Bespoke Tailoring in the UK — Developing Innovative Islamic Structured Finance Solutions

IFN OnAir

The UK achieved several firsts, including the first Sukuk issuance backed by an export credit agency. What was the legacy of this transaction for UK Islamic financial services? How can the UK fully leverage on its reputation for innovative structured financial products and services and cement its position as an arranging center for international Shariah compliant transactions? Assessing the potential for Shariah compliant securitization in the UK market — identifying suitable underlying assets and employing innovative structures. Does the UK regulatory and tax environment still require modification for Islamic capital markets and structured finance activities? Can structures such as Tawarruq and Wakalah be further deployed in Shariah compliant capital-raising? Examining further innovation in Shariah compliant structured products and where they might be applied: the example of repo and repo to maturity. We ask a respected panel to assess the development of this key market.

Moderator:

Nitish Bhojnagarwala, Senior Vice-President, Financial Institutions Group, Moody’s Investors Service

Panelists:

Ahsan Ali, Managing Director and Head, Islamic Origination, Standard Chartered Saadiq
Asal Saghari, Counsel, King & Spalding
Lim Say Cheong, CEO, Saudi Venture Capital Investment Company
Mohammed Saifullah Khan, CEO, Dar Al Sharia
Nasser Al-Thekair, General Manager, Trade & Business Development, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation