Norfadelizan bin Abdul Rahman is the Head of Product Development, Islamic Capital Market of Bursa Malaysia Berhad. He is in charge of developing and innovating Shariah-compliant products and infrastructure for the Exchange. He has 17 years of investment banking, treasury and corporate experience. Prior to his current position he was Head of Derivatives for RHB Investment Bank, Senior Manager Treasury for Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Head of Treasury Sales at AM Investment Bank, Senior Manager Derivatives at AM Investment Bank and Floor/Trading Manager of AM Futures. His vast experience in the financial markets were derived from his extensive involvement as a trader in various markets ranging from the money market, forex, bond/sukuk, futures to OTC derivatives markets. Norfadelizan was also involved in structuring Shariah-compliant wealth management products for funds and takaful linked instruments. He has advised several listed companies in the areas of treasury, risk management and structured products. Norfadelizan received his MBA from Charles Sturt University of Australia and obtained his first degree in Business Administration (Hons) from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

P. Ahmed is the Director and founding Chief Executive Officer of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited, a company specializing in providing Shari’ah-compliant Takaful solutions based in Karachi, Pakistan. Mr. Ahmed is a veteran of life insurance having worked as part of senior-level management teams at State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), American International Group (AIG), Commercial Union (CU), and New Jubilee Life Insurance (NJI). Prior to establishing Pak-Qatar Family Takaful, Mr. Ahmed also worked as Organizational Development Consultant in Middle East and Pakistan. Academically an MBA, and Fellow of Life Management Institute (USA), Mr. Ahmed also has a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Islamic Banking and Finance from the Centre of Islamic Economics (CIE), Darul Uloom Karachi. His interests include research in the field of Islamic Finance. Mr. Ahmed is regarded as one of the pioneers of the concept of Family Takaful in Pakistan.

Mohamed Ariff has over 10 years experience in Investment Banking activities with over 5 years in Islamic Capital Markets. During the 5 years, Mohamed Ariff was instrumental and key team member in developing innovative Islamic structures such as the first Islamic Municipal Bond, and first parallel Mudharabah Bond in Malaysia. The Bond provided Municipals with an alternative funding for local authorities, which traditionally relied on State and Government funding. The structure an award from KLIFF in 2005 for “Most Innovative Islamic Financial Product” and RAM Awards for “New Islamic Benchmark Deal” (first Islamic municipal bonds and first parallel Mudharabah bonds) Mohamed Ariff was also a key team member in developing the first listed Islamic REIT in Malaysia and first Hospital REIT in Asia Pacific which was issued by Al-‘Aqar KPJ REIT. The REIT comprising of 6 hospitals won an award from Islamic Finance News in 2006 for “Islamic REIT Deal of the Year”. In 2007, Mohamed Ariff was involved in another innovative structure which was the first Islamic REIT to issue a Sukuk by Al-‘Aqar KPJ REIT. The structured transaction allowed Al-‘Aqar KPJ REIT to increase its total asset size from RM481.0 million to RM651.0 million making it the second largest REIT in Malaysia. It is the first Islamic transaction structure based on Ijarah where the Ijarah assets are leased under the master lease and followed by existing commercial leases forming the sub-leases. It won an award from Alpha South-East Asia Magazine in 2007 for Best Islamic REIT deal in South-East Asia”, and from Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards 2008 for “Most Innovative Deal of the Year” Mohamed Ariff is currently the Head of Product and Business Development of the Islamic Capital Markets Division of Aseambankers Malaysia Berhad. Mohamed Ariff received his BA in Business Administration at George Washington University, Washington DC., in 1991.

Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar is currently the President/CEO of International Institute of Islamic Finance (IIIF) Inc. (BVI), IIIF Education Sdn. Bhd. and Amanie Business Solutions Sdn. Bhd. (Kuala Lumpur). He was the Deputy Rector (Student Affairs and Development) and an Associate Professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia. He received his first degree in Shari’ah from University of Kuwait (1988) and PhD from University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom (1993). In 2002, he completed his external Bachelor of Jurisprudence at University of Malaya. He has published more than 30 articles in various academic journals and presented more than 180 papers in various conferences both local and abroad. He is now Chairman of the Shari’ah Advisory Council at the Central Bank of Malaysia, member of the Shari’ah Advisory Council at the Securities Commission of Malaysia, (Malaysia), Oasis Asset Management (Cape Town, South Africa), Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) (Bahrain), International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) (Bahrain), Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (New York), Unicorn Investment Bank (Bahrain), Financial Guidance (USA), BNP Paribas (Bahrain), Yasaar Ltd. (Dubai), Dar al-Istithmar (London), HSBC (Amanah) Global (London), Munich Re (Singapore), Swiss Asia Mashreeq Fund (Singapore) and in other financial institutions both local and abroad. He has been involved in advising Islamic funds and Islamic Sukuk both local and globally. He is a licensed Shari’ah advisor for Islamic Securities in Malaysia. Recently, he has been awarded the Islamic Banker Award of 2005 by the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia.

