Unlocking Islamic Finance at COP28
Tuesday 5th December 2023, 09:00 - 13:20, DIFC Atrium
As COP28 arrived in Dubai, with all eyes on the Islamic finance industry. Interest-free, Shariah compliant finance remains a largely untapped pool of capital for sustainability. This event explored how the two value-driven forms of finance can be aligned through new standards and improved practices.
Discussion points:
- Green and Sustainable Sukuk
- Moving from Halal to Tayyib - enhancing consideration of ESG factors
- Shariah scholars and their role on sustainability
- The Tayyib Project: launch
Speakers from:
Omar Shaikh
Dame Susan Rice
Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar
Naveen Raza
Iqbal Khan
Salman Siddiqui
Managing Director, GEFI
Omar Shaikh
Omar is the Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) and Board Member of the UK Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC)
A Chartered Accountant by profession, he specialises in ethical/responsible finance, Islamic finance, and private equity. He has extensive experience in financial services and has advised multiple governments and regulators on ecosystem building as a leading advocate for sustainable and Islamic finance. His background includes working with EY London, where he qualified as a CA and was the former Head of Islamic finance.
Through his GEFI work, Omar has established a number of initiatives, including the Path to COP, the SDG Financial Products platform with UNDP, which promotes innovative financing structures for the SDGs, the Global Islamic Finance and UN SDGs Taskforce launched with the UK Government and IsDB, and the award-winning interfaith Edinburgh Finance Declaration—the world’s first shared values approach to finance between Islamic finance and the Church. He also served on the Board of the University of Oxford Faith-Aligned Impact Finance Project
Omar received a BAcc and a PhD from the University of Glasgow along with an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University conferred for his work in developing ethical finance. Beyond finance, he is actively involved with Colourful Heritage which works with Glasgow Museums to preserve and celebrate South Asian heritage in Scotland, The King’s Trust Scotland and Olivewood Primary School.
Chair, GEFI Global Steering Group
Dame Susan Rice
With a career that spans medical research, leadership roles in higher education and then banking, Dame Susan chairs the Global Steering Group of GEFI (Global Ethical Finance Initiative). She also chairs the boards of Scottish Water, Business Stream, North American Income Trust.
The first woman to head a UK or European clearing bank as Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland plc, she was also a director of the Bank of England, Senior Independent Director of both J Sainsbury’s plc and SSE plc and lay member of Court at Edinburgh University. She was founding chair of Scotland’s Fiscal Commission, the country’s official, independent economic and fiscal forecaster and recently became a non-executive director on the board of the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility.
Focused on the creation of long-term value in business and enterprise, she works with the UK’s Place-based Climate Action Network and previously led a business-focused collaboration on carbon reduction and a sustainable Scottish economy. A leading voice on ethics in finance, she chaired the Financial Services Culture Board and supported the Chartered Banker Institute by leading her industry to support the creation of professional standards for bankers. Susan also helped develop numerous social finance and impact investing entities in the US and the UK.
Alongside several honorary degrees and professional fellowships, Dame Susan is a Freeman of the City of London.
Chairman, INCEIF University
Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar
Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar is currently the Chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji Malaysia (Hajj Pilgrims Fund Board), the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the Chairman of INCEIF (The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance) and the Chairman of the Leadership Council of the Malaysia International Islamic Finance Centre (MIFC). Between June 2004 and July 2018, he was the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”), Malaysia’s strategic investment fund. His other current affiliations include as a member of the Global Future Council on Investing of the World Economic Forum (Davos), a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) based in Edinburgh and as a board member of MERCY Malaysia, a humanitarian relief organization. Azman was the Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge (February 2019 to February 2021) and a Bye-Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge (February 2019 to February 2022). His research interest is in the area of Finance and its impact on Society.
He is also currently a member of the Majlis Kebangsaan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Malaysia (National Council for Islamic Affairs, Malaysia) and until recently, the Majlis Pemulihan Negara (National Recovery Council (for Covid-19)) and the Majlis Kemakmuran Bumiputera (Bumiputera Prosperity Council) in Malaysia. Azman is also a member of the Board of Governors of The Malay College Kuala Kangsar, an Adjunct Professor at UTM, a trustee of the Wawasan Education Foundation in Penang, Malaysia, a member of the Finance Advisory Committee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, a board member of VB Asset Management LLC, a Venture Capital Fund investing in Life Sciences in the United States and an Advisor to The Hive IV, a Silicon Valley based Technology Venture Capital fund. In early 2020, he co-founded Fitrah Capital Associates, a financial and strategy advisory firm incorporated in the United Arab Emirates.
