Islamic Finance: Global Trends and Challenges
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March 2008
Shamshad Akhtar, Zeti Akhtar Aziz
To raise awareness and understanding of Islamic finance among the U.S. policy community and corporate sector, on October 18, 2007, The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) convened a Washington, D.C., conference on "Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Local Practice, Global Impact." Representatives from the U.S. and Malaysian governments as well as from global institutions -including American International Group, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Bank Negara Malaysia, HSBC Amanah Takaful, Dow Jones Islamic Index, the World Bank, Islamic Financial Services Board, Securities Commission (Malaysia), and Harvard Law School-gathered to examine the global impact of Islamic finance.
This issue of the NBR Analysis contains adapted versions of the conference’s opening and closing keynote addresses, presented respectively by Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, and by Shamshad Akhtar, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. As leaders and strategic thinkers in the Islamic finance industry, Governors Aziz and Akhtar provided invaluable insight both into the factors shaping the industry’s global trends and into the challenges confronting the industry’s long-term sustainability.
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