8 March 2023, Doha – Qatar: Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA), the legal and tax arm of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), has entered into an agreement of collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Islamic Studies (CIS) to cooperate in furthering Islamic finance business in the country.

Under the agreement, the QFC will co-host and sponsor the next five editions of the ‘International Conference on Islamic Finance’ (ICIF) from 2023 to 2027 at CIS, reinforcing the synergetic relationship between the two institutions and opening more opportunities to expand their shared goal of promoting a deeper understanding of Islamic finance and the Shari’ah law through a series of programmes and initiatives.

Commenting on the new collaboration, Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC, said: “We are proud to embark on this collaborative effort with HBKU’s College of Islamic Studies, giving both parties the ideal platform for knowledge-sharing and opportunities for thought leadership. Islamic finance, which is increasingly becoming a popular financing activity worldwide, is a key area of focus of the QFC as we work to develop a world-class financial services industry in Qatar.”

“Islamic fintech is a particular area of interest, and we see it growing rapidly in the local Islamic finance ecosystem given the country’s comprehensive digitalisation programme and widespread adoption of technology by Islamic finance companies to meet customer demands,” Al-Jaida added.

Representing HBKU-CIS, Dr. Syed Nazim Ali, Director of the Center for Islamic Economy and Finance (CIEF), said: “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to QFC for its unwavering support, which has been instrumental to ICIF's success in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations among various stakeholders and contributing to Qatar's development as a knowledge-based economy. We have seen the remarkable potential of Islamic finance in driving innovation and addressing sustainability challenges over the last five editions of ICIF (2017-2022). Looking ahead, we are committed to capitalizing on this potential and furthering Islamic finance in order to meet the demands of a rapidly changing economic landscape."

The global Islamic finance market is estimated to continue in its significant growth trajectory over the coming years, with projections predicting its assets to surpass USD 3.69 trillion by the end of 2024.
Similarly, Qatar’s Islamic banking industry, one of the world’s largest and most experienced, is confident of seeing substantial growth against the backdrop of a robust economy. Despite the pandemic, the local Islamic finance industry has seen its assets expand by 8.4 per cent in 2020, reaching USD 154 billion in mid-2022.