Net Zero Transition & Partnerships, HSBC
Naveen Raza
Chief Executive Officer, Fajr Capital
Iqbal Khan
Iqbal Ahmad Khan is the Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Cravia Group, Jadwa Investment and MENA Infrastructure. Prior to Fajr Capital, he was the founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, where he built the business and team over eight years into one of the fastest growing and most successful emerging businesses in the HSBC Group.
He is a long-time advocate of the Islamic financial services industry, serving as an advisor to government initiatives in Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics and Chemistry, both from Aligarh Muslim University.
He is the recipient of several industry and global accolades, including the Royal Award for Islamic Finance, a biannual prize presented by HM the King of Malaysia, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE.
Fund Manager, Jupiter Asset Management
Salman Siddiqui
Salman leads Jupiter’s Global Islamic Strategy. He has been an early pioneer and thought leader in Tayyib investing: combining traditional exclusion-based shariah investing with pro-active ESG engagement. He is part of a Global Steering Committee on Tayyib Investing convened by Global Ethical Finance Initiative and UK Islamic Finance Council. He has participated in many high profile industry events and panels including most recently at COP28 in Dubai. Salman joined Jupiter in June 2017 as an Investment Manager in Global Emerging Markets Equities. Prior to this, he spent a decade at Nomura Asset Management where he led the firm’s Emerging Frontier, Africa, MENA and Turkey fund strategies. He has over 20 years’ experience, including 5 years with Deloitte in Audit and Corporate Finance. Salman started his career as an Equity Capital Markets analyst at Citigroup in 2001. Salman is a Chartered Accountant and has an MA from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics & Economics.
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Event Timeline during COP28
Our high profile events that built momentum at COP28
Climate's Impact: The Rise and Fall of Economies and Nations
During COP28, we explored the work of two famed economists and philosophers in light of the climate crisis. During COP28 on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of December in Dubai, GEFI hosted a series of evening lectures on Scottish Enlightenment economist Adam Smith and famed Arab social theorist Ibn Khaldun, tackling their views on profit and purpose, their understanding of the rise and fall of empires, and their approaches to solving collective problems.
The series built upon our work Glasgow’s COP26, where we hosted a similar series focused on Adam Smith, and published our Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century essay series, which explored how his theories could be applied to contemporary economic challenges such as the climate crisis.
The time for gradual changes is over: we need to finance our survival. Wildfires have raged across Europe for a second successive summer. Across the world, pressure is being put on scare water, agricultural land and endangered species.
With the global stocktake taking place during COP28, we developed our COP28 Climate Finance Summit in consultation with the COP28 team, bringing together leading bankers, asset managers, regulators, multilaterals and more to understand how we can finance survival.
Unlocking Positive Systemic Change: Identifying Leverage Points for Sustainable Transformation
During COP28, we explored the work of two famed economists and philosophers in light of the climate crisis. During COP28 on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of December in Dubai, GEFI hosted a series of evening lectures on Scottish Enlightenment economist Adam Smith and famed Arab social theorist Ibn Khaldun, tackling their views on profit and purpose, their understanding of the rise and fall of empires, and their approaches to solving collective problems.
The series built upon our work Glasgow’s COP26, where we hosted a similar series focused on Adam Smith, and published our Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century essay series, which explored how his theories could be applied to contemporary economic challenges such as the climate crisis.
As COP28 came to Dubai, all eyes will were on the Islamic finance industry. Interest-free, Shariah compliant finance remains a largely untapped pool of capital for sustainability. This event explored how the two value-driven forms of finance can be aligned through new standards and improved practices.
The Relationship between Profit and Purpose
During COP28, we explored the work of two famed economists and philosophers in light of the climate crisis. During COP28 on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of December in Dubai, GEFI hosted a series of evening lectures on Scottish Enlightenment economist Adam Smith and famed Arab social theorist Ibn Khaldun, tackling their views on profit and purpose, their understanding of the rise and fall of empires, and their approaches to solving collective problems.
The series built upon our work Glasgow’s COP26, where we hosted a similar series focused on Adam Smith, and published our Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century essay series, which explored how his theories could be applied to contemporary economic challenges such as the climate crisis.
During COP28, our SDG Hive series provided a platform for high-impact discussions around select COP28 themes. The sessions built upon the SDG Hive from our annual Ethical Finance Global summit, and provided finance practitioners with the skills they need to address the climate crisis and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
During COP28, our SDG Hive series provided a platform for high-impact discussions around select COP28 themes. The sessions built upon the SDG Hive from our annual Ethical Finance Global summit, and provided finance practitioners with the skills they need to address the climate crisis and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
"Finance is the key that can unlock climate action and we are committed to supporting and facilitating the ongoing review of international financial institutions to scale up public financing, leverage private finance and improve access."
Dr Sultan Al Jaber
COP28 UAE President-Designate