JEDDAH, 9 December 2005 — Albaraka Banking Group (ABG), the Bahrain-based Islamic banking group, yesterday announced that it would be taking part as a silver sponsor of the 12th World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) set in Manama from Dec. 10-13.
Being held with the support of Bahrain Prime Minister Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, over 500 international officials, and banking, financial and religious dignitaries from around the world are attending the event whose theme is “Unlocking market opportunities: Consolidation, innovation and growth.”
“We at ABG have since many years supported and sponsored all events that seek to help develop and consolidate the banking industry in Islamic countries. The presence of ABG through its subsidiary banks in many of these countries is an endorsement of this strategy,” ABG Chairman Saleh Abdullah Kamel said.
“The WIBC, hosted every year by Bahrain, has become one of the important events that we sponsor and support as it is closely linked to the strategy of the group, in addition to it being an important forum through which Islamic banking leaders can meet to discuss developments in the Islamic banking industry and the challenges and opportunities they face,” he added.
“The importance of our sponsoring this year’s conference stems from the urgent issues of consolidation, innovation and growth that the conference will discuss - this is in consonance with the innovative work we’re currently undertaking to take ABG beyond its regional boundaries to become a truly leading international Islamic banking group with a network of branches and subsidiaries that will provide services in all major international financial centers,” ABG Chief Executive Officer Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.
