Riyadh, 12th December 2023: Saudi Arabia, a driving force behind Islamic finance, remains the global leader in Islamic financial assets. The Kingdom’s commitment to advancing Islamic finance is prominently featured in its Vision 2030 objectives, and it continues to prioritize the sector through innovative initiatives. IFN, with the support of the IsDB as the multilateral strategic partner, hosted the KSA Dialogues 2023 on the 11th December, and it served as a focal point for Islamic finance professionals and attracted renowned speakers and a diverse international audience of industry stakeholders.
The domestic Islamic banking landscape has undergone significant transformations, with bank mergers leading to the creation of large, well-capitalized financial institutions with regional ambitions. Saudi Arabia boasts a thriving Islamic fintech sector, with nine fintech companies licensed by the central bank, all offering Islamic solutions. After four years of meticulous planning, one of the three digital bank licensees is poised to launch operations in the near future.
This first session served as a platform to discuss and analyze the recent developments and trends in Islamic finance and banking within Saudi Arabia. It centered around understanding how Islamic finance is not only growing but also significantly influencing the economic landscape of the Kingdom. The topics covered in this session encompass a wide range of critical issues, including the application of Shariah compliant structures to the funding of clean energy projects and infrastructure and the shift away from hydrocarbons and the digitalization of Islamic financial services: what is working, what is not and what this means for the transformation of Islamic financial services in the Kingdom.
The second session focused on developing strategic projects and infrastructure through Shariah compliant investment and toward Saudi Vision 2030. Some of the notable topics includes Saudi Arabian bilateral Shariah compliant investment — latest trends, investment types, asset classes and opportunities. It also explored potential targets for private equity investment in the Saudi market, and the role of privatization and opportunities for Shariah compliant investment in the Kingdom through public–private partnerships, and the role of government-driven mega projects.
IFN returned to Saudi Arabia for the ninth time, presenting the second edition of the unique IFN Dialogues format, which explores opportunities and challenges within one of the world’s most influential Islamic finance markets.
IFN KSA Dialogues consisted of extended conversations featuring key industry players, aimed at identifying and analyzing critical issues facing Islamic finance in Saudi Arabia. The two Dialogues will focus on the growing influence of Islamic banking, finance and capital markets, as well as the role of private equity and direct investment in the development of strategic projects and infrastructure in the Kingdom.
Panelists for IFN KSA Dialogues 2023 include:
- Abdulkhaliq Elshayyal, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
- Ahsan Ali, Managing Director and Head, Islamic Origination, Standard Chartered Saadiq
- David Johnston, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
- Dyota Marsudi, President Director and CEO, Bank Aladin Syariah
- Fabrice Susini, CEO, Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company
- Faisal Al Osaimi, CEO, Invesense Asset Management
- Hakan Ozyon, CEO, Hejaz Financial Services
- Husain Alkhaja, GCC Regional Director, DDCAP
- Dr John Sandwick, General Manager, Safa Investment Services
- Line Bitar, Senior Manager, Project Finance and M&A, ACWA Power
- Dr Mohammed Ishaq Ali, Head of Equity Funds, ANB Invest
- Mohammed Srhiri, Vice-President, Financial Markets Advisory, BlackRock
- Morrad Irsane, Cofounder and CEO, Takadao
- Naquib Mohammed, Founder and CEO, MRHB DeFi Network
- Omar Khaliel, CEO, Riba Free Foundation
- Sharjil Ahmed, CEO and Co-Founder, Cykube
With an attendance of over 100 delegates, the conference provided a platform for fruitful engagement, capacity-building and networking opportunities.
About Islamic Finance news (IFN)
IFN is the leading Islamic finance news and solutions provider in the world, housing the largest pool of Islamic finance-related articles and coverage. Providing breaking news, reports and analyses through its multimedia channels, IFN covers the whole spectrum of the Shariah compliant finance industry, leveraging its unrivaled connections, team of journalists and global network of market expert correspondents. IFN has over 65,000 readers worldwide and has organized over 300 events across 35 countries.
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