JEDDAH, 31 October — Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, is hosting a two-day seminar on Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) on Nov. 3-4 in Kuala Lumpur. The IFSB, which will serve as an association of central banks and monetary authorities, is being set up to promote, disseminate and harmonize best practices in the regulation and supervision of the Islamic financial services industry in response to the growing significance of the industry, according to Malaysian Consul General Mohamed Fuad Bin Matsari.
"The IFSB is a landmark event in the development of Islamic banking and finance worldwide. In conjunction with the inauguration of the IFSB, there will be a series of seminars and workshops on Islamic financial services and current issues of global finance," he told Arab News.
There will be a special opening address by Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad before signing of the articles of agreement of the IFSB by the founding members.
The IFSB also will be attended among others by Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor, Bank Negara Malaysia, and chairman of the IFSB steering committee, Shaukat Aziz, minister of finance and economic affairs, Pakistan, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, president, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, and Dr. Sabir Mohammed Hassan, governor, Bank of Sudan.
The special forum of these speakers will focus on "Toward fostering financial stability of the Islamic financial industry."
The seminar will also deal with various topics such as developing a vibrant and progressive International Islamic financial market; the new Basel accord, technicalities and challenges for regulators and supervisors; uncertainty in the US economic recovery path; international Islamic financial instruments; adaptability of Shariah paradigms to contemporary issues in banking and finance; corporate irregularities and the role of external fund manager in optimizing investment returns.
There will also be a roundtable discussion on Shariah issues and workshop on strengthening the Islamic research and development.
Matsari said the setting up of the IFSB was the culmination of an extensive two-year consultative process initiated by a group of governors and senior officials of central banks together with the IDB and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and with the support of the International Monetary Fund.
