The 1st Sri Lanka Islamic Banking and Finance Conference, hosted by UTO EduConsult, was held in Colombo on the 20th and 21st of July, themed 'Entering a New Era'. The conference witnessed a host of eminent speakers from Sri Lanka as well as from India, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and Bahrain discussing various contemporary issues.
 The conference chaired by Ishrat Rauff of SAIF Capital commenced with Mr. Faizal Salieh of Amana Investments Limited, Mr. Naomal Goonawardane of Nithya Partners and Mr. Suresh Perera of KPMG, discussing the regulatory environment of Sri Lanka and the challenges faced by Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs). This was followed by a very insightful presentation by Mr. Reyaz Mihular of KPMG on how Islamic financial institutions would have addressed the turbulence caused by the current economic turmoil.
Mr. Channa de Silva, Director - General of the SEC who was the Chief Guest at this milestone event, then addressed the audience on the opportunity presented to Sri Lanka as a result of the end of the protracted conflict that ravaged this island for the past three decades. He quoted the iconic Fund Manager, Jim Rogers who has identified the bond market in China and the equity market in Sri Lanka as two of the most attractive investment destinations currently.
Mr. Theagarajah, Managing Director of HNB PLC gave a very interesting perspective of Islamic banking from a conventional banker's perspective followed by a large number of other speakers discussing a wide range of topics These speakers include luminaries in the filed such as Ismaildeen Marikar, founder Managing Director of the group that pioneered.
The second day saw speakers from India, the UAE, the UK, Mauritius and South Africa giving the conference delegates an insight of the state of IBF in their respective countries. The UK perspective and the efforts by the UK government to promote the UK as a global hub for Islamic Finance was also highlighted.
The large number of Islamic banks that have been granted Islamic banking licenses to operate in the UK is of special interest given that Sri Lanka too has a Muslim minority and is also positioned to act as a hub, if not for the world, at least for the Islamic Banking in South Asia, home to an estimated 400 million Muslims. |
E-mail