DDCAP was an Executive Partner and Sponsor at the IFN Forum Saudi Arabia, which was held at the InterContinental in Jeddah on 28th November 2016.
Saudi Arabia continues to be one of the most active and influential markets in Islamic finance. With landmark steps including the opening of Tadawul, the Saudi Stock Exchange, to foreign investors, the potential for access to the Saudi debt market, expectations of a sovereign Sukuk issuance and booming asset classes including IPOs, real estate and project finance, more issuers are coming to market and the overall investment scene is growing dramatically.
The Forum was opened with an engaging and informative onstage exchange between Mohammed Elkuwaiz, Vice Chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) of Saudi Arabia and Jawad Ali, Managing Partner, Middle East, King & Spalding, relating inter alia to the Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment in Listed Shares (QFI) Rules and how the initiative has impacted Saudi Arabia’s Islamic asset management landscape.
DDCAP Deputy CEO, Lawrence Oliver moderated a Session on the ‘Integration of ESG/SRI Funds in the Shariah Funds Marketplace.’ Panelists in the Session included Abdul-Rahman Hammad, Regional Director, IdealRatings; Christian Guckel, Chief Risk Officer, SEDCO Capital; Rehan Pathan, Partner, Head of Middle East and Asia, Arabesque Asset Management; and Stuart Hutton, Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical.
Mr. Oliver was delighted to launch the innovative Ethos Asset Facilitation Platform™ (“Ethos AFP™”) at the event