Has 34 years insurance experience having joined the industry in 1974 as a Trainee Executive with a government-linked composite insurer initaially in the Life Department before moving to various positions in Motor Department,Underwriting Department,the Personnel Department and subsequently in the Overseas/Reinsurance Department.Transferred to the Group's Insurance Broking operation in July 1979 to head the Company's Business Developement Division and was subsequently promoted to Deputy General Manager/Company Secretary in 1981, General Manager in 1982 and Director in1983.In 1986 Dr Hj Ahmad Ghiti was a Founder Director of Pernas Reinsurance Brokers Sdn Bhd.

Professor Dr Ahmad Hidayat Buang earned his PPHD in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, while he earned his BSYA (Hons) in University of Malaya. He is affiliated with a number of organizations, notably Bank Negara Malaysia, OCBC Bank and Syarikat Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd. His area of expertise is in current issues in

Ahmad Chaudry is a Dynamic Strategies Structurer with the equities division at RBS Global Banking & Markets. His primary responsibility involves the development of conventional and Shari’ah-compliant trading strategies for retail, private and institutional clients. The Dynamic Strategies structuring and trading teams at RBS have received global recognition for a number of their successful strategies in 2007 and 2008, including several landmark (large size, excellent performance) trades in Malaysia in 2008. An aerospace engineer by academic background, Ahmad has also worked at HSBC Global Markets and HSBC Amanah, where he was an FX & Commodities Derivatives Structurer and Strategy Analyst respectively.

Prior to his current appointment, Vince Cook served as the General Manager, Corporate Banking and Capital Markets of Qatar National Bank (QNB). He was also the Chairman of Qatar Capital Partners (when it was under formation), and a Director for both QNB International Holdings Ltd. and Ansbacher Group Holding Ltd. During this period he was responsible, amongst other things, for the bank’s Islamic business before spinning it out into a new business unit QNB Al Islami. Under his leadership, QNB launched the first corporate sukuk transaction in the country. Mr. Cook also served as the Managing Director, Gulf, of Barclays Capital from 1998 to 2003. He completed 20 years of service in Barclays Bank Plc from 1979 to 1998, where he was responsible for the bank’s Islamic clients, having first headed an Islamic Banking project in 1987. Within Barclays Bank Plc, he has held a variety of positions such as Director, Large Corporate Banking (1995 to 1998), Associate Director, Middle East Group, London (1991 to 1995) and the Business Development Manager-UAE (1988 to 1991). Mr. Cook holds membership in the Institute of Management, and the Chartered Institute of Bankers, both based in the UK. Mr. Cook graduated from Henley Management College, UK with a Master of Business Administration. He has also completed executive education programmes from Harvard Business School and the IMD Business School (International Institute for Management Development).

Martin Crawford has a strong financial services track record, with over 12 years experience leading medium to large sized foreign exchange and asset management companies in the Asia Pacific region. Most recently, he was Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific Japan, for Travelex plc, the world’s largest non-bank foreign exchange company. Before that, he ran the institutional asset management business for MLC, one of the largest fund managers in Australasia. Prior to these roles, Martin worked in London for 6 years with strategy consulting firm Bain & Company. Earlier in his career, Martin specialised in marketing including roles with IBM and Young & Rubicam in Australia. Martin has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of South Australia, and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland. He is married and resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Simon joined the DFSA in 2006 as Director, Supervision covering asset management, banking and insurance and his remit includes the supervision of Islamic Financial Institutions as well as conventional Firms offering Islamic Windows. Simon has spent much of his working life in the private sector with senior roles including Baring Asset Management, New Star Asset Management and most recently, as Head of Asset Management Compliance at Barclays Wealth. He has previously worked at IMRO, a predecessor organisation of the UK FSA and on the successful BCCI investigation for the Serious Fraud Office. Simon is a Fellow of the Securities and Investments Institute, as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Financial Services.

