March 13, 2019
Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultation Organizes the 5th Doha Islamic Finance Conference on March 19, 2019
Qatar among Top Global Islamic Finance Centers
1- Khalid Al Sulaiti: Islamic financial institutions in Qatar achieve impressive growth rates.
2- The conference considers the effects of digital development on Islamic finance and mechanisms to prevent potential risks.
3- The conference discusses forward-looking visions on the possibility of establishing an integrated digital Islamic bank.
4- Financial technology will add 150 million customers to Islamic financial institutions around the world within two (2) years.
Under patronage of His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Qatari capital, Doha, will host the 5th Doha Islamic Finance Conference entitled “Islamic Finance and Digital World“, organized by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultations, in strategic partnership with “Qatar Financial Center”, diamond sponsorship of “Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs” and “Barwa Bank” and in cooperation with “College of Sharia and Islamic Studies” and “College of Business and Economics” at Qatar University and “College of Islamic Studies” at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
The conference is due to be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 in “Al-Majlis Hall” of Sheraton Hotel. The conference will be attended by a number of international governmental bodies, international organizations and financial and academic institutions in the field of economy, finance and digital technology. The conference’s deliverables are expected to contribute to the development of the Islamic banking industry in Qatar and the entire world.
In this regard, Dr. Khaled Bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Deputy Chairman of Bait Al-Mashura, said: “Qatar’s hosting of this international conference reflects the great and global position of the State, since it is among the top global Islamic finance centers around the world and the Islamic financial institutions in Qatar achieve impressive growth rates.”
Dr. Khaled also said: “the 5th conference fuses on considering the effects of the digital development on the Islamic finance through its main axes. It reviews the experiences of the central banks in light of the current major changes in the world of finance and business due to the large and huge development of information technology, which has called on financial and banking institutions to quickly study their future opportunities and the possibility of transforming to the digital world. However, this trend hides behind many of the risks that need to be deterred, especially since they may affect the monetary systems, whose stability is sponsored by central banks, in addition to the expansion of the virtual world, which has recently relied on digital currencies outside the banking systems.”
Dr. Al Sulaiti pointed out: “The conference is also looking for mechanisms to develop forward-looking visions for the possibility of establishing an integrated Islamic digital bank with its Sharia, regulatory and legal dimensions, in accordance with an objective Sharia vision, since the financial sectors, including Islamic banks, are moving towards transformation to digital financial technology, while within the previous a number of banking branches have been closed to be replaced by digital applications.”
Dr. Al Sulaiti said: “The conference will include discussions on the digital economy and sustainable development, where conferees will discuss the mechanism of directing the digital economy to achieve the objectives of the Islamic economy in the field of sustainable development and how to achieve Qatar Economic Vision 2030 through the digital economy. He pointing out: “The conference will review electronic systems in Islamic banks and their challenges in light of digital world and mechanisms of applying the requirements of Sharia standards on the current electronic systems. It will also review cybersecurity, its challenges and some of its forms in the financial and banking sectors. It will also look for the forms of transformation to the digital world in the capital market through studying the instruments (Sukuk) model via blockchain technology.”
For his part, Dr. Osama Qais Al Dereai, vice chairman of the organizing committee, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bait Al-Mashura said: “In light of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the world faces a series of challenges imposed by the renewed digital reality. In the domain of finance and business, the digital finance advent is poised to change market’s equilibrium and power centers, as it impacted all the sectors of economy including the sector of Islamic finance. Therefore, our today’s economy is in need of a system capable of striking a balance between the requirements of digital development and human needs. Herein emerges the role of Islamic Economics as a live, participatory and value-based system, stemmed upon the principles of Islamic legislation which engulfs entire advancements of life, in line with principles and objectives of Sharia with an ultimate aim to serve the interest of humanity in short and long terms.
Dr. Al Dereai explained: “Ernst & Young International estimates that the adoption of the financial technology “Fin-tech” applications by Islamic banks around the world will increase their customer base rapidly and attract 150 million new customers within two (2) years (by 2021). Therefore, there is a growing trend among Islamic financial institutions to adopt technological and digital systems, where a number of companies specializing in technology simplify the contracts of Islamic finance through the use of Blockchain technology, while others are targeting the development of Integrated Payment Systems. These new systems could lead to a significant savings in operational cost via smart contracts as well as simplifying and accelerating banking transactions, avoiding brokers and making Islamic financial transactions simpler and faster. The also provides a great opportunity to increase the levels of rational governance in Islamic institutions and ensure easy compliance with the regulations of Sharia Supervisory Bodies, as well as great opportunities to expand the financial inclusion base by attracting a segment of customers who will benefit from services at lower cost and higher quality.”
