Amãna Bank CEO panellist at World Islamic Economy Forum

Amãna Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Azmeer represented both Sri Lanka and the Bank as a panellist at the recently concluded World Islamic Economy Forum (WIEF) Roundtable held in Chennai, India.

Amana Bank CEO Mohamed Azmeer

Held under the theme ‘Innovative and Alternative Finance for Business and Infrastructure Development’ in India, the Chennai Roundtable was inaugurated by Shri O. Panneerselvam, the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu along with the patronage of Chairman WIEF Foundation and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Musa Hitam. 

The conference keynote address was delivered by Shri. M.C. Sampath, the Minister for Industries, Tamil Nadu. The event was hosted by United Economic Forum (UEF) Chamber of Commerce, which is an apex body in Tamil Nadu promoting trade and commerce, entrepreneurship, FDI and infrastructure development. The forum which was attended by over 600 delegates, witnessed more than 20 speakers representing 12 countries, presenting a cross section of topics on the Alternative Finance model. 

Sharing the Sri Lankan success story and its journey into Islamic finance, Amãna Bank CEO Mohamed Azmeer contributed as a panellist to the session on ‘Islamic Finance: Learning’s from Abroad’ along with other panellists representing  India, Malaysia, Australia and Italy.  At the panel discussion Azmeer highlighted that Sri Lanka is globally ranked 13th in the Islamic Finance Development Index published by Thomson Reuters and ICD studying 131 countries involved in Islamic Finance, while also being the highest ranked non-Muslim nation in the index. 

Azmeer also went on to note that out of the 131 countries studied, 84 countries were non-Muslim majority countries, showcasing evidence to the attraction and demand for Islamic finance crossing the platform of faith based appeal and reaching out to a higher platform of economic appeal across the world. 

Further presenting the case for alternative finance, Azmeer shared how the universal value proposition of Islamic finance can help economic growth as it always stands integrated with either the real sector, external sector or fiscal sector of the economy, ushering in financial discipline, unlike a conventional system where excessive financial sector growth in isolation could lead to a debt trap.  Providing evidence of the economic impact it has created in Sri Lanka, Azmeer mentioned that Islamic finance has spanned across multiple industries ranging from infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, trading, shipping and logistics, aviation and transport and services.

Commenting on his participation, Amãna Bank CEO Mohamed Azmeer said: “I am indeed honoured and pleased to have showcased the Sri Lankan success story on Islamic finance on a global platform at the WIEF Chennai Roundtable. Listening to the various thought provoking sessions, we see great potential for the development of non-interest based participatory financing across the region.”