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| Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka |
Amãna Takaful PLC, the
only fully-fledged Takaful operator in the country and the flag bearer of the
Takaful way of insurance in Sri Lanka, recently partnered with the world
renowned REDmoney group to sponsor the Islamic Finance News (IFN) Roadshow. The
event was held in Colombo and Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the Governor of the Central
Bank of Sri Lanka graced the event as the Chief Guest and Dr. Azeema Adam,
Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) was the Guest of Honor for
the third consecutive year. Also present at the event were members of the
Islamic finance fraternity, professionals and practitioners from the insurance
and banking industry as well as academics and regulators.
The IFN Roadshow is part
of a series of conferences held by the REDmoney group which has conducted shows
in 12 markets across the world this year, including Pakistan, Turkey, Brunei,
Bangladesh, Singapore, Australia, Thailand and Morocco. This highly anticipated
event plays an integral role in identifying opportunities for the future growth
of Sri Lanka’s Islamic finance sector covering banking, finance and Islamic
capital markets. At the event, a large gathering of delegates came together to
discuss current issues, challenges and the potential of Sri Lanka’s Islamic finance
industry.
The IFN forum has a
strong turnout every year and continues to attract players from different
backgrounds and sectors who are looking to tap into Sri Lanka’s massive
potential for infrastructure developments, halaal food production and the
country’s booming tourism sector. Sri Lanka is also strategically located in close
proximity to many other countries in Asia, making it an ideal hub for Islamic
finance in the South Asian region. This year, several topics were discussed at
the forum including ‘Addressing Challenges through Innovation: Emerging Trends
and Opportunities’ and ‘Advancing Sri Lanka’s Islamic Finance Industry: What
Needs to be done’. An investor
roundtable titled ‘The Islamic Investment Landscape: Market Trends and
Strategies for 2015’ was also held.
Highlighting the
importance of the IFN Roadshow, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor, Central Bank of
Sri Lanka stated, “We have to be conscious of the developments that are
happening right across the world. If there are developments that are important,
we must attempt to make use of them, by bringing them into our own array of instruments.
We have seen Islamic finance become increasingly important throughout the world.
This category of finance, not only impacts the Islamic world, it also provides
exciting new methods of financing for the rest of the world. It is important
for us to understand these concepts. I believe that conferences of this kind enable
all of us to reflect on new developments and fine-tune them to suit our own economies
and financial markets, in order to go forward.”
Dr. Azeema Adam, Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority
(MMA) stated, “Historically, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have
always had a close relationship in trade, tourism and many other areas. When Amãna
Takaful was first established in the Maldives in 2003, it was our first introduction
to Islamic finance. It is now encouraging to see that this industry is on the rise
in the Republic of Maldives and is growing rapidly due to the emergence of
other Islamic finance service providers.”
Commenting on the partnership,
Fazal Ghaffoor, Chief Executive Officer, Amãna Takaful PLC, stated, “We at
Amãna Takaful are proud to partner with REDmoney for the third consecutive year
to bring the IFN Roadshow to Sri Lanka. We are very happy to be part of such a
prestigious event which brings together so many delegates from different parts
of the world. This is a great opportunity for Sri Lanka which is continuously
attracting new prospects for growth. More banks, insurers and finance companies
are now opening up to the concept of Islamic finance.”
Amãna Takaful has been
recognized for its innovation and quality of service for over 15 years. The
company caters to a vast variety of customers. ATPLC was recently recognized at
the 2014 SLIBFI awards and received two gold awards for the ‘Best Islamic Finance
Entity of the Year’ and for the ‘Product of the Year’ for KruthaGuna, the
company’s unique hospitalization insurance policy for senior citizens over 55
years of age.
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Sri Lanka Business