Bahrain to host World Islamic Banking Conference

Muscat: Held under the patronage of Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the strategic partnership of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) will take place on November 26, 27 and 28 in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA), a leading financial intelligence platform facilitating the development of knowledge-based economies in the Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia (Menasea) markets, announced that it will convene the 25th anniversary edition of its flagship offering – the largest and most prestigious gathering of Islamic banking and finance leaders in the world – at the ART Rotana Hotel in Amwaj Islands.
Over 1,200 global industry powerhouses, policy makers, innovators and stakeholders will converge for the three-day-long forum that is spearheading a series of discussions gravitating around the theme of “Islamic Finance & Sustainable Economic Growth in the Age of Disruption”, in line with its steady vision to serve as a compass for the global Islamic finance and banking industry.
Speaking ahead of the 25th WIBC, Ehsan Abbas, Chairman, Middle East Global Advisors, said: “For over 25 years, WIBC has helped forge a robust ecosystem to widen the scope of Islamic finance to meet new realities, whilst staying true to its ideals. The year 2018 will mark the 25th anniversary edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference – testament to its continued significance as a trusted benchmark for the industry to gather and share critical insights going forward.”
“To assess the recovery of economic growth, WIBC will seek to address the optimal ways that policymakers can support long-term robust growth by preparing to cope with possible bouts of financial market volatility," Abbas said.
"Countries need to rebuild fiscal buffers, enact structural reforms, and steer monetary policy cautiously in an environment that is already complex and challenging. In the midst of this, the 25th WIBC will focus on how Islamic finance can build on its global value proposition as a means of strengthening the financial sector,” he added.
Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain, will showcase his support for the event by delivering the keynote address at the 25th World Islamic Banking Conference, with the vision of furthering the ecosystem for Islamic finance entities to thrive and grow globally.
With the pace of change in financial services increasing rapidly, so does the urge for the industry to react. Rapidly embracing the prevalent disruption and forging partnerships over efforts to sharpen operational efficiency have taken precedence in the digital era.
Over the last few years, a key focus area for WIBC has always been to connect the industry with leading pioneers and innovators in the financial technology (FinTech) space and forge a fresh, innovative and technology-enabled phase of the industry’s development.
While last year’s edition witnessed keynote speeches by Alex Tapscott, CEO NextBlock Global, Co-Author of Blockchain Revolution & Founding Member, IMF’s High-Level Advisory Group on Fintech, and Xen Baynham- Herd, Head of Strategy and Lead Economist – Blockchain, who spoke about embracing new technologies such as blockchain in the changing face of financial services due to the advent of digitization, this year’s edition will also see leading technology experts deliberate as part of an exclusive FinTech Panel.
Key features for WIBC 2018 include governors’ addresses; a high-profile regulatory debate among central bankers; a conversation with a distinguished Islamic finance veteran on the future course of the Islamic economy, the Regulations Power Table on fostering synergies among regulators, standard setters and global financial regulatory authorities to further Islamic finance; panel discussions focusing on sustainable, equitable & inclusive growth, FinTech, new horizons for Islamic finance, cross-jurisdictional issues on Sharia standards & practices and much more.