Casa Árabe participates in the Islamic Finance International Executive program at IE

Program for training on Islamic finance for executives, given by pioneers in this industry in Saudi Arabia

Casa Árabe took part in the second edition of the Islamic Finance International Executive program organized by the IE Business School, the Islamic Economics Institute (IEI - King Abdulaziz University) and the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI - Islamic Development Bank), with the cooperation of the Spanish-Saudi Center of Islamic Economics and Finance (SCIEF), Sedco Capital, Alkhabeer Capital and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The program, which was held from May 3-6 in Jeddah, is intended for senior executives at financial firms and institutions and was designed as a full-immersion program that combines theoretical classes, workshops and visits to financial institutions and business groups, in addition to meeting with the most important experts and role-players in the Islamic finance industry in Saudi Arabia.

Hosted by King Abdulaziz University, the program began at the installations of the university’s Tourism Institute, with an introductory session on the ABCs of Islamic finance given by Walid Mansour, an IEI researcher, and Celia de Anca, director of the SCIEF. After this, a session on business protocol in Saudi Arabia was given by Ibrahim Al-Sini, of the Tourism Institute. In the afternoon, Abdul-Rahim Al-Saati, of the IEI, offered an introduction to Islamic investment instruments, in particular Islamic bonds or sukuk, which were first issued in the early 2000’s and have undergone great expansion since then, offering liquidity alternatives for Islamic investments. The day ended with a round table discussion on the challenges and opportunities faced today by Islamic finance, forty yours after the creation of the first Islamic commercial bank in Dubai. The presentation was given by speakers and experts from the IEI, including Omar Hafiz and Professors Munawar Iqbal and Ibrahim Aboulola.
 
The second day began with a visit to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a multilateral financial institution created in 1975 by the 56 countries which make up the Islamic Cooperation Organization, offering assistance for development through Islamic financing instruments to countries with a Muslim majority, as well as providing support to other countries in the field of Islamic finance. Sami Al-Suwailem, director of the IDB Financial Products Development Center, provided a detailed explanation of the structure of contracts in the new Islamic financing instruments, and Houssem Bedoui, of the IDB, discussed how to apply them to project financing, with real cases the bank has seen in different countries.
 
The afternoon was dedicated to discussing legal matters involved in Islamic finance in the jurisprudence of different legal systems at the headquarters of Sedco Capital. The session, moderated by Faisal Atbani (IEI) included participation by Khalid Gama and Nawaf Jamjoom, for Sedco, and by Muneer Khan, in representation of Simmons & Simmons. S&S is a British law firm with offices in the main financial centers of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, specializing in Islamic finance in various countries around the world. It was behind the entire legal process of adapting English jurisprudence to this type of finance. As for Sedco, it is a Saudi group and leader in the management of assets and investments in accordance with the shari’a, as well as criteria of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, created in 1976. It currently does business in the United States, Asia and South America and was the forerunner to the creation of the Islamic Dow Jones Index.

Starting on the morning of the third day, AlKhabeer Capital gave a workshop on the mobilization of financial resources through the various contracts used in Islamic financing, taught by Abdulkader Thomas, President and CEO of Shape for Economic Consultancy. AlKhabeer Capital is a Saudi company which specializes in asset management and investment banking for financial institutions and companies. With headquarters in Jeddah, it does business throughout the entire region of the Middle East, as well as the US and UK.
 
In the afternoon, a round table discussion was held at the IDB on sukuk, moderated by Lofti Zairi, acting director of IDB’s Risk Management Department. It included participation by Hasan Demirhan, director of the IDB Treasury Department and the person responsible for issuing these bonds at the bank, as well as Mohammed Khanifer, of the IDB Group branch dedicated to development of the private sector  (ICD - Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector).
 
The last day was devoted to initiatives and real case studies of companies and projects in the field of Islamic finance. In particular, a visit was paid to the provisional installations of a new company, Al-Masfaq, recently created by Sheikh Saleh Kamel, a pioneer in contemporary Islamic finance, the president of Jeddah’s Chamber of Commerce and the founder of Dallah Albaraka Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the industry, with a presence in more than 40 countries. There, Mazem Ba Hamdeen, the CEO of Al-Masfaq, explained the objectives of this new project, which seeks to support the launching of small companies and young Saudi start-ups, thereby contributing to job creation amongst youths. During the visit, those attending also took part in a meeting with companies belonging to Jeddah’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, moderated by Sadiq al-Maliki.

The closing ceremony and handing out of certificates took place at Sheikh Saad Al Subaie’s Diwan.

Further information on the Spanish-Saudi Center of Islamic Economics and Finance

IE Islamic Finance Executive Program 2016