Funding the Future: Islamic Sustainable Finance and Investment
What does the transition to green and sustainable financing potentially mean for Omani issuers, and how will Islamic structures play a meaningful role in the shift? What opportunities are there for important domestic sectors such as aviation, oil and gas and other asset-heavy industries to adopt sustainable fundraising programs? What is the potential for private sector financing of green infrastructure projects in Oman? How market friendly is the Omani regulatory framework for sustainable finance and are market participants being encouraged to develop effective sustainability frameworks? Finally, how can Omani financial institutions develop effective Islamic sustainable investment products, satisfying the requirements of a range of savers and investors. Moderator: Suleman Muhammad, Head of Islamic Products and Segments, Muzn Islamic Banking Panelists:…
Digitalization and the Evolution of Omani Islamic Financial Services
Identifying and evaluating key governmental and private sector initiatives designed to modernize and digitally transform the national economy, with a focus on Islamic financial services and digital assets. What measures would assist domestic Islamic banks in the further development of Islamic digital and crypto retail, wealth management, Takaful and pension offerings in Oman? How are regulator-fostered sandboxes contributing to the development and distribution of such products? How have efforts to recognise and regulate Islamic crowdfunding platforms created opportunities for the joint ownership of Shariah compliant assets and investment projects? Does Blockchain have a role in crowd and venture funding? How will the vital SME sector benefit from the new platforms and above initiatives? What role do DeFi, NFTs, crypto, tokenisation…
Building a Nation: Funding National Development through Islamic Finance
With Islamic real estate finance well established in the Sultanate, what is the scope for complex project and asset financing in Oman via Shariah compliant structures? Do Islamic products effectively lend themselves to fund public-private partnerships for the development of infrastructure and large-scale projects? What role should Islamic banks and venture capital play in this important activity, and what does the diminishing Musharakah structure offer? How will draft Sukuk and bond regulations further improve and standardize rules governing the issuance of Sukuk? Will regulations pave the way for the incorporation of innovative structures such as Waqf? With significant domestic institutions successfully accessing the Islamic finance market, what is the potential for other notable issuers? Finally, what funding options do Sukuk…
Omani Islamic Financial Services: Momentum and Success
How are the key features of Oman Vision 2040 enabling growth of the Islamic banking and finance markets in Oman? How have successful regulatory initiatives contributed to Oman’s Islamic banking sector constituting more than 15% of the total banking market share? Will the new domestic Islamic banking landscape ultimately lead to enhanced product offerings and customer experience? Considering recent regulatory amendments to healthcare Takaful, how will the Omani Takaful sector continue to develop, and do Sukuk offer a viable funding route for Takaful companies? How will Shariah compliant financial technology, including the new crowdfunding platforms, further contribute to the transformation of the domestic financial services sector? Finally, now how significant will green and responsible finance be in the coming year…
Keynote Address
Malik Al Mahrooqi, Advisor, Office of the Executive President, Central Bank of Oman
Indonesian Islamic Capital Markets: Fit for Purpose
What represents innovation in the Indonesian Sukuk market: pioneering structures, sourcing underliers, and the transition from ESG to Impact? What options do hybrid or combination Sukuk offer local issuers, particularly in asset heavy industries such as oil and gas, and aviation? How do Tier-1 and Tier-2 Sukuk offer financial institutions a flexible, efficient and user-friendly way of satisfying regulatory capital requirements, and what do perpetual Sukuk structures offer such issuers? How has innovation been incorporated into project and infrastructure finance, particularly regarding concession agreements, cash contributions and investor protection? With ESG and sustainability continuing to grow in the Islamic capital markets issuance, when will we see the measurement of impact? Are sufficient issuers engaging with independent, third parties to measure…
Technology Roundtable: Digitalization and the Evolution of Indonesian Islamic Financial Services
The digitalization of Islamic financial services: what is working, what is viable, and what is not? What do the answers to these questions mean for the evolution of Islamic financial services in Indonesia? How do we evaluate key initiatives designed to modernize and digitally transform the national economy, including the Islamic financial services sector? How has regulation and promotion of Indonesian Islamic crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platforms created opportunities for the joint ownership of Shariah compliant assets and investment projects? What measures would assist domestic Islamic financial institutions in the further development of Islamic digital retail, wealth management, Takaful and pension offerings in Indonesia? What are notable milestones and achievements in the development of systems and software for Islamic banks…
Doing the Right Thing: Successfully Positioning Islamic ESG and Sustainable Finance and Investment in Indonesia