Dr. Aznan Hasan is an Assistant Professor in Islamic law and the former head of Islamic law Department, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia. He taught subjects such as Islamic Legal Theory, Islamic Commercial Law and Islamic Banking and Finance at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has served as a Shariah advisor to various financial Institutions, legal firms and corporate bodies, at both local and international arenas. He was a member of Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia. He resigned in August 2008 to become the Chairman, Shariah Committee, ACR Retakaful Bahrain and ACR Retakaful Malaysia. He is also a licensed Shariah Advisor for the issuance of Islamic securities and Islamic Unit Trust Schemes, Securities Commission of Malaysia. He is a Shariah Advisor for Bursa Malaysia, the sole Malaysian Exchange and Dat al-Istithmar, London. He is also Shariah Consultant, Asembankers Malaysia Berhad and an external Shariah Fellow at Islamic Banking and Finance Institute of Malaysia (IBFIM). He is also a Bursa Malaysia’s FBM Index Advisory Committee Member. Dr. Aznan Hasan received his first Degree in Shariah from University of al-Azhar. He then successfully completed his Master degree in Shariah from Cairo University with distinction (mumtaz). He then obtained his Ph. D from University of Wales, Lampeter, United Kingdom.

Dr. Rusni Hassan: is a graduate of Kulliyyah of Law from IIUM and has also holds Ph.D. in law from IIUM. She is an Assistant professor of law at IIUM and has been teaching law and Islamic commercial law at Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL), IIUM since 1993. She is also teaching Islamic Banking, Securities and Documentations for LLM degree at the Law Centre, IIUM and also Post Graduate Diploma in IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking. She has been involved as a Research Committee to review the laws relating to Islamic Banking (Companies Act) in Bank Negara Malaysia. She was also an examiner for Financial Planner Association of Malaysia. She is now a Working Committee and PhD Selection Committee at the IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance. She is also the Coordinator for Research and Publication for Islamic Law Department, the Course Coordinator for Islamic Law of Transactions and Islamic Banking and Takaful for LLB. She is a registered Shariah Unit Trust Advisor with the Securities Commission. She is a Shariah adviser of one of the Islamic bank and takaful company in Malaysia and is actively involve in the trainings on Islamic banking and finance for the bankers, practitioners and legal advisers.

Muzaffar holds a Bachelors of Science in Economics and Accounting (Hons) from University of Bristol. He brings with him 10 years of experience in investment banking. He started his career in Corporate Banking with Asian International Merchant Bank Berhad before joining Amanah Capital Partners Berhad ("Amanah Capital") (now known as Malaysian Industrial Development Berhad (MIDF)) in 1996. In Amanah Capital, he was with Amanah Merchant Bank Berhad's Debt Capital Market Department and was the Senior Manager at Amanah Short Deposits Berhad's Debt Capital Market in 2000. In Amanah Capital, he had an extensive experience in the origination and debt advisory work in the Malaysian Ringgit debt market in both the conventional and Islamic debt instruments. Prior to his last position held as Head of Islamic Debt Capital Market, Malaysia for HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, he was with Commerce International Merchant Bank Berhad ("CIMB") in 2003 where he was an Associate Director in their Investment Banking Unit.

Cik Azleena Idris is currently Deputy Director of the Islamic Banking and Takaful Department where her area of responsibility is Financial Infrastructure Development. This includes development of the Islamic banking, takaful as well as Islamic money and capital markets institutional and market infrastructure. Trained in England and qualified as a lawyer, she joined Bank Negara Malaysia after almost 10 years with a domestic banking and financial services conglomerate where her last position was Assistant General Manager, Group Legal & Compliance Division. Her previous experience is mainly in mergers and acquisitions of banking, financial institutions and financial services companies and her last assignment prior to joining the Bank was the licensing and operationalisation of an Islamic banking subsidiary.

Rosmah Ismail brings with her 20 years experience covering a range of banking sectors. She joins al khaliji from ABN Amro Bank Malaysia where she was most recently Vice-President and Head of Global Islamic Finance, Malaysia. Rosmah started with ABN AMRO in 2005 to build the Bank’s Financial Institutions & Public Sector business after having spent an accumulative 18 years experience in business development, product marketing & sales, cross border and risk management, relationship management, research, training and Islamic Finance at Citigroup covering financial institutions worldwide, multinationals, local corporations, the public sector and government entities, and organizational studies, change management, psychological testing, recruitment consultancy at Price Waterhouse. Rosmah was also a trainer for local banks and multinational corporations. She graduated with honours from the London School of Economics & Political Science of the University of London (UK) and is a Certified Practitioner and Trainer of the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument and the Whole Brain Technology. She recently graduated top of her class in LLM Banking Law & Islamic Finance at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

