The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whose Vision 2030 objectives prominently feature the advancement of Islamic finance, maintains its position as the world’s largest holder of Islamic financial assets. The Kingdom continues to prioritize Islamic finance with initiatives that incentivize the sector and recognize innovation. In the past year, the Saudi government has reaffirmed its aim to become a global Islamic finance hub by 2030.

The domestic Islamic banking sector has seen significant change in recent years, with bank mergers creating large, well-capitalized financial institutions with regional ambitions. The Kingdom has a thriving Islamic fintech scene, with nine fintech companies licensed by the central bank, all of which provide Islamic solutions. After four years of detailed planning, one of the three digital bank licensees plan to launch operations shortly.

The Saudi Arabian Islamic capital market continues to burn bright. Since overtaking Malaysia as the world’s biggest Sukuk issuer, Saudi Arabia has completed numerous significant Sukuk issuances, including the US$6 billion debut deal from Saudi Aramco and a US$750 million sustainable Sukuk facility from the newly merged SNB. The Kingdom is home to the largest number of Islamic funds worldwide, holding 34% of total Islamic fund assets under management. The Saudi Exchange lists 252 mutual funds and 17 Islamic REITs, and the Kingdom is featured in the MSCI and FTSE Russell indices.

IFN returns to Saudi Arabia for the ninth time, with the second edition of our unique IFN Dialogues format, exploring opportunities and challenges in one of the most influential Islamic finance markets globally.

See below for the agenda, speakers board and list of companies that have registered their interest in attending the event.