Kuwait Finance House, Bahrain, a leading provider of Islamic commercial and investment banking services, is supporting an international conference on Islamic banking and finance as a gold sponsor.

The two-day AAOIFI – World Bank Annual Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance 2009 opened yesterday (December 14) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bahrain.

The conference is organised by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) in partnership with the World Bank.

“Given the current international financial crisis, the world is increasingly looking towards Islamic finance and banking to provide new and innovative policies and instruments to seek new growth markets based on solid and fair foundations, especially in the post-crisis landscape,” said Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat, managing director and CEO of KFH-Bahrain.

“The conference provides a unique and high profile platform for the advancement of the global Islamic banking industry,” he added.

“The exchange of viewpoints and ideas during the conference, not only contributes to the growth of our knowledge, but also inspires excellence and best practice in our work.”

Alkhayyat continued: “The AAOIFI Islamic Banking and Finance Conference is the ideal forum for discussion and for setting standards for the conduct of the Islamic financial business. The co hosting of the World Bank for this event is a clear vindication of the credibility that the AAOIFI enjoys and for the importance of Islamic banking in general.”

The AAOIFI and World Bank Conference is held each year to consider the emerging requirements and needs of Islamic financial institutions around the world and addresses issues that have arisen as the Islamic banking sector has steadily grown.

The conference is addressing several important topics including expanding access to finance to small businesses and households, the way forward for Tawarruq (monetisation) transactions, sukuk, equity or debt instruments, investment accounts versus deposit accounts, derivatives, interbank money market operations, and issues on bankruptcy, liquidation, merger and acquisition. – TradeArabia News Service