can IF facilitate development of regional resources in oil & gas, energy, agriculture and halal industry? How can CIS’s SMEs benefit from Shariah-compliant capital raising products?
Moderator: Nadir Burnashev - Advisor to the Chairman of Board, Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK)
Panelists: Daulet Abylkairov – Deputy Chairman, DAMU Entrepreneurship Development Fund
Elena Gupalo – Chairman, Zaman Bank
Saeed Kharbash - Head of Strategy and Planning, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC)
12:25 – 13:10 This session looks into various approaches taken by established Islamic financial markets in setting up capital markets framework and discusses best ways of going ahead in the regional context.
Moderator: Wayne Evans – Adviser International Strategy & Head of Islamic Finance, TheCityUK
Panelists: Arsad Thinoon – Executive Director, Amundi Islamic, Malaysia
Cassim Docrat – Director, DDCap DIFC
Evgeniya Vinokurova — Head of Alternative Finance Division, Vnesheconombank, Russia
Linar Yakupov — President, Islamic Business and Finance Development Fund (IBFD Fund) & President, The Association of Regional Investment Agencies
Tahir Mahmood - Head of Business Development, Nasdaq Dubai
13:10 – 14:30 Luncheon
14:30 – 15:15 Human Capital as a Building Block to Industry Growth
A dearth in human capital, and leadership in particular, is one of the biggest challenges emerging Islamic financial markets face. Developing a generation of Islamic bankers and intermediaries must therefore be embraced not only by academics but also industry leaders and financial regulators.
Moderator: Madina Kalimullina – Executive Secretary, Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance
Panelists: Ernur Rysmagambetov — Head, AIFC Academy
Daniel Corrigan — Member of International Committee, Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), UK
Mujtaba Khalid - ‎Head of Islamic Finance Centre, Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF)
Dr Sofiza Azmi – CEO, Edbiz Consulting, UK
Ulrika Brunner — Director, Strategic Corporate Relations, Finance Accreditation Agency
15:15 – 15:30 Coffee & Networking
15:30 – 17:30 Workshop: Sukuk - An Alternative Asset Class
With Sukuk gaining popularity globally, the Sharia’a-compliant asset class offers new opportunities to government entities, financial institutions and corporates to raise funds to meet their liquidity requirements by broadening their investor base. An industry that is growing rapidly, Islamic finance is expanding in jurisdictions globally with Sukuk being a key part of the expansion. Whether asset-backed or asset-based, recent innovations have created templates of various Sukuk structures, providing issuers with a flexible route of structuring to meet their requirements.

Emirates NBD, Norton Rose Fulbright and Nasdaq Dubai are hosting a workshop in partnership with Astana International Financial Centre to cover key features and aspects of Sukuk and the Sukuk market. The session will provide an overview of how the Sukuk market has developed, explain some structures of Sukuk with case studies, and cover the process of issuing and listing Sukuk.

 

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