Rajab 1, 1429

July 5, 2008

ISLAMIC BANKING HAS POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE

RIBA-FREE SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS

Karachi Chamber of Commence & Industry’s Vice President, Mr. M. Haroon Agar said that boom of Islamic banking has proved that it can replace the conventional banking to provide Riba-free financial services to people.

He was speaking at a press conference and launching ceremony of a two-day international conference and exhibition on “Islamic Banking & Finance” that would be held on August 12-13 at Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi Expo Centre with an aim to further boost Shariah-compliant banking in Pakistan.

The conference would be organized by Event & Conference International in collaboration with  Meezan Bank and KCCI.

Mr. Agar informed that internationally, Islamic banking is the fastest growing sector in banking and it is believed that its growth is between 15-20 percent annually. “According to State Bank of Pakistan statistics, assets of Islamic banks worldwide are estimated to be between US$ 350 to almost 700 billion”, he maintained.

Trade circles of the country have also shown great interest in utilizing Shariah-cmpliant banking and other financial services,” he said and added that the industry would continue its role in boosting Islamic banking in the country in future too by cooperating in Sharing events like international conference on Islamic banking.

Mr. Khurram Saigal, Vice Chairman, Banking Sub-Committee & Member, Managing Committee KCCI, Mr. Alamgir Khokhar, Chairman, Regional & Religious Affairs Sub-Committee & Member, M.C. - KCCI, Dr. Syed Arif Hussain, Marketing Head of Dawood Takaful Co Ltd., Sheikh Jamal Uddin, Director, Event & Conference International (Pvt.) Ltd., and Mr. Mujeeb Baig of Dawood Islamic Bank also spoke on the occasion.

They stated that at present there were six fully operational Islamic banks in the country and other were in pipeline.  “About 12 conventional banks have opened stand-alone windows for Islamic banking”, they informed adding that these banks include multinational banks like Standard Chartered.

All the major banks, like Habib Bank Ltd., MCB, Askari Commercial Bank, Bank Alfalah and United Bank, have their separate Islamic banking branches”, they said.

Shaikh Jamal Uddin pointed out that the international event would make deliberations on the reforms being adopted under the guidance of Islamic Banking rules while bosses of companies which are entirely running their business through Islamic banking have been invited to share their fruitful experiences.

It may be mentioned that Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Chairman, Centre for Islamic Economies and leading Islamic Scholar will preside the conference.  Head of various banks including Mr. Irfan Siddiqi of Meezan Bank and Mr. Hasan Bilgrami of Bank Islami would deliver lectures while eminent personalities associated with Islamic banking sector from Malaysia, Italy, UAE  and Saudi Arabia will participate in the conference.

State Bank of Pakistan and Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry are main sponsors of  the event while all Islamic banks and Takaful (Islamic Insurance) companies working in the country will participate in the programme.