Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 23 February 2024 –  KLCoE joined hands with UNDP Malaysia Office to organize a panel discussion on ‘Innovations in Islamic Finance’ at the International Conference on Islamic Economy and Finance (ICIEF) 2024, held on February 20–22, 2024. The conference, themed ‘Driving the Agenda for a Sustainable Humane Economy’, was officiated by the Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr. Anwar Ibrahim. 

The panel discussion ‘Innovations in Islamic Finance’ was held as one of the parallel sessions of the conference on the second day.  The IsDB-UNDP joint report, “Case Studies: Innovations in Islamic Finance”, is a collaborative project that marks the first joint local partnership between IsDB KLCoE and the UNDP Country Office for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. It showcases innovative solutions in Islamic Finance.

Mr. Samer Elesawi, Head of IsDB KLCoE, delivered the welcoming remarks. In his address, he highlighted IsDB's commitment to socially responsible investment across all operations and partnerships, the integration of sustainable financing considerations into investment decisions, and the rigorous due diligence conducted to ensure that projects deliver financial, social, and environmental benefits.

In his address, Mr. Niloy Banerjee, Resident Representative of UNDP Malaysia, expressed hope for the emergence of more innovations to measure and manage the impact of Islamic Finance. He further stated that aligning the SDGs with Islamic Finance will create additional opportunities to attract capital from the global financial system and facilitate the transition from 'billions to trillions' necessary to achieve the SDGs

The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Siti Rosina, Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Malaysia. The panelists included Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mustafa Mohd Hanefah, Professor of Shariah Governance And Shariah Audit at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia; Dr. Khairunnisa Musari, Assistant Professor of Islamic Economics and Business at Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq State Islamic University; and Dr. Hylmun Izhar, Senior Research Economist at the IsDB Institute.

The session also highlighted the findings from the report and deliberated on how it can support development solutions pursued in other developing countries. It also discussed challenges in innovating Islamic Finance and the utilization of Islamic Social Finance to support economic development.