• Advisory Board

  • Adam Ebrahim — CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Oasis Group

    Ali Abdul Aziz — Senior Manager, Banking & Capital Markets Group, Deloitte

    Asim Khan — Managing Director, Khalij Islamic

    Farmida Bi — Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

    Imam Qazi — Partner, Foot Anstey

    Jonathan Lawrence — Partner, K&L Gates

    Ken Eglinton — Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young 

    Lillian Georgopoulou - Product Specialist - Fixed Income, London Stock Exchange

    Mansur Mannan — Director, Tejara Capital

    Michael Rainey — Partner, King & Spalding

    Mohammad Khan — Partner, PwC

    Mohammed Amin — Islamic Finance Consultant

    Naomi Heaton — London Central Portfolio

    Neill Gibson — Partner, Trowers & Hamlins

    Omar Selim — CEO, Arabesque Asset Management

    Philip Churchill — Founder & Managing Partner, 90 North Real Estate Partners

    Richard de Belder — All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamic Finance, Islamic Finance Council UK and Dentons

    Richard Thomas — Institutional, Governmental and Multilateral Relationships, Gatehouse Bank

    Stella Cox — Managing Director, DDCAP

    Stephen Openshaw — CEO and Managing Director, Eiger Trading Advisors

    Stuart Hutton — Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical

    Wayne Evans — Senior Adviser International Strategy, TheCityUK

• Agenda
• Speakers
• Sponsors & Partners
• Floor Plan
• Post Event Report
• 

Growing from strength to strength, the IFN Europe Forum will return in 2017 to familiar terrain as we once again host the event in London. Europe is growing in stature for Islamic investors who are taking a keen interest in its notable developments in the sector.

European markets have continued to demonstrate a strong commitment to Islamic finance with an emphasis on growing the Islamic investment industry. In addition to real estate investment funds, Europe is also a vibrant market for alternative investment funds, private equity, retail, hedge funds and SRI investing. The IFN Europe Forum is expected to gather participants from across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and will encompass everything related to the continent’s growing Islamic finance industry, attracting a truly global audience with a focus on central issues and latest developments.

Keynote speakers:

Abdulla Al Awar CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center	Alderman Sir David Wootton Former Lord Mayor of London	Bora Oruc Executive Vice Chairman, Capital Markets Board of Turkey
David Parker Executive Director, Financial Services Business Development, Bahrain Economic Development Board	Gary Campkin Director, Policy and Strategy, TheCityUK	Gordon Welsh Head of Business Group, UK Export Finance
Ian Johnston CEO, Dubai Financial Services Authority	Jane Wilkinson Head of Sustainable Finance, Luxembourg Stock Exchange	Nikhil Rathi CEO, London Stock Exchange
Peter Kruschel Director, Banking Supervision, Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Germany	Stephen Barclay Economic Secretary to the Treasury, HM Treasury	Wayne Evans Adviser in International Strategy, TheCityUK
	Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin Managing Director of Development and Islamic Markets Business Group, Securities Commission Malaysia

Presentations slides

• Presentation: What’s Happening in FinTech Investment and Why? Download

Agenda

Main Event: IFN Europe Forum – 11th September 2017

15:10–15:55	Responsible Investing: The Shift towards Green Finance, ESG & Ethical Funds Moderator: Stuart Hutton – Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical, the UK Panelists: Andrew Whiley – Head of Communications & Media, Climate Bonds Initiative Antonia Stirling – Global Head of Corporate Stewardship, Aberdeen Asset Management Edward Baker – Senior Policy Advisor, Principles for Responsible Investment Kamran Butt – Managing Director – Head of International Business Development and Advisory, SEDCO Capital, Saudi Arabia Jane Wilkinson – Head of Sustainable Finance, Luxembourg Stock Exchange
15.55 –16.05	Interview:Creating Tomorrow’s Leaders Solving the Industry’s Human Capital Conundrum Interviewee: Celia De Anca – Director of the Saudi-Spanish Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, at IE Business School, Spain Interviewer: Fara Mohammad – Consultant – Director of Islamic Finance, Foot Anstey
16.05 –16.10	Launch of the Quorum Report
16.10 –17.00	IFN Debate: This House Believes a Post Brexit Europe Will Create More Opportunities for Emerging Islamic Finance Markets Debate Moderator: Tariq S. J. Alrifai – Chief Executive, Quorum Centre for Strategic Studies Debaters: Ashley Freeman – President, Gateway John Sandwick – General Manager, Safa Investment Services, Switzerland Mustafa Hussain – Partner, Taylor Wessing Richard Thomas – Managing Director, Sustainable Economy (former CEO, Gatehouse Bank)
17.00 –17.30	Coffee & Networking
17.30	End of Forum