Why is a united regulatory response to climate risk so important for the financial services industry, and how do we evaluate initiatives that encourage investors to channel capital into sustainable economic activity, and guide government and quasi-government resource allocation towards climate transition and social responsibility? How do we address the implications of various taxonomies, frameworks and standards, and identify what can now be labelled green investments? How can potential green bond and Sukuk issuers successfully connect issues to internal sustainability frameworks? With ESG and sustainability continuing to grow in the Islamic capital markets issuance, when will we see the measurement of impact? Are sufficient issuers engaging with independent, third parties to measure green, sustainable and social credentials? Finally, can we…
Building Momentum: Indonesian Islamic Financial Services, the Halal Economy and Social Finance
We offer a critical analysis of the applicability of Islamic financial services to two vital, burgeoning sectors in Indonesia: The Halal economy, and social finance. How large is the Halal economy both domestically and internationally? What are the opportunities for servicing, supplying, financing and managing the Halal economy? Are companies within the Halal economy exclusively using Islamic financial services, and if not, why? What represents effective value chain analysis of the Halal economy and how do Islamic financial institutions position themselves to offer successful financing solutions? Why is social finance important and how can Islamic financial institutions play a role in its growth and development in Indonesia? In a post-pandemic world, what does social finance offer in terms of relief…
Keynote Address
Astera Primanto Bhakti, Director General of Fiscal Balance, Ministry of Finance, the Republic of Indonesia, Secretary General of the Indonesian Association of Islamic Economists (IAEI)
Islamic Sustainable Finance & Investment: Moving Forward
In an open discussion, we ask an expert panel to consider and highlight key points, ideas and initiatives, and how these can be put into action to drive Islamic sustainable finance and investment forward. As industry, what should be our next steps, and how should we measure the impact of what we are trying to achieve? What would represent meaningful goals and tangible achievements for the sector? How do we effectively position and market Islamic sustainable finance and investment? What financial products, across a wide range of asset classes will the next generation demand, and how can these demands be met? Moderator: Marlena Kareem, Senior Journalist, REDmoney Group Panelists: Clare Chin, Group Head IR, Strategic Finance and Strategic Planning, Axiata…
Fostering Green Credentials: Key Funding Considerations & Options for Islamic Sustainable Issuers
ESG and sustainability continue to dominate issuer funding strategies. What is a realistic assessment of the instruments and routes on offer to Shariah compliant green issuers, from green bonds and Sukuk, to transition instruments, to sustainable and sustainability linked products? What are key strategic considerations for green bonds and Sukuk issuers: proceeds; process for project evaluation; management of proceeds; reporting; and external review. Why are these metrics so important to issuers and investors alike? With ESG and sustainability influence continuing to grow in the Islamic capital markets issuance, when will we see the enhanced measurement of impact? Do enough issuers engage independent third parties to measure and assess claims of sustainable, green and social credentials, and how can this be…
Building for the Future: Islamic Sustainable Investment
What specific challenges face the Islamic, sustainable investor, and what opportunities? As an industry, how do we continue to widen our investor base through the development of appealing investment products that satisfy both ESG and Shariah compliance requirements? How do we capitalize on the green ambitions of Shariah compliant asset owners, institutional investors and investment managers, and take tangible steps to align investment portfolios with taxonomy driven sustainability goals? Can investment and credit portfolios be effectively stress-tested for climate risk, and how do investors satisfy disclosure and data reporting requirements? How can investors more accurately measure the impact of investments made, and what are investors now expecting from issuers in terms of ESG awareness, innovation and compliance? In a highly…
Innovating Shariah Compliant Green Financing Solutions to Drive Climate Action: A Session by the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) Sub-Committee on Product and Innovation
How Islamic finance can contribute towards meeting sustainable development and climate goals Innovative Shariah-compliant sustainable finance products and solutions to facilitate transition to a greener and low-carbon economy Green financing – sustainability-linked financing, term financing, mortgages, hire-purchase, credit cards Capital Market – Green sukuk, sustainability linked sukuk, ESG Funds, ESG ETFs, FinTech Enhancing and leveraging on Islamic finance to ensure just transition Issues, challenges and priorities facing the financial sector in driving climate-related actions, alongside key impediments and gaps in the demand and supply of green solutions, products and services Facilitating collaboration between stakeholders, alongside enhancing Shariah-compliant and sustainable finance global thought leadership and capacity building capabilities, in advancing the climate agenda Moderator: Sharifatul Hanizah Said Ali, Executive Director, Islamic…
