Islamic Finance Opportunities and Challenges in an Evolving Economic Landscape
  • IFN’S EXCLUSIVE IRANIAN PARTNER

  • IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Date: 10th June 2014 Venue: IRIB International Conference Center (IICC), Tehran

Another first on the Islamic Finance news forum calendar, the IFN Iran Forum will be a breakthrough event for the industry, as opportunities abound in the world’s largest Islamic banking industry by assets. The Iranian Islamic banking system, which is said to be 100% Shariah compliant, poses great potential in terms of creating traction on a global scale. Opportunities in the oil and gas and infrastructure sector are also attractive to foreign investors and issuers seeking new markets to enter.

The Iranian capital market has also gradually begun to open up to Shariah compliant funds, including ETFs, and instruments to allow for liquidity management and the flow of funds within the interbank money market. Support from the government and its regulators are crucial at this juncture, to allow for growth within the Iranian Islamic banking system.

 

Agenda

08:00 - 09:00
Registration
 
09:30 - 09:45
Keynote Address: Securities Market Overview and Opportunities
Dr Ali Saleh Abadi - CEO, Securities and Exchange Organisation
 
09:45 - 10:45
Session 1: Islamic Capital Markets in Iran: Current Developments & Future Growth
  • Structure of the capital markets in Iran and comparison with other markets
  • Roles of market players and regulators
  • Regulation:recent developments and the current agenda to support growth
  • Developing the local sukuk market and the primary market to balance the active equity market and secondary market
  • Experience with domestic sukuk and outlook for domestic sukuk in 2014
  • Internationalising the Iranian capital markets: what would it take, what are the opportunities (both inward and outward) and challenges
  • Cross border sovereign and corporate sukuk issuance: what are the challenges, how can they be overcome and what are the opportunities
  • International capital market benefits for local companies exploring offshore opportunities
  • International settlement linkages
 
Moderator: Hooman Sabeti-Rahmati - Director, SDF Partners, Singapore
Panelists: Dr Ali Saeedi - Deputy for Supervision of Financial Institutions, SEO
Dr Behrouz Khodarahmi - Secretary General, Iran Institutional Investor Association
Dr Hassan Ghalibaf Asl - CEO, Tehran Stock Exchange
Dr Hamed Soltani-Nejad - CEO, Central Securities Depository of Iran
Dr Masoud Rahi - Deputy for Finance and Economic Affairs, Pars Oil Company
 
10:45 - 11:15
Coffee and Networking
 
11:15 - 12:15
Session 2: Key Issues Facing Foreign Players and Investors in Iran
  • Entry of foreign players into the domestic market - regulations, ease of entry, ownership rules
  • Understanding the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA)
  • Addressing regulatory challenges to ease foreign investor participation in the domestic investment markets
  • Key Sharia considerations for foreign investors and relevant Sharia differences
  • What foreign market players and investors seek, how they view Iran as an Islamic investment destination
  • What must the local market do to attract foreign players and investors
  • Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment
  • What international investment structures may be appropriate in Iran
  • Dealing with currency exposure
 
Moderator: Dr Ghasem Mohseni - Director, SEO
Panelists: Abolfazl Koudei - Deputy, Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance
Hamid Azarakhsh - CEO, Mofid Securities
Bishr Shiblaq - Partner, Arendt & Merdenach, Luxembourg and Dubai
Rouzbeh Pirouz - Chairman, Turquoise Capital
 
12:15 - 12:30
Presentation on Islamic Banking Intelligence: The First Comprehensive Global Islamic Banking Database and Analytical Dashboard
Innovation & Development Corp
 
Panelists: Omid Torabi - Managing Director, Innovation & Development Corp
Marjan Naseri - Senior Islamic Banking Expert, Innovation & Development Corp
 
12:30 - 14:00
Luncheon
 
14:00 - 15:00
Session 3: Banking Industry Landscape of Iran and Potential Foreign Participation
  • Structure of the banking industry in Iran, its features and challenges
  • Regulation: background, recent developments and the current agenda to support growth
  • Iran's changing landscape and its impact on the development of Islamic banking
  • New Islamic banking products and developments in 2014
  • What is the industry-wide strategy required to take Iran's Islamic banking sector to the next level
  • Cross-border trade: Pursuing investment flows from Asia and the Middle East
  • What are the opportunities to participate in Islamic banking in Iran: equity participation, free zone licences, joint ventures and others
  • Connecting Iran to the global Islamic finance market
  • What would attract foreign players into the banking sector
 
Moderator: Dr Farhad Nili - Director of MBRI and Advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of IR of Iran
Panelists: Tom Guest - Associate Director, Eiger Trading Advisors
Mohammad Farrukh Raza - Managing Director, Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services, United Kingdom
Hamid Tehranfar - Vice Governor, Central Bank of IR of Iran
Dr Parviz Aghili Kermani - CEO, Middle East Bank
 
15:00 - 16:00
Session 4: Potential Sectors of the Iranian Economy for Foreign Players
  • Potential growth sectors in the Iranian economy and opportunities for Islamic finance
  • Which sectors and classes of the Iranian economy are expected to perform well in 2014?
  • Outlook for Islamic asset and fund management
  • Government-linked investment and investment funds: prospects, opportunities and challenges
  • What are the borrowing needs and financing opportunities in the oil and gas sector
  • What are possibilities for dual listings or offshore sukuk for the industry
  • Outlook and opportunities in the power sector
 
Moderator: Dr Hosein Abdo Tabrizi - Senior Advisor, Ministry of Transportation & Housing
Panelists: Dr Seyed Ali Hosseini - CEO, Iran Energy Exchange
Datuk Noripah Kamso - former CEO, CIMB Principal Islamic Asset Management, Malaysia
Nicolas Poole - Chairman, PouyaFaraz Kish
Dr Mehrdad Sepahvand - Director of Foreign Investment Department, National Development Fund
 
16:00 - 16:10
Closing Remarks
 
16:10 - 16:45
Coffee & Networking
 

 

Photo Gallery

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