In launching UM Financial in Canada, Mr. Kalair succeeded in creating Canadian financing and deposit products that offer rates and features similar to conventional products yet are usury-free. UM secured a $120 million facility from a regulated Canadian financial institution for the financing of residential properties. UM recently launched a real estate brokerage and a $100 million real estate investment fund to diversify its range of services. It is currently in discussions with Canadian banks to launch a UM suite of banking products and share a joint license for the operation of a Canadian Islamic bank in the future. UM was listed as the only Canadian entry in The Banker magazine's Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions listing and has been profiled on the front page of the business sections of the three leading daily newspapers in Canada. UM is the sole Canadian representative in two of the largest Islamic Finance associations, the IFSB and AAOIFI. Mr.Kalair was recognized among CIC's top twenty pioneer Muslim business leaders at the Canadian parliament in Ottawa. He has been invited to speak on Islamic Finance at conferences in Toronto, Montreal, New York, London, Istanbul, Dubai, Bahrain, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In founding UM Financial, Mr. Kalair obtained the exceptional ability to see and lead the Canadian Islamic Finance industry from a technical, marketing, financial and regulatory angle.

Aside from holding post as the Senior Vice President of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Dr Santi is also an advisor to The Provident Fund Association. He was the former Chairman of the Business Administration Program in Rangsit University and the Executive Vice President of the Thai-Overseas Trust Finance and Securities. He has also work for the Ministry of Finiance as part of the Performance Appraisal Committee of the Thai State Enterprise

Mohieddine has 12 years of relevant experience in financial services including a 3 year track record in regional fixed income markets and founding roles in 3 start up businesses. Prior to committing to Algebra Capital, Mohieddine was the Head of SHUAA Capital’s Debt Asset Management Department as well as the Fund Manager of The Arab Income Fund (TAIF). Mohieddine was also Head of SHUAA Capital’s Capital Markets department where he managed investments globally in FX, commodity, interest rate and equity markets, including related cash, futures and options securities. Prior to joining SHUAA Capital in August 2000, Mohieddine was a Senior Associate at Middle East Capital Group (MECG), a Beirut based investment bank with a regional focus. Mohieddine sits on the investment committees of Algebra Capital’s funds and is a Director of the Al Raed Fund, North of South Capital’s Sharia compliant emerging markets hedge fund. Mohieddine holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and an MBA from the American University of Beirut.

Ms. Law is the Senior Director of Policy, China and Investment Products Division of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Her role is to develop policies for enhancing the growth of the Hong Kong financial market and to promote closer co-operation with the Mainland market. Ms. Law joined the SFC in 1998 and prior to working in the current Division, she was the Director of Licensing and managed the implementation of the licensing regime for IPO sponsors. She also spent 3 years working in the Investment Products Department where she completed the revision of the Guidelines on Hedge Funds and Exchange Traded Funds. In 2005, Ms. Law spearheaded the project to launch the first REIT in Hong Kong. She has extensive experience in relation to international regulatory and compliance issues and had been on various secondment programmes with leading financial regulators including China Securities Regulatory Commission, the UK Financial Services Authority and Australian Securities and Investment Commission. Ms. Law is also a frequent speaker at public forum and conferences including Asia-Pacific Regulators’ Dialogue 2008 in Melbourne and AIMA Forum 2007 on regulation of hedge funds in London. Ms. Law also serves as an Adjudicator on the Registration of Persons Tribunal. Before joining the SFC, Ms. Law was a partner heading the Corporate and Commercial Department of a Hong Kong law firm and was previously articled with a London law firm. Ms. Law is a qualified solicitor in Hong Kong and in England and has more than 19 years of legal experience. Ms. Law graduated with a LLB degree from the University of Hong Kong and took her Master of Laws degree in University College London.

Liau Y-Sing is deputy bureau chief for Reuters Malaysia and the Asian Islamic finance correspondent. She drives coverage of the Islamic finance file across the region, with main centres Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta leading in sukuk issuance, product development and industry growth. Y-Sing is a lawyer by training, graduating in 1996, qualifying for the local Bar in 1997 and gaining her Masters in Law in 2003. She worked as a litigation lawyer in 2000 and switched to journalism at the end of that year, joining The Star newspaper as an equities reporter and later joining Reuters in 2002.

