Abradat Kamalpour - Partner, Ashurst
Alain Verbeken - Director, Cross-Border Tax, Deloitte Tax & Consulting
Alberto Brugnoni - Managing Director, ASSAIF
Ammar Dabbour - Managing Director, Excellencia-IM
Andreas Heinzmann - Partner, Bonn & Schmitt
Asim Khan - Managing Director, Khalij Islamic
Ayman Khaleq - Partner, Morgan Lewis
Bishr Shiblaq - Head, Dubai Representative Office, Arendt & Medernach
David Testa - Chief Executive Officer, Armila Capital
Denis Noonan - Vice President, Product Management, Clearstream Banking
Dennis Cox - Chief Executive Officer, Risk Reward Limited
Habib Motani - Partner, Clifford Chance
Harris Irfan - Managing Director, European Islamic Investment Bank
Laurent Marliere - Chief Executive Officer & President, IsFin
Lawrence Oliver - Deputy Chief Executive Officer, DDCap Group
Lawrie Chandler - Director, Wholesale & Institutional, Emirates NBD
Mansur Mannan - Executive Director, Dar Capital
Nigel Denison - Director, Head of Markets and Wealth Management, Bank of London and The Middle East PLC
Philip Churchill - Founder Partner, 90 North Real Estate Partners
Sufian Bataineh - Counsel, OPF Partners
NOTE-TO-EDITOR
26th JUNE 2014
Islamic Finance news Europe Forum 2014
Held in the prestigious financial hub of Luxembourg, the IFN Europe Forum 2014 will bring together the industry’s most experienced practitioners in a series of intriguing and interactive discussions encompassing all aspects of Islamic finance in the region.
Currently the fourth IFN Europe Forum and the eighth annual IFN event in Europe, the intellectual affair will feature all characteristics of the developing Islamic financial sector throughout the continent. As Asian and Middle Eastern Shariah investors continue to seek new opportunities, Europe offers the ideal solution. Countries including Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK have all welcomed the Islamic financing industry, and continue to develop regulations to enable a level playing field.
With both Luxembourg and the UK on the verge of issuing sovereign Sukuk, interest towards Islamic finance in the region has exponentially increased. On the back of the industry’s sustained growth and improving global traction, many new and perhaps more unexpected markets such as Scotland, the Czech Republic and the Balkans have also taken steps to engage with the industry.
The forum this year will kick off with an opening keynote address by Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance; and Robert Scharfe, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. This will be followed by comprehensive sessions covering investment strategies in Europe, a European transaction roundtable, tax and regulatory issues, Islamic investment funds in the region and key asset classes attracting foreign investments into Europe.
An exclusive Luxembourg Dialogue, an invite-only roundtable event, will also take place: comprising senior regulators, a select group of international representatives and market leaders within the Islamic finance industry in Luxembourg. The closed door meeting will focus specifically on Luxembourg’s bid to become a leading Islamic investment destination. A summary of the discussion will be made available to delegates attending the main forum on the 26th June 2014.
Through the support from global financial regulators and government bodies such as Luxembourg for Finance, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, IFSB, AAOIFI and IIFM, the IFN Europe Forum 2014 will provide an unprecedented insight into the developments of Islamic finance all across Europe.
