Guest of Honour will be His Highness Sayyid Assad bin Tareq al Said, Representative of His Majesty the Sultan

Forum to bring senior industry figures, global investors, takaful operators, and bankers, as well as top Shariah scholars to Oman

To be held between November 04 - 05 at the Al Bustan Palace: A Ritz Carlton Hotel

Keynote speech by His Excellency Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia

Muscat | October 21, 2012: Islamic finance has been developing worldwide - in scale and impact, and Oman now has the whole industry evaluating its potential. Keeping the Sultanate massive potential in mind, Amanie Advisors are proud to present the first Muscat International Islamic Financial Forum, which will be held between November 04 and 05, 2012 at the Al Bustan Palace: A Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Amanie Advisory House of Oman is a specialist financial advisory firm active globally in the field of Islamic Finance. They are renowned across the globe to organise seminars and symposia on issues facing the Islamic Finance industry and the way forward for the future.

Muscat International Islamic Financial Forum, in its inaugural edition, promises to bring its widely-praised approach that combines a cordial atmosphere of networking within the Islamic financial alliance in Oman with concise presentations from knowledgeable industry experts.

Commenting on the group's decision to host a major even in Oman, Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, Amanie's founder and Group Chairman, commented, "Oman is one of key countries right now and is the place to be in Islamic Finance. In line with the vision of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Amanie sees a lot of opportunity, both among the financial community in Oman, who are keen to expand into Islamic products.This conference will provide an ideal platform for industry leaders to meet and discuss new possibilities and collaborations in Islamic banking and finance, focusing on Oman primarily - with a larger footprint globally."

Inaugurated by His Highness Sayyid Assad bin Tareq al Said, Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, the two-day gathering will bring senior industry figures, global investors, takaful operators, and bankers, as well as top Shariah scholars. The topics will focus on the newly created opportunities in Oman and other countries in the wider region new to Islamic Finance.  Specifically, the forum will discuss the current state of the Sukuk market, new opportunities for Takaful providers, winning strategies for distributing funds; and the issues faced by new Islamic banks in Oman, such as asset-liability management, treasury and interbank money markets.

Delivering the keynote address will be his Excellency Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, between 1981-2003, Tun Mahathir was a strong supporter of the global development of the Islamic Finance Industry.

Executive Partner of Amanie Advisory House of Oman, Mr Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Khalili, said, "Muscat International Islamic Financial Forum will be a melting pot of international delegates, business leaders and practitioners of Islamic finance. We look forward to bringing together influential members of the international finance market to Oman in this edition. In Oman, we have a lot to learn from those who have been practising Islamic Finance for many years; their experience will be invaluable."

Key Issues to Be Discussed

  • How Islamic funds can help serve the wider community

  • Islamic Asset Management:  Making in the Case in Virgin Markets

  • Sukuk: the latest figures on forms and substance of new issues.

  • Structuring Sukuk for new markets: Sukuk prospects for 2012 and what needs to be done.

  • Assessing the Asset-Liability of Islamic Banks: The Issue of Islamic Liquidity Management

  • The Arab Spring and how to manage new finance opportunities in MENA

  • Update of Islamic Finance in North Africa 

  • BancaTakaful: A New Dimension of Takaful Distribution, the most cost effective and profitable ways to bring this product to markets

  • Takaful in New Markets: Prospects and Challenges

Key sponsors of MIIFF include (Meethaq), the Islamic banking division of Bank Muscat, (Alhilal) the Islamic banking division of Ahli Bank, the Islamic banking division of Bank Sohar, as well as Al-Madina Insurance; Al-Madina Investment; FWU Global; Gulf International Bank; and many others.

For more information on the conference and registration details, please visit www.miiff.amanienexus.com.

-Ends-

About Amanie:
Amanie is a globally recognized Shariah advisory firm in the field of Islamic finance. Guided by an internationally-renowned Shariah Supervisory Board, the team at Amanie offers assistance in the structuring and Shariah endorsement of investment funds, sukuk, and other financial products for their governmental and corporate clients; provides on-going supervision to fund managers; as well as an annual Shariah compliance review. Additionally, the firm organizes seminars and symposia on issues facing the Islamic Finance industry; offers in-house training to all levels of employees on topics dealing with Islamic Finance; and distributes, comprehensive professional courses leading to qualification in Islamic Finance. The group focuses on Shariah financial structuring & advisory, capital markets activities and strategic placements. Amanie's uniqueness is its independence and relationship-driven business focus. Amanie currently serves institutional investors, corporations and financial institutions and has offices in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Cairo, Melbourne, Muscat, Astana, Seoul, Dublin and Luxembourg.

AMANIE ADVISORY House of Oman
Contact Person: Fahad Al-Khalili
P.O. Box 236, P.C. 130
Azaibah, Oman
E-mail: fahadalkhalili@hotmail.com

Amanie Advisors (Dubai)
DIFC Gate Village, Building 2, Level 3
Dubai, UAE
Contact person: Mark Smyth
E-mail: msmyth@amanieadvisors.com
Web: www.amanieadvisors.com

For further media information or inquiries, please contact:
Priyam Chakraborty / ZEENAH PR         
Tel: +968 9894 8557
E-mail: priyam.chakraborty@zeenahpr.com

© Press Release 2012