Francisco Lim is the President and CEO and Director of Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.; President and CEO of Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines; Chairman of the Philippine Stock Exchange Foundation, Inc., and Capital Market Development Center, Inc.; Director of the Philippine Dealing Systems Holdings, Inc.; Trustee of Securities Investors Protection Fund and member of Capital Market Development Council and Financial Executives of the Philippines. Professor of the College of Law of the Ateneo de Manila University and the Graduate School of Law of San Beda College, and Professorial Lecturer of the Philippine Judicial Academy. Chairman of the Technical Work Group on the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) of the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines. He chaired the Technical Work Group on the Revision of the Investment Company Act of the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines. Member of the Supreme Court Sub Committees on Commercial Courts; Evidence and DNA Evidence; E-Commerce; and the Revision of Rules Governing Notaries Public, under the Committee of the Revision of the Rules of Court. Lim has held several leadership posts prior to his role at PSE. He was a Senior Partner (1994-2003) and Co-Managing Partner (2003-2004) of Angara Abello Conception Regala and Cruz Law Offices. Lim graduated magna cum laude in Bachelor of Philosophy and cum laude in Bachelor of Arts from the University of Santo Tomas. He completed with honors his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and his Master of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Ismail, joined MNRB Retakaful Berhad on 15 May, 2007 as the President & Chief Executive Officer. Ismail started his career in the insurance industry in 1977 as an Accounts Executive with a broker. He then joined Progressive Insurance Sdn. Bhd and serving the company from 1979 to 1988. He then moved to American Malaysian Insurance as the Assistant General Manager overseeing the branch operations. In 1990, Ismail left to join Malene Insurance Brokers as a senior broker where he headed the Non-Energy Section for six years before he joined Labuan Reinsurance (L) Ltd., in 1997 as a Senior Vice President. In Labuan Re, Ismail was entrusted with developing new markets for the company covering countries in the Indian Sub-Continent, the African continent and the Middle East inclusive of Turkey. He also headed the Retakaful Division of Labuan Re and oversee the company’s business participation in the Lloyd’s Syndicates.

Abrar Mir is the Managing Partner of NBD Sana Capital, a sector focused private equity fund. Abrar Mir is a senior investment professional with over eighteen years financial industries and private equity experience. He has led private equity transactions with an aggregate value of over $40 billion and financings (equity and debt) of over $30 billion. Abrar’s international experience has included leading several high profile private equity transactions in the US, Europe and several Emerging Markets (including the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and India). He has played a leadership role in a diverse range of transactions ranging from highly successful investments in large leveraged buy outs, corporate carve-outs of non-core assets, expansion capital investments in fast growth companies, to investments in turn-around / special situations. Abrar’s investment philosophy is driven by a disciplined focus on fundamentals, strong industry knowledge, optimal financial engineering and a basic belief in backing the best management teams. Prior to joining NBD Sana Capital, Abrar was a Managing Director at Bank of America Securities in London. Whilst there, Abrar was part of the senior leadership team that significantly expanded the bank’s private equity strategy and was responsible for driving one of its international industry groups. Before that, Abrar was at Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup), where he led several important Mergers & Acquisition, Equity Capital Market and Debt Capital Markets transactions. He is also a qualified international finance lawyer. Abrar holds an M.A. in Law and M.Phil degree in International Law from the University of Cambridge. He is also fluent in five languages.

UBL Fund Managers Limited is an asset management company which is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Bank Limited (UBL). The Company manages one of the largest money market funds in Pakistan with net assets of over Pak Rupees 28 Billion. As Chief Investment Officer, Hasnain is part of a five Member Investment Committee that is responsible for Strategy & Investment Policy formulation, overseeing of Fund Managers and Research Group. He has been instrumental in launch of 5 mutual funds including 2 Shariah Compliant Funds over the past 3 years. In addition, the Company also offers a total of 6 Administrative Plans in the conventional and Shariah Compliant arenas. UBL Fund Managers’ total Assets under Management have grown from Pak Rupees 3.5 Billion to Pak Rupees 28 Billion during Hasnain’s tenure. He is presently acting as Project Sponsor for spearheading the implementation of an Information Technology System purchased from an internationally reputed vendor.

Christopher O’Brien is Vice President of Business Development for Standard & Poor's Index Services in Europe and Asia. Mr. O’Brien, who is based in Paris, is responsible for expanding S&P’s presence in these regions, including promotion of index-linked products and institutional benchmarking services for the full range of S&P and S&P/Citigroup global equity indices. Prior to joining Standard & Poor's, Mr. O’Brien was Vice President of International Sales at Crédit Lyonnais Asset Management. Before joining Crédit Lyonnais in 1998, Mr. O’Brien spent 11 years in international marketing and sales with Schlumberger Industries, LVMH, and as a management consultant with Solving International. Mr. O’Brien holds degrees in International Affairs with a specialization in Soviet foreign policy from Bucknell University, USA and Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, France.

