Unissa to hold yearly Islamic finance conference

THE International Conference on Islamic Finance is set to become an annual event due to its success, said Dr Mohamed Sharif Bashir, dean of Faculty Business and Management Science at the Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (Unissa) and chairman of the conference's organising committee.

Dr Mohamed said the conference has led to a number of recommendations for future courses of action among the Islamic banking and financial institutions. "The important ones include the decision to form a professional (body) to offer more education and training opportunities in the hopes of reducing the gap between workforce demand and supply while enhancing syariah understanding to resolve contemporary problems, in addition to calling on policymakers and regulatory bodies to support by providing the infrastructure needed for development of the Islamic financial institutions," he said.

The dean said that by organising the conference annually, it is hoped that those involved in the industry will be able to tackle and provide solutions to the problems and constraints faced by Islamic banks and other Islamic financial institutions.

Future conferences will hope to cover issues relating to syariah supervision, risk management in Islamic banks and takaful companies, wealth management, regulations and supervision standards in Islamic Banking and other Islamic financial institutions.

"I think we will also explore cross-border Islamic banking issues and ways to improve the current system at home and overseas," said Dr Mohamed.

The conference, the first of its kind, was organised by Unissa on March 1 and 2 at the Rizqun International Hotel.

"It was a great way to get motivated to work hard on the development of Islamic finance and how we can respond positively to contemporary challenges at both national and international levels," he said.

"I was really excited about the conference presentation, findings and discussion. It really works well in terms of meeting its objectives and ended on a high note on the theme of 'Contemporary Challenges of Islamic Finance: Towards realising the Goals of Syariah'," he added.

Dr Mohamed said the conference will lead to further cooperation and coordination among Islamic financial players. "Both academicians and practitioners can work as a team to make progress and positive change in Islamic finance industry," he said, adding that Unissa will take the initiative to offer fundamental knowledge, practical training, and research findings to improve the Islamic finance sector. "Through activities such as workshop, training modules, short courses, diploma programme, master programme in full or part time basis and research project funded by industry, we hope to build the Islamic financial institutions in Brunei, encourage crucial research, and help establish a new generation of professionals who are strong in syariah understanding and possesses high practical skills in the field of Islamic banking and finance."

The Brunei Times