Trade Finance – Islamic Banking Questions and Themes 1

Trade Finance – Islamic Banking 1.Why hasn’t Islamic trade finance moved beyond the regional borders into new geographies? What are the key constraints that are holding back the opportunity to achieve diversification on trade finance assets for Islamic banks. – Risk appetite of Islamic banks for new geographies? Is it lacking? – Islamic banks limited international presence as a limiting factor? What about global partnerships with other financial institutions? – Documentation: No standardization of documentation within the Islamic banking industry (e.g. Master Risk Participation Agreements (MRPAs) or Master Trade Agreements) – Motivation of international clients to adopt new documentation to reach Islamic Banks for trade 2

Trade Finance – Islamic Banking 2.Is there a specific industry sub sector that Islamic banks should be focusing on? – SME sector? – Does the Islamic banking industry provide this sector enough trade products and focus? 3

Trade Finance – Islamic Banking 3.For Dubai to establish itself as a major Islamic economic sector, are there lessons to be learnt from other major trade and finance hubs? – Singapore as a model Trade first, then financial centre Dubai has both financial and trade sectors growing in parallel. How can these work interact to supercharge growth for each other? 4

Trade Finance – Islamic Banking 4.Is there a role for the government and public sector to encourage the development of Islamic finance and trade? – Enabling and channeling trade finance to underinvested sectors / industries through support/guarantees / insurance – Establishing standardized centres for documentation (legal and Shariah) which would be templates for all Islamic banks’ trade finance businesses 5