Finance Talk To Focus On Achieving Successor Mmes By Azrol Azmi

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam has laid emphasis on the development of a capital market in the country.

This is evident based on the recent issuance of Sukuk or Islamic bonds. Whilst this is an important initiation for the establishment of Brunei Darussalam as an Islamic financial hub, the micro and medium enterprises must not be neglected as they serve as an important avenue for the growth of the private sector and the overall development of the economy of Brunei Darussalam.

Taking this into account, the Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (CIBFM) under the auspices of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) will be holding the First International Conference on Inclusive Islamic Financial Sector Development on Enhancing Islamic Financial Services for Micro and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MMEs).

This three-day conference will be held from April 17 to April 19 at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom of the Empire Hotel and Country Club and co-hosted by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This conference is a strong initiative to focus on the issue of access to financial services for the development of micro-medium size enterprises. Islamic financial services (IFS) are expected to enhance access to financial services by making these services relevant for the users. The purpose of the conference therefore is to analyse the challenges facing the development of MMEs due to nonavailability of IFS and the related infrastructures with a view to enhancing the access of MMEs to financial services.

The conference will be divided into 10 sessions which will cover areas on Macro-Perspectives in Financing of MMES; Contracts and Products for MME Finance; Zakat, Awqaf and MME Financing; Experiences in Muslim Countries; Managerial Issues and Perspectives; Case Studies of MME's Projects in Syria, Indonesia, Iran, Philippines, Australia and Palestine; and Takaful and Safety Nets.

The sub-themes ofthe conference will also cover interesting topics such as the Role of Islamic Institutions, Qard Hassan, Baitul Mal Wal Tamweel, Ar-Rehn, issues on venture capital, social enterprise development, transparency and disclosures, export and suppliers' credit risk management and governance issues.

The conference will also address the different perspectives of the international institutions in terms of legal, tax, regulatory and policy frame work.

The local co-host conference organiser, CIBFM, announced that they have received an overwhelming response from all over the world - over 120 papers were submitted from the USA, the UK, Australia, Oman, Sudan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and New Zealand.

The Conference Paper Selection Committee has selected 40 papers to be presented at the conference.

This would therefore allow participants to learn from original empirical and theoretical papers of high quality on the main and sub-themes of the conference as delivered by selected overseas speakers.

This conference has also received encouraging responses from main sponsors such as Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, HSBC Amanah, The Empire Hotel and Country Club and others.

The Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management is overwhelmed by the response of the public from the government ministries, banks and financial institutions as well as private sectors. However, they hoped that the participants would benefit from the international conference as it is very seldom that a conference has the opportunity to gather so many overseas speakers to talk and focus on the challenges and methods of achieving success in MMEs industrial sector.

MMEs play a very pertinent role in the Brunei Darussalam's non-oil sector. The country is aggressively looking into promoting this industry to take advantage of its geographical position as the centre of Asean, which has a population of 500 million people. It is hoped that from this conference the relevant parties making up the MMEs of Brunei Darussalam can learn from best practices from other parts of the world as well as practise the Islamic financial and management approaches in advancing this challenging sector.

Those who are interested in participating in this international conference can call Ak Hasnol and Dk Syema at 2463001 extension 1694, 1831 and 2011 or contact Ak Hasnol at hasnol@cibfm.ubd.edu.bn -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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