Harish is responsible for Lazard in South East Asia and also covers the Technology & Media sectors across Asia. He has a wealth of cross border M&A and capital raising experience across sectors in Asia. Before joining Lazard, Harish was the Founder & Managing Director of Beacon Advisory, a boutique Asian advisory firm targeting cross border M&A and capital raising opportunities, with clients ranging from exciting Asian growth companies to global Fortune 500 majors. He was also previously Vice President for Technology, Media & Telecom (M&A) in Asia Pacific with Deutsche Bank, and also spent over 5 years at JP Morgan/Jardine Fleming in India where he led the origination and execution of some of the first privatizations in India. Harish has worked closely with Governments and Sovereign Wealth Funds across the region on investment and Privatisation/M&A activities. Harish has also authored a book on the restructuring of financially distressed companies in India "Rehabilitation of Sick Companies". Harish is an MBA and Bachelors of Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.

Dr. Muhammad Qaseem is currently Country Head of Shari’a, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan and a member of its Shari’a Supervisory Board. He has previously served as a Shari’a expert in the Shari’a Structuring and Coordination Department of the Emirates Islamic Bank in Dubai. He is sitting on the Shari'a Boards of a number of Islamic financial institutions such as Dubai Financial Market, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan, Millennium Finance Corporation, Deutsche Bank Islamic Malaysia, and BMB Islamic, London. As a Shari’a scholar and trainer, has been imparting training to staff of a number of Islamic financial institutions. He has worked on a number of landmark deals especially Sukuk and some other innovative structures in Pakistan and UAE. He also participates in Islamic banking conferences and seminars as a speaker. Dr. Qaseem holds a Ph.D in Islamic Studies from the Faculty of Usul ud Din of International Islamic University of Islamabad. He has vast experience of teaching Islamic disciplines such as Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, Usul ul Fiqh, Aqeedah and History of Religions etc. for almost two decades in B.A and M.A programmes of International Islamic University, Islamabad.

Md. Noor A. Rahman holds a Master in Business Administration and a BSc in Business Administration (Finance) from Indiana State University. He started his career with an accounting firm Baharom-Hamdan/ Arthur Young in July 1977. He left the Company in December 1981 to go for further studies in the United States. He joined Bumiputra Merchant Bankers in February 1986 after completing his MBA. Following the consolidation of the Banking industry, Bumiputra Merchant Bankers Berhad merged with Amanah Merchant Bank Berhad to form a new Merged Merchant Bank named as Alliance Merchant Bank Berhad (AMBB). At AMBB he is the Senior General Manager (Investment) responsible for the overall function of the Investment Department which includes Fund Management, Research, Marketing and client reporting as well. He is also responsible for the strategy formulation and implementation and research on economies, sectors and quoted companies. He was part of the team that helped to set up the Malaysia Equity Fund (a Malaysian Country Fund) and sell it abroad in 1991. He also sits in the Management Committee of AMBB. In line with the industry practice, the Investment Department of AMBB was corporatised in April 2003. Following the corporatisation exercise, he is appointed as the Executive Director and CEO of the new company named as Alliance Capital Asset Management Sdn. Bhd. (ACAM). He left ACAM in October 2003 to join Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH’S) as Chief Investment Officer. As Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the overall function of the Investment Department. Among his key role is to ensure that all investments made are in compliance with Shariah principal. He is also responsible to help formulate strategy to ensure a consistent and competitive rate of returns for TH’s depositors without compromising on the risk taken. Under his wing are the listed equity division, the fixed income division, and research division.

Saiful Azhar Rosly is a professor of Islamic economics and banking at the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Malaysia. He has taught courses on Islamic economics, Islamic banking and finance, Islamic financial system, Islamic banking system and operation, Islamic capital market, money and banking, economic development, history of economic thought, managerial economics, intermediate microeconomics, macroeconomics and principles of economics. He obtained undergraduate and masters degree in economics from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA and Ph.D in economics from the National University of Malaysia. Professor Saiful has published his work in referred international academic journals (econ. Lit) including International Journal of Social Economics, Arab Law Quarterly, Thunderbird Business Review, Journal of Managerial Finance, and IIUM Journal of Economics and Management. Saiful is currently an independent director for EON Capital Islamic Bank (Malaysia) and The Federation of Malaysian Unit Trust Management Companies (FMUTM) and. Before joining INCEIF, Professor Saiful has served as Director of Research at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). He has served the International Islamic University Malaysia from 1983 – 2007.

