Featuring Premier Keynote Address
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
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Global change is creating significant new opportunities and challenges for Islamic countries. We are now in the arena in which Shari’ah principles are widely accepted and practised globally. The recent global financial crisis has opened up more opportunities for non-Islamic investors to switch to Islamic finance. Although Shari’ah compliant banks and financial institutions were not excluded from the effect of the global financial crisis; yet they performed much better than their conventional counterparts. Due to the nature of Islamic principles which prohibits interest, and speculation; it is gaining popularity as the future of banking and investment.
The development of trade in the Middle East, North Africa and Islamic Asia has boosted the growth in Islamic trade services resulting in greater demand of the products and services ever before. Competition between Shari’ah compliant instruments issuers are very tense and the market has responded by offering an ever-greater variety of trade services instruments that comply with the principles of Islamic law.
The global economic downturn has resulted in organisations going out of business, downsizing, restraining from recruiting and cutting cost through bonus freeze and pay cuts. Survival and long term growth in the face of rapid change necessitates timely adaptation of strategic maximisation of human capital. Dramatic actions also need to be taken to help less developed Muslim countries improve their human capital. |