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AMJ partnered the Islamic Finance News in staging a successful third Oman Forum at the Grand Millennium, Muscat on March 13. The day-long annual event attracted a record number of industry players, regulators and legal experts gathered to deliberate the future of Islamic retail banking, capital markets and takaful in Oman. In his keynote address to an audience of more than 200 bankers, issuers and other key stakeholders from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia, new Central Bank of Oman chief, Tahir Salim Al Amri, noted that while Islamic banking in Oman accounted for OMR 3.03bn (12.9 per cent) of total banking assets at the end of 2017, the impressive growth trajectory of the segment shows signs of tapering. He urged Islamic banks and windows to focus on innovation and the introduction of new sharia-compliant financial products and services that are not clones of conventional banking offerings. This recurrent theme had been highlighted by AMJ’s managing partner, Mansoor Jamal Malik  in the 2017 Forum when he called for alternative investment products to maintain growth and create a vibrant and sustainable market.

During the course of the day, a high-level line-up of speakers participated in a series of panel discussions, case studies and presentations, on the opportunities and challenges in the Islamic market for both capital-raising and investment. Senior associate, Asad Qayyum , participated in a panel session of experts discussing the sharia-compliant project finance structures and future of Oman’s Islamic capital markets.