As part of the strategic partnership of the Qatar Financial Center the Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Financial Centre, Mr. Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, said: “The 5th Doha Islamic Finance Conference is one of the leading international events in the field of Islamic finance in the world. This edition will discuss a very significant topic, “Islamic Finance and the Digital World”, a topic that will change the face of the world as we know it. Islamic finance is one of the main focus areas of the QFC and one of the key areas of our recently announced strategy. The QFC is proud to be a strategic partner of the Conference for the second year in a row and we are confident that this conference will bring about important and vital discussions on this topic. We all are look forward to the inspirational ideas that must result from these discussions.”
Sheikh Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Director General of Endowments Department in the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs also expressed the keenness of the Ministry on the diamond sponsorship of this conference. He also said that the support of the Ministry, including Endowment Department, is based on the Ministry’ belief of the need to promote the financial sector and the Islamic economy in Qatar to play its role in the development of society, achieving the objectives of sustainable development and Qatar vision 2030 on one hand. On the other hand, to keep up with developments of economic and financial Islamic concepts and the need to find a legitimate vision for issues and dilemmas posed by the digital world, which imposes its mechanisms and programs rapidly on the world of finance and economy.
Sheikh Dr. Khalid also stated that the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs oversees the Endowment Sector under the Endowment Law of 1996 through the General Directorate of Endowments. It also undertakes several tasks, including: proposing the general policy for managing and investing the Endowment funds, developing their revenues on economic bases, setting competent systems, supervising recommended or donated funds to charity banks, and monitoring the enforcement of the laws, regulations and financial rules relating to Endowment funds.
Sheikh Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Thani pointed out the Ministry’s aspiration to the recommendations of the conference on Islamic finance and the digital world given the urgent need in our time for practical proposals to avoid the digital gap between the Islamic world and the rest of the world, especially in the field of economy and finance and the conditions for achieving development, and to find authentic Islamic visions, which retain the privacy and objective parameters of the Islamic finance sector.
The Chief Communications Officer at Barwa Bank Group, Mr. Talal Ahmed Al-khaja, also said: “Barwa Bank Group is pleased to sponsor this conference. Since its 1st edition, Barwa Bank Group has undertaken to sponsor and financially support this conference. Barwa Bank Group’s ongoing support to Doha Islamic Financial Conference reflects its belief in the importance of the knowledge’s role in rationalizing and evaluating the Islamic banking experience. and discovering the features of the future, which we believe is promising. The State of Qatar enjoys a strong economic system that surpasses all challenges and moves towards its objectives in line with developments, and has high ratings and evaluations in credit agencies and international reports.”
Dr. Sultan Al-Hashmi, the Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies in College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Qatar University said: “This conference is in line with the aim of the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies to strengthen the relationship with the partners and build partnerships with them. There is no doubt that the work of Bait Al-Mashura is at the heart of the College of Sharia concerns. Therefore, the College encourages to participate and sponsor this conference with Bait Al-Mashura. The cooperation between the College and Bait Al-Mashura is not limited to this activity, it extends to the joint activities of scientific research and supervision of researches published by Bait Al-Mashura Journal. We would like to thank the brotherhood gesture by Bait Al-Mashura. We also would like to invite all partners to learn about the activities of the College and conclude the agreements that will benefit all parties and contribute to Qatar vision 20/30.”
Dr. Khalid Al-Abdulqader, the Dean of College of Business and Economics at Qatar University, pointed also to the importance of the partnership between the scientific and professional institutions, emphasizing the college’s keenness to play a vital role in this specialized international conference, which brings together in its subjects the scientific, professional and applied aspects. At the College of Business and Economics, we seek to take part in activities that achieve community development and offer students and graduates the opportunity to learn more about the applied and professional aspects and updates related to Islamic finance.
In the same context, Dr. Emad El-Din Shahin, the Dean of the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, said: “The College of Islamic Studies is honored to be an academic partner in this scientific meeting specialized in Islamic finance. Our deep-rooted and continuous partnership contributes to the development of our MSc and PhD students in Islamic finance and provides them with the tools that enable them to learn and manage new developments, as well as provides them with opportunities to build relationships and interact with those with fast-changing specialization.”
Dr. Emad El Din Shahin also thanked Bait Al-Mashura for organizing this international forum and emphasized on its importance to share experiences in best practices on one hand, and scientific expertise in Islamic finance on the other hand. The topic of this year explores a fundamental element at the heart of the 4th Industrial Revolution and shows the way for progress in a world that is vigorously moving towards digitalism and modern technology. We are proud of our participation in raising the scientific level in this field through our partnership with the organizers, specialists and Sharia scholars participating in the conference.