MS Sembiring is results-oriented, with over 16 years experience in senior executive positions in finance, banking and capital market. As Director of Equities Trading, Research and Development of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), he is directly responsible for developing trading operations and overseeing the activities of 122 member securities companies. He is also responsible in maintaining and increasing daily trading liquidity, in order to ensure that investors trust in the Indonesian equity market are well maintained. His key achievements include revamping equity trading activities, driving market capitalization up to 641%, from Rp 268 Trillion in 2002 to Rp 1.988 Trillion per December 2007. He also increased average daily trading values by 724%, from Rp 518 Billion in 2002 to Rp 4.269 Trillion per 2007. The increase in market liquidity has prompted investors trust, as reflected by The Indonesia Stock Exchange main Composite Index which rose 546%, from 424.945 at 2002 to 2,746.826 per 2007.

He has over 10 years experience in investment banking, strategy consulting, entrepreneurial ventures and senior management. Hamel has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and an MBA from INSEAD, with an exchange to Wharton Business School. His 8 year consulting career with Bain & Co included a wide range of financial services and private equity related projects. He has also previously worked at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and NatWest Markets.

Mohammad Shoaib, CFA is the Chief Executive of Al Meezan Investment Management Limited, the largest Shariah compliant asset management company in Pakistan. With total assets under management of approximately US$300 million as on June 30, 2008, Al Meezan Investments is the only asset management company in Pakistan focusing exclusively one providing Shariah compliant investment solutions to the investors. The company is a majority owned subsidiary of Meezan Bank, the largest Islamic bank in Pakistan. Mr. Shoaib has been associated with investment management business for the last 19 years. He was instrumental in setting up Al Meezan Investments, which was initially sponsored by Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Pvt.) Limited, a joint venture between Kuwait Investment Authority and Government of Pakistan. In December 2006, he was listed among the top three “MOST INFLUENTIAL” CFA Charter Holders in the world by CFA Magazine, a publication of CFA Institute, the global organization promoting ethical and professional best practices in the area of investment management. Mr. Shoaib completed his MBA from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and later he did his Diploma in Banking from Institute of Bankers in Pakistan securing overall second position. Mr. Shoaib also has the distinction of being a CFA charter holder from CFA Institute of USA. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter is internationally recognized for high standards of professionalism in investment management and business ethics. He was also the founder and first President of CFA Association of Pakistan. He served as President of CFAAP from 2002 to 2008. CFAAP is the representative body of CFA charter holders in Pakistan. The CFA Association of Pakistan (CFAAP) was setup by him in Pakistan in the year May 2002 with 40 members. The number of its members has now increased to 133, most of them being CFA charter holders. Under his leadership as president of the Association, CFAAP has achieved several milestones. These include receiving the “Innovation Award” in 2006 and “Strategic Planning” award in 2008 from CFA Institute. These awards were won against 133 competing societies of CFA Institute spread all over the globe. Mr. Shoaib has recently been elected as Presidents’ Council Representative of (PCR) for Asia Pacific Region by 15 societies in this region. As PCR, Mr. Shoaib represents all members of CFA societies in the two continents, namely Asia and Australia. The countries under his domain include Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Shoaib has also served as a member of the Asia Pacific Advocacy Committee of CFA Institute, which comprises of members of CFA Institute member societies and chapters across Asia Pacific Region. The Committee was responsible to review and respond to major new regulatory, legislative, and other developments in the Asia Pacific Region. He was also a member of the Global Corporate Governance Task Force of CFA Institute which was responsible to develop international standards of corporate governance and has developed a manual for investors on Corporate Governance of the listed companies. Mr. Shoaib also served as a non-member nominee director of SECP on the Board of Karachi Stock Exchange for the year 2002. Presently he is an active member of the Executive Committee of Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan and a member of Voluntary Delisting Committee of the Karachi Stock Exchange, since 2004. Besides his formal educational career, he had also attended various courses, seminars and workshops on investment management in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America, throughout his professional career.

Ranjit Ajit Singh is Managing Director of the Securities Commission of Malaysia and is responsible for overseeing the development and supervision of the Malaysian capital market. This includes direct responsibility for all regulated markets (equity and bonds), related market infrastructure for trading, clearing and settlement, the regulation and authorization of firms and representatives in investment banking, broking and asset management and for corporate and market surveillance. Ranjit is also responsible for key strategic developmental initiatives and was responsible for the formulation of the Malaysian Capital Market Masterplan, the establishment of a new financial reporting framework and several key deregulation and liberalisation policies. Ranjit is the chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) group on the regulation of secondary markets covering over 80 jurisdictions. He is also a member of numerous international task forces and was a member of the expert group that prepared the principles being used for international securities regulation. He serves as member of Bursa Malaysia’s capital market advisory committee and is a member of the National Payment’s Council. He has chaired an ASEAN Finance Ministers’ task force, served as a member of the IMF’s expert group on governance of public sector agencies, the Asia-Pacific Financial Reporting Advisory Group (APFRAG), and was a founding member of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board. He has also been an adviser on developmental and regulatory matters to leading emerging markets globally. Ranjit holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree and a Master of Economics degree in Finance from Monash University, Melbourne and is a fellow of CPA Australia. Prior to joining the SC, he had taught finance at the University of Melbourne.

