Seminar on fundamentals of Islamic banking and finance

A two-day seminar and workshop on the ‘Fundamentals of Islamic Banking and Finance’ will be held in Colombo from June 30 to July 1.

The programme, organized by the First Global Group, is intended to help participants understand how the Islamic banking and finance sector works.

The industry which is growing at a rapid pace globally, particularly in the Middle East and South East Asia, is in need of trained personnel to handle its ever-expanding operations and is widely seen as a lucrative and unsaturated job market with vast career opportunities for those who are willing to take up the challenge, the organisers said in a press release.

A spokesman said that as much as 30,000 jobs are expected to be created in the Middle East in coming years which is an ideal platform for Sri Lankans trained in this sector.

The programme will provide participants the principles of Islam relevant to Islamic banking products and services and familiarizing them with the full range of Islamic products and services.

It will also be addressing issues such as how Islamic banks earn profits and distribute them among shareholders, depositors and investors and how to create new markets with Islamic financial products.

Speakers who are all practitioners on the industry include Sheikh Essam Ishaq, a member of the Shari’ah Supervisory Boards in a number of financial institutions worldwide including ARCAPITA and Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain, Dr.Mohammed Burhan Arbouna, an expert on Takaful or Islamic Insurance who is currently Shari’ah Board Member of United International Bank of Bahrain and Tutor on Islamic Banking & Finance at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, and Ikram Thowfeek, Head of Corporate Strategy at Al-Safa Islamic Banking-Commercial Bank of Qatar, who is widely considered a start-up specialist involved in setting up a number of Islamic banks and financial institutions in the Middle East.