Side Events – 12^th - 13^th September 2017

• IFN Dialogue
• Real Estate Investment
• Islamic Fintech
• IIFM Workshop

 

Monday, 11th September 2017

Venue: Drawing Room, Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4N 8BH

1.30pm - 4.00pm

IFN Dialogues offer an independent and impartial platform for the identification and resolution of specific issues,challenges and opportunities facing the industry through a high-level discussion designed to determine the potential development of a particular country, sector or asset class. On the sidelines of the IFN Europe Forum REDmoney will host our first IFN UK Dialogue with UK-based financial regulators and market players on the 12th of September. The UK Dialogue is a high level, invite-only roundtable event comprising senior regulators and market leaders representing the Islamic finance industry in the UK. This closed door meeting will focus exclusively on London’s bid to become a world class Islamic investment destination. To facilitate open and honest discussion no media will be invited to cover the event. A summary of discussions will, however, be transcribed and distributed only to participants and submitted to the relevant regulators in the UK for their review.

 

EXCLUSIVE LEAD REAL ESTATE PARTNER

Global Real Estate Investment

Venue: Ashurst, 9 Appold St, London EC2A 2AP

Tuesday, 12th September 2017

9.00am - 12.00 noon

Real estate finance and Islamic finance have for a long time been closely associated. Real estate and property satisfy the requirement of Shariah for tangible, physical assets and, as such, the two have thrived in a highly synergetic manner. Real estate investments offer significant benefits and opportunities for the Shariah compliant investor, whether it be through direct/private equity-style investment, or indirectly through an investment fund. This 3 hour session will focus on where the opportunities lie for real estate investors globally, with a specific view on European and US real estate investments.

 

Agenda:

9:00 – 9:15	Welcome Remarks Abradat Kamalpour –Partner, Ashurst
9:15 – 10:00	The Global Real Estate Market: Who’s investing, in what and where? Moderator: David Jones – Partner and Head of Capital Markets – Ashurst LLP Panelists: Aly Meghani – Vice President, International Real Estate, SEDCO Capital UK Kevin Aitchison – CEO, Knight Frank Investment Management Paul Perris – Group Managing Director, Crestbridge Philip Churchill – Founder and Managing Partner,90 North Real Estate Partners Richard Ellis – Partner, Amiri Capital, the UAE Richard Payne – Director and Head of Real Estate Finance, Bank of London and the Middle East
10:00 – 10:15	Presentation: The Regulatory Environment Affecting Real Estate Transactions Jake Green – Partner, Ashurst
10:15 – 10:30	Presentation: Opportunities in the US for Real Estate Investors Dan Cooper – Partner, Head of North America, 90 North Real Estate Partners
10:30 – 11:00	Coffee & Networking
11:00 – 11:20	Evaluating options for Shariah compliant real estate structures Moderator: Abradat Kamalpour – Partner, Ashurst Panelists: Kamal Ikherrazen – Head of Operations, WCP Investments LP Naomi Heaton – Chief Executive Officer, London Central Portfolio Simon Swann – Partner, Ashurst
11:20 – 12:00	How are Equity Crowdfunding and PropTech Altering the Real Estate Landscape? Moderator: Philip Churchill – Founder and Managing Partner,90 North Real Estate Partners Panelists: Anouar Adham – CEO, MercyCrowd Azeemeh Zaheer – Managing Director, Naissance Capital Javed Khan – CEO, PropTech Crowd Zeeshan Uppal – COO & Co-Founder, Yielders
12:00 – 12:05	Closing Remarks
12:05 – 12:30	Refreshments

 

EXCLUSIVE LEAD FINTECH PARTNER	FINTECH HOST PARTNER
PARTNERS

STRATEGIC PARTNER

Islamic Fintech

Venue: Simmons & Simmons, CityPoint, 1 Ropemaker St London EC2Y 9SS, UK

Tuesday, 12th September 2017

2.00pm - 5.00pm

With growing influence on global investments and altering how business is being conducted, the importance and relevance of technology-based financial companies can no longer be ignored. Driven by innovative start-ups, the booming fintech industry is capturing traditional market share with its approach and there have been calls for traditional financial services companies to tie up with fintech companies to leverage on their penetration levels, rather than compete head-on. This 3-hour breakout session will explore how the convergence of fintech and Shariah compliant financing will advance the Islamic finance industry and most importantly, the possible synergies that exist between new platforms and traditional banking systems.

