First International Islamic Banking and Finance Conference and Exhibition will be held from August 12 to 13, 2008 at a local hotel. Addressing a press conference and seminar at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday, Director Event, Event and Conference International (ECI), Jamaluddin said that Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Advisor, Shariah Board of Meezan Bank, will inaugurate the conference.
He said that Islamic scholars and delegates from Saudi Arabia, Dubai and other Muslim countries will participate in the conference. Representatives of banks, Takaful operators, investment banks, brokerage houses, mutual funds operators, asset managers etc will also participate in the event. Meezan Bank and ECI, jointly organising the event, beside State Bank and KCCI are main sponsors of the event.
He said that there are around 270 Islamic banks world-wide in over 75 countries with total assets estimated at more than $265 billion and financial investments above $400 billion. He said that during last few years, Islamic finance has experienced tremendous growth. The current market for Islamic financial products, estimated at over $265 billion, is predicted to grow at 12-15 percent per annum over the next 10 years.
Executive VP Dawood Islamic Bank Mujeeb Baig said that around 289 Islamic banking branches are operating in Pakistan beside 12 Islamic banking counters operating in conventional banks. He said that 5 Takaful companies are operation in the country, and out of them three are providing facility of general insurance Takaful has become one of the leading segments of the financial sector across the Asian, Arab and African regions with growth rates of 10 percent to 30 percent over the last couple of years.
These numbers are a good indicator of the speed at which Takaful is growing all over the world, but in Pakistan, despite 26 percent average growth rate of insurance sector, Takaful is relatively new and in its infancy stage.