Ariff Sultan is Business Development Director for the Dow Jones Indexes. In this capacity he develops the Index business for the Conventional and Islamic Indices for Dow Jones and also develops the business relationship with clients and prospects. Mr. Ariff have 9 successful years of international experience in direct and channel sales of Financial and Banking solutions with several international software vendors to Banks in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Australia. He brings to the table the Banking domain expertise, a wealth of experience and knowledge in banking solutions from Vendors and the underlying technology and software architecture and design. Mr Ariff is an IT literate having completed the Master in Business (IT) with RMIT University, Australia. He has a twin discipline in Islamic Banking and Finance with International Islamic University, Malaysia.

Mr. Dheerasak Suwannayos is currently the President of Islamic Bank of Thailand. Starting his banking career in 1977 with Siam Commercial Bank as Management Trainee he was trained in almost all key departments of the Bank covering all Credit analysis, Credit and Marketing Department, Research Department, Treasury Department, Branch Administration Department, Foreign Business Department, Debt Restructuring Department and etc., after his training for two years he was transferred to Credit and Marketing Department as an Account Officer and was responsible for manufacturing division where covering with all major account in Cement Industry, Electronic Industry, Textile Industry, Steel Industry etc. his activities was involved with all type of loan such as syndication, Project Finance including debt and bonds structure and issuing. In 1989, he was appointed as the President of Siam City Credit Finance and securities Co., Ltd. the defunct firm, his assignment was to rescue the firm. It took him 4 years to rescue the firm and listed its in the Stock Exchange of Thailand. With the brokerage activities the firm was ranking number one in stock trading through out his period. In 2001, he was asked by the Board of Directors of Krung Thai Bank to be responsible in rescue the Krung Thai Asset Management Co., Ltd. the loosing company where he managed to increase the assets from 7 billion to 90,000 billion in one year and turn the company into a profitable firm and become one of the most active asset management, ranking in top five of the asset management industry. Parallel to his assignment at the asset management firm he was appointed as the Head of the working team to set up Islamic Banking business for Krung Thai Bank where he had successfully developed the business for Krung Thai Bank. Mr. Dheerasak obtained his B.A in Economics (Honors) and M.A in Economics from University of Karachi, Pakistan with various training in Islamic Banking and Finance from United Kingdom and Malaysia.

Dr. Angelo Venardos is the Founder and Executive Director of the Heritage Trust Group based in Singapore. Angelo is a banker by training with many years of experience in corporate and offshore banking. He holds degrees in Economics and Marketing, an MBA, a Master of Jurisprudence (Corporate & Commercial Law) and a Doctorate of Legal Science, on the subject of “The Global Regulation of Offshore Financial Centres with Reference to Singapore” The principal activities of Heritage are the provision of fiduciary and trust services, including assisting clients in the establishment of companies and structures in various jurisdictions around the world, as well as Singapore. Dr Venardos developed an interest in Islamic Banking & Finance after attending the first International Islamic Finance Forum (March 2002) in Dubai, and has since written a book on the topic “Islamic Banking & Finance in South East Asia-It’s Development & Future”. The Arabic translation rights to the second edition of his book have been sold to the King Saud University in the Middle East.

Mark Watts CFA joined EFH in January 2008 as Head of Asset Management. Mark has 20 years' experience in the fund management industry, having worked with two leading UK fund management groups. Most recently, he was with Morley Fund Management as Head of Global Fixed Income with overall responsibility for the fund management team, Investment strategy, performance, asset distribution and the structuring and launch of new funds. Previously, Mark worked for 17 years for Baring Asset Management in London and Boston in a series of key roles. Mark is a CFA charterholder, a Diplmo holder and Fellow of the Securities and Investment Institute (FSI Dip), and holds an Islamic Finance Qualification from the Securities and Investment Institute in London.

Etsuaki Yoshida was a Bank of Japan economist in charge of Japan and foreign exchange markets, before moving to JBIC in April 2007. He used to be based in Singapore and covered Southeast Asian economies and financial markets, including Islamic Finance. His works include the Japanese book, "Introduction to Islamic Finance" published in 2007. He teaches Islamic Finance at Waseda Graduate School of Finance as a visiting associate professor. He received B.A. in Business Administration from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, after attending Harvard University.