 

Agenda:

14:00 – 14:15	Welcome Remarks
14:15 – 14:30	Keynote Address Speaker: David Parker – Executive Director, Financial Services Business Development, Bahrain Economic Development Board
14:30 – 15:00	Regulators’ Roundtable: Supporting and Regulating Islamic Fintech How are financial regulators in key Islamic finance markets driving innovation through regulation and the creation of sandbox and incubator programs? What are the unique requirements to ensure compliance to Shariah principles? Moderator: Muneer Khan – Partner, Head of Middle East Financial Markets, Regulatory & International Islamic Finance, Simmons & Simmons Panelists: Subas Roy – Global Chairman, International RegTech Association Suhail Ahmad – Partner, Exolta Capital Partners Yasmeen Al Sharaf – Licensing Directorate of Central Bank of Bahrain
15:00 – 15:30	Gaining Access to Islamic investors Can conventional Fintech players access the pool of Shariah-compliant capital raisers and investors through their existing platforms? Moderator: Abdul H Basit – CFO, Innovate Finance Panelist: Angus McLean – Partner, Intellectual Property, Simmons & Simmons Junaid Wahedna – CEO, Wahed Invest Maisa Shunnar – Head of Strategy Implementation & Transformation, Bahrain Islamic Bank
15:30– 15:45	Presentation: Artificial Intelligence in the Islamic Investing Space A look at what impact deep learning, big data and robo-advisors will have on the Islamic funds industry Presenter: Yasser Aboudkhil – Chief Technology Officer, Wahed Invest
15:45 – 16:30	Alternative Lending: The Evolution of Islamic Crowdfunding and P2P Platforms How are these platforms evolving to meet the financing needs of their intended audience? Moderator: Lauren McAughtry – Managing Editor, REDmoney Group Panelists: Frederico Tavares de Carvalho – Business Development Analyst, Liberis Hassan Waqar – Founder, Ummah Finance Irfan Khan – Founder, Yielders Shahbaz Mirza – Director, Finocracy Tom Woolf – Founder and CEO, EdAid
16:30 – 16:40	Closing Remarks
16:40 – 17:30	Coffee and Networking

 

Workshop on IIFM Standards

9:00 – 14:00 Workshop on IIFM Standards - Islamic Hedging and Liquidity Management – A Practical Approach Venue: Clifford Chance LLP, 10 Upper Bank Street, London E14 5JJ, United Kingdom Wednesday, 13th September 2017

Organized by

 

Agenda:

9:00 – 9:15	Registration
9:15 – 9:30	Welcome Remarks Speaker: Mr. Malcolm Sweeting – Senior Partner, Clifford Chance LLP, London
9:30 – 11:30	Islamic Hedging Standards Background and Overall Developments in Islamic Hedging Segment ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut Master Agreement (TMA) Unique Clauses and Designated Future Transactions (DFT) Examples Islamic Hedging Product Confirmations Islamic Profit Rate Swap Islamic Cross Currency Swap Islamic Foreign Exchange Forward Islamic Credit Support Deed EU Variation Margin Regulation (Islamic Banks Perspective) Law Reforms in Islamic Jurisdictions and TMA Legal Opinions Speakers: Habib Motani – Partner, Clifford Chance LLP, London Ijlal Ahmed Alvi – Chief Executive, IIFM, Bahrain Dr. Peter Werner – Senior Counsel, International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA),London (TBC)
11:30 – 12:00	Coffee Break
12:00 – 12:45	Collateralized Murabahah Standard – Alternate to Repo IIFM Standard Collateral Documentation & Guidance Memorandum – Key Features Legal aspects such as: Security Interest vs Title Transfer Maintenance of Collateral Level Treatment of Collateral in case of default etc Monitoring and treatment of pledge securities for bilateral transactions Bilateral and Triparty Collateral Management arrangements Speakers: Ismail Dadabhoy – Advisor, IIFM, Dubai Habib Motani – Partner, Clifford Chance LLP, London Lawrence Oliver – Director, Deputy CEO, DDCAP Limited, London Sara Cescutti – Deputy Head, Sales & Relationship Management, Euroclear SA/NA, London
12:45 – 13:30	Unrestricted Wakalah Standard – An Emerging Islamic Liquidity Management Alternative Unrestricted Wakalah and its Use in the Islamic Inter-Bank Market Standard Master Unrestricted Wakalah Documentation & Operational Guidelines Accounting Assessment for IIFM Unrestricted Wakalah Master Agreement Providing Level Playing Field to Islamic Financial Institutions by Regulators Speakers: Ijlal Ahmed Alvi – Chief Executive, IIFM, Bahrain Dr. Ahmad Rufai – Head of Compliance, IIFM, Bahrain
13:30 – 14:30	Lunch and Close of Workshop

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