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The 21st annual edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2014) is poised to break new records in December with more than 1,300 high-level industry attendees from more than 50 countries set to join over 60 market-leading partners and sponsors at the event.
It will focus on further boosting the global expansion of Islamic finance and prepare the industry to forge ahead with more success in the year ahead.
WIBC 2014 is also set to continue its tradition of supporting growth, excellence and innovation in the industry built up over more than two decades of meeting the needs of the global industry leaders.
The three-day event will commence on December 1 with a series of pragmatically focused pre-conference summits led by experienced and internationally-renowned market leaders and experts, the organisers say.
The main WIBC 2014 conference, which begins on December 2, will be inaugurated by Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, governor of event-supporters, the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Ketan Ramesh, head of marketing and media of event organisers, MEGA, said: “Much has been said about the phenomenal growth of the Islamic finance industry over the past decade – and the growth rates have been outstandingly impressive.
“Industry supporters have also lauded how successfully Islamic banking has largely weathered the global economic crisis that engulfed the conventional banking industry. However, notwithstanding these achievements, much still needs to be done if the industry is to move beyond its niche status, truly come of age and play its part on the world stage.”
The theme of the 21st Annual WIBC 2014 will focus on ‘Islamic Finance: Towards the New Paradigm Shift in Global Financial Markets’ and will tackle key areas of the Islamic finance sector, including regulatory, strategic, Shari’ah, operational and risk transformation to ensure that the industry is able to build critical mass, expand its geographic reach & depth, and participate in large-scale deals seamlessly across jurisdictions – and, ultimately and most importantly, to successfully meet the needs of an ever-growing base of investors, customers and end-users.
The WIBC, in its 21st annual edition, aims to set the stage for pioneers, industry titans and global leaders who have trail-blazed the development of Islamic finance to gather in Bahrain not only to celebrate the tremendous growth that the international Islamic finance industry has achieved during the past more than two decades but also to revisit and re-mould the critical success factors that will enable the industry to achieve the next set of milestones, the organisers say.
WIBC 2014 will be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
