KARACHI: HabibMetro Sirat, the Islamic banking brand of HabibMetro Bank, organised its first Islamic Banking summit, a statement said.

The summit was attended by various stakeholders including SBP, PSX and SECP officials and Sharia board members of various banks, Sharia scholars, and businessmen.

The Summit was held in honour of the visit of HabibMetro Sirat’s Sharia Board Chairman Tan Sri Dr Daud Bakar, a globally renowned Malaysian Shariah scholar and award-winning author. He is the founder and group chairman of Amanie Group and is a Sharia board member of various foreign banks.

He has been awarded with ‘The Royal Award for Islamic Finance 2022’ by the King of Malaysia.

During the day-long summit, Tan Sri Dr Daud Bakar held interactive sessions with diverse audience groups and discussed emerging opportunities and challenges in the global Islamic banking industry. While speaking at the event, he said, “I am extremely delighted and privileged to be here in Pakistan and to represent HabibMetro Bank, which has established itself as one of the most trusted financial institutions here in Pakistan, courtesy its global vision of advancing forward and playing a pivotal role in shaping the Islamic finance sector of the country.”

The inaugural session of the summit was presided by Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan.

During her address the deputy governor said, “Finance is a fundamental pre-requisite for growth of any economy and Islamic finance by virtue of its faith based nature offers inherent synergies with risk and rewards mechanisms which offer an ideal solution. Islamic finance structures are derived from Sharia, which dictates that Islamic financial transactions should be supported by underlying productive activities and emphasises on a close relationship between financial transactions and the real economy.”

While discussing the challenges of transformation of conventional banking into Islamic Banking, she added, “The key challenge here is the adequate supply of Islamic finance experts. There is a growing need for qualified Islamic finance professionals who can spearhead the financial industry to the next stage, However, she assured that the State bank of Pakistan remains fully committed to provide all possible support and facilitation to the banks during their conversion process.”

Mohsin Ali Nathani, President and CEO HabibMetro while welcoming participation of the esteemed guests at the banking summit, said, “We are immensely honoured to have Tan Sri Dr Daud Baker, a scholar and author of international repute, chair HabibMetro Sirat’s Sharia Board. His visit to Pakistan is an immense learning opportunity for all of us. His guidance and leadership give notable impetus to HabibMetro’s Islamic banking segment. His leadership, along with the supportive environment provided by the SBP for promotion of Islamic Banking, will Insha’Allah drive meaningful growth in HabibMetro Sirat.”

HabibMetro has been promoting Islamic banking for the last 18 years. The Bank’s vision is in alignment with the government and SBP’s strategic plan for the promotion and growth of Islamic banking in Pakistan. Sirat is a global brand that offers Islamic products in five key markets, with Pakistan being the largest market; the Sirat brand was home-grown in Pakistan and exported to UK, UAE, South Africa and Switzerland.