Saeed Haider

EXPERTS and analysts at the World Islamic Banking Conference focused on Awqaf (assets kept in trust) and oil prices, one of the biggest macro forces affecting the growth and development of Islamic finance, during the final day of the World Islamic Banking Conference in Manama, Bahrain.

The three-day conference, which opened Tuesday, discussed various aspects of investment and financing to set the road map for the future progress of Islamic finance.

In today’s concluding session, former CIO of the World Bank and Wall Street investment banker Dr. Hani Findakly of the Clinton Group shared his insights on the role of technology in promoting a “mirage” of commodity-driven growth. He emphasized that the Islamic institution of Awqaf constitutes a potentially huge source of funding for investments in the MENA region. The Awqaf system, which according to his estimates holds over $1.5 trillion, can be used to energize economies and employment.

“In the context of this Islamic Banking conference, it is high time to recognize the critical importance of one of the largest resource in the Islamic world: the Waqf (or Islamic trust) system…much of it is are idle assets, spread across the globe from Morocco to Egypt, to Saudi Arabia and across Asia in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, among others. Some of it can be unlocked to transform the economies of many countries by funding start-ups and venture-capital businesses to accelerate innovation, job creation, and dynamic growth,” he said.

In the afternoon session on asset allocation outlook for 2016 charted out the future of asset classes, currencies, energy and commodities for the global investment community gathered at WIBC. Pioneers leading the series discussion included Kurt Lieberman, CEO of Magni Global, OnurTakmak, founding partner chairman of RHEA Asset Management, Farouk Sousa, Citi’s head of Middle East economics, Fadi Al Said, director at Lazard Gulf, Naomi Heaton, CEO of London Central Portfolio Ltd and Wael Ziada, managing director at EFG Hermes.

The question on how the Fintech revolution will impact Islamic financial services was also taken up by experts that included Paul Boots of Beehive, Abdul Haseeb Basit of the UK’s Innovation Finance, Steve Polsky, founder of Juvo Mobile, Matthew Joseph Martin, founder of Blossom Finance, and Andrew Dix, CEO founder of Crowdfund Insider.

Another highlight of the morning sessions was the global launch of the Finance Forward Islamic Finance Outlook 2016, delivered by Dr. Sayd Farook, vice chairman and CEO of Middle East Global Advisors. The report provides groundbreaking analysis and a comprehensive outlook to chart the direction of the global Islamic financial services industry. The insights are intended to help the Islamic banking leaders understand the developments in the regulatory, economic, demographical and technological landscape.

Meanwhile last night, WIBC recognized excellence within the Islamic finance and banking industry at a gala dinner at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain. In all 18 WIBC Performance Awards were given to the top Islamic financial institutions based on their performance at the global, regional and national levels.

Masraf Al Rayan bagged the global award, testament to its strong performance in the financial metrics of the WIBC Leader board. The Leader board, an initiative conceived by the conveners of WIBC — Middle East Global Advisors — is a groundbreaking performance assessment tool aimed at enabling Islamic financial institutions to benchmark their performance against their peers. It formed the basis of the WIBC Performance Awards, which aggregates numerous financial metrics from the Leader board.

The WIBC Performance Awards represents WIBC’s commitment to objective and quantitative approach to assessing banking performance.  Dr. Sayd Farook stressed the importance of rigorous objective assessment underpinning the awards.

AWARD WINNERS

The overall winners of the 22nd Annual WIBC Performance Awards were:
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Global
Masraf Al Rayan
Best Performing Islamic Bank – GCC
Masraf Al Rayan
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Levant
Jordan Islamic Bank
Best Performing Islamic Bank – SE Asia
Hong Leong Islamic Bank
Best Performing Islamic Bank – South Asia
Social Islami Bank Limited
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Bahrain
Bahrain Islamic Bank
Best Performing Islamic Bank –Bangladesh
Social Islami Bank Limited
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Egypt
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank – Egypt
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Indonesia
Bank BNI Syariah
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Jordan
Jordan Islamic Bank
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Kuwait
Boubyan Bank
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Oman
Bank Nizwa
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Pakistan
Meezan Bank Limited
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Qatar
Masraf Al Rayan
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Saudi Arabia
Bank AlBilad
Best Performing Islamic Bank – Turkey
TurkiyeFinansKatilim
Best Performing Islamic Bank – UAE
Noor Bank