Speakers confirmed for this event are:
| • | Abradat Kamalpour - Partner, Ashurst, United Kingdom |
| • | Alain Pithon - Secretary General, Paris Europlace, France |
| • | Anouar Hassoune - Economist and Strategist for MENA, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, United Arab Emirates |
| • | Ashraf Ammar - Senior Manager, Deloitte |
| • | Asim Khan - Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Khalij Islamic, United Kingdom |
| • | Aydar Mukhametzyanov - Managing Director, Investment Business & International Banking, AK BARS Bank |
| • | Ayman A Khaleq - Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius |
| • | Badlisyah Abdul Ghani - Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic, Malaysia |
| • | Bishr Shiblaq - Head, Dubai Representative Office, Arendt & Medernach, Dubai |
| • | Catherine Woo - Investment Director, UK & Europe, State Government of Victoria, Australia |
| • | David Testa - Chief Executive Officer, Armila Capital, United Kingdom |
| • | Dr Dominic Selwood - General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Arabesque Asset Management |
| • | Harris Irfan - Managing Director, European Islamic Investment Bank, United Kingdom |
| • | Jaseem Ahmed - Secretary General, Islamic Financial Services Board |
| • | John A Sandwick - General Manager, Safa Investment Services, Switzerland |
| • | Jonathan Grosvenor - General Manager, Global Financial Markets, KBL European Private Bankers, Luxembourg |
| • | Kader Merbouh - Special Advisor on Islamic Finance, Paris Europlace, France |
| • | Lutfije Aktan - Director, Audit, Asset Management, KPMG Luxembourg |
| • | Dr Mahnoosh Mirghaemi - Managing Director, GlobIQ, Switzerland |
| • | Marcus Peter - Partner, Bonn & Schmitt, Luxembourg |
| • | Dr Markus E Fischer - Member of the Executive Board, Finances, FWU Group |
| • | Massoud Janekeh - Head of Islamic Capital Markets, Bank of London and The Middle East, United Kingdom |
| • | Neil Miller - Global Head of Islamic Finance, Linklaters |
| • | Nicolas Limbourg - Chief Executive Officer, Vitis Life, Luxembourg |
| • | Noel Lourdes - Executive Director, Amanie Advisors, Ireland |
| • | Paul Devonshire - Director, Pramerica Real Estate Investors, Germany |
| • | Philip Churchill - Founder Partner, 90 North Real Estate Partners, United Kingdom |
| • | Pierre Gramegna - Minister of Finance, Luxembourg |
| • | Pierre Oberle - Business Development Manager, Association of the Luxembourg Funds Industry (ALFI) |
| • | Rachid Ouaich - Managing Director, eethiq Advisors, Luxembourg |
| • | Robert Scharfe - Chief Executive Officer, Luxembourg Stock Exchange |
| • | Samer Hijazi - Director, Financial Services Practice KPMG, United Kingdom |
| • | Stefano Padovani - Partner, NCTM, Italy |
| • | Stella Cox - Managing Director, DDCAP Group, United Kingdom |
| • | Sufian Bataineh - Counsel, OPF Partners, Luxembourg |
| • | Torsten Böhler - Managing Director, Abacus Emerging Markets, United Kingdom |
| • | Ugurlu Soylu - Managing Director, Kuveyt Turk, Germany |
| • | Valentine Baudouin - Associate, Kramer Levin, France |
| • | Professor Dr Volker Nienhaus - Visiting Professor, Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom |
For more information, please contact Florence Loo: +603 2162 7800 ext. 43 or email Florence.Loo@REDmoneygroup.com. You can also visit www.REDmoneyevents.com/main/2014_IFNforum_EUROPE.asp
We look forward to welcoming you to IFN Europe Forum 2014!
Islamic Finance news Profile
Islamic Finance news (IFN) is the company’s principal publication. IFN is a digital, subscription-based publication available online and through smartphone and tablet applications. Published weekly, the journal provides exclusive and comprehensive coverage of the global Islamic financial markets through in-house analysis and expert external contributions; in addition to a daily news service, additional quarterly supplements and a variety of special annual issues.
Differentiated by a decade of trusted relationships across the industry, IFN is able to leverage an unrivalled network of contacts and connections to provide unparalleled insight into the issues affecting global Shariah compliant markets: along with in-house analysis, news, interviews, reports, industry and sector data, and much more.
With an archived website containing over 60,000 exclusive reports, the IFN portfolio also hosts a suite of proprietary tools including the industry’s largest interactive terminology glossary, a directory of over 4,000 global Islamic financial institutions and a portal to Islamic Banking Intelligence, the most comprehensive source of segmented Islamic banking financial data.
