By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Miftah Ismail has assured Islamic Finance Sector that he would soon create a post at Ministry of Finance that would solely deal with the Islamic finance Industry. He also assured the Islamic Finance Industry that he would soon convene the meeting of Committee for Implementation of the recommendations of Steering Committee for Promotion of Islamic Banking in Pakistan.
He was speaking at the two-day World Islamic Finance Forum (WIFE) 2018 that began in Movenpick Hotel Karachi today. The Forum has been organized by IBA Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CIEF) in collation with key partners. The theme is “Expanding the Footprint of Islamic Finance: Innovation, Fintech & Regulations”. The key note speakers are local and international academia and industry leaders.
Highlighting the performance of his Government Miftah said that we are set to achieve a 6% GDP growth which is highest growth rate for last one decade. He hoped that 6% GDP growth would create lot of job opportunities and claimed that Pakistan has the potential to achieve 8% to 10% growth rate.
He said that his Government has removed the basic bottlenecks from the path of growth of prosperity that includes Energy shortage, Law and Order and Red tapism for the business and economy.
Globally acknowledged Shraiah Scholar and Chirman, Shariah Board of AAOIFI, Shaikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani said, “We made a humble beginning in Pakistan, but the point of satisfaction is that people of Pakistan origin are holding key positions in Islamic banking around the world, making contribution in developing regulatory framework and above all developing products that are meeting the emerging needs of trade and business.”
Taqi Usmani urged the govt to take concrete steps to get rid of Riba from the economy in absolute terms. He urged the Government to immediately establish a section or division at Ministry of Finance to be headed by an Additional or Joint Secretary Level official so that problem and issues of Islamic finance sector are addressed.
He said that Islamic financial institutions have excess liquidity and Government should work on creating avenues for the deployment of these excess funds. He said that Implementation Committee at Ministry of Finance which is dormant must be activated for the goal of islamization of the economy. Mufti Taqi Usmani advised current Government to include a resolve in its election manifesto to eradicate the Riba totally.
The Chief Gust of the conference H.E. Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman AAOIFI Board of Trustees said that “It is heartening to note that Pakistan is striving hard to become another hub of Islamic finance. It has all the basic ingredients i.e. a population of 200 million predominantly Muslims, a robust banking and finance sector, vibrant agriculture, industrial and services sectors. The apex regulators State Bank of Pakistan Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan are playing proactive role. The progress made during more than one decade is encouraging and provide the faith that achieving the target will not be difficult.”
Irfan Siddiqui, President, Meezan Bank said requested the Federal Government to set a target to acquire at least 25% of the local funding through Islamic Banking as Islamic financial institutions have excess liquidity and limited avenues for investment. He said that a dedicated desk should be established at MoF for Issuance of Sukuk headed by Additional Secretary for targeting a Sukuk issue of Rs. 500 billion in the next 6 months period.
Irfan Siddiqui said that “It is a matter of great pride that Meezan Bank, first full service Islamic commercial bank is playing a key role in the promotion of Islamic banking in Pakistan and our work has been acknowledged globally. I am confident that exchanging views at WIFE will enable Pakistan to play its due role.
Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Director IBA Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance while welcoming the conference delegates said that IBA CEIF has emerged as a Regional platform for Excellence in Islamic finance. He said that focus areas of IBA CEIF includes Development of Islamic Finance Professionals & new HR Talent Pool through Industry linkages and International collaborations.
Dr. Ishrat Husain, Chairman, CEIF- IBA, Mr. Jameel Ahmad Deputy Governor SBP (Banking and FMRM), Mr. Shamsul Hasan Deputy Governor SBP (Islamic Banking, Development Finance and IT Cluster), Dr. Farrukh Iqbal, Dean and Director, IBA and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Takaful Pakistan, Mr. Rizwan Hussain, MD Pak-Qatar Takaful Mr. Said Gul were amongst the prominent speakers.
