The Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance (CIEF), part of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, recently organised a symposium on “Sukuk from Economic, Legal, Practical and Shariah Perspectives”. More than 180 people attended the symposium, which was opened by Dr Hatem el-Karanshawy, founding dean of QFIS.

El-Karanshawy introduced the speakers and talked about the importance of the symposium and the different themes. Bahnaz Alquradaghi, senior researcher at CIEF, acted as moderator for the symposium, which discussed a number of topics.

Dr Ali Alquradaghi, Shariah expert in Islamic banking, explained the importance of sukuk and the difference between sukuk, stocks and bonds. He also discussed their Islamic legal basis, different types and contemporary applications, among other topics.

Dr Tariqullah, professor of Islamic Finance at QFIS, discussed structure risk in the design of sukuk. He defined and identified sukuk structure risks and critically discussed the role of stakeholders in reducing such risk, besides addressing related issues.

Bernard Barbour, head of legal and Shariah affairs at QInvest, discussed the main contractual aspects of issuing sukuk in Qatar. He explained that there are two legal systems in Qatar - civil law and common law (at the Qatar Financial Centre) - and addressed the most important topics related to sukuk such as contract law and currency issues.

Hussain Abdulla, senior associate, investment banking and capital markets at QInvest, spoke on why there is a need for sukuk, including the increased liquidity of Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC whose balance sheets have grown tremendously in past years. He estimated demand for sukuk from the European Union to be around 20%-25% of the global demand. Abdulla also addressed key considerations in the process of issuing sukuk.

The speeches were followed by a discussion on the role of sukuk in the economy and a question-and-answer session. Questions posed were on the legality of sukuk, the importance of laws detailed in sukuk issuance and the impact of the classification of sukuk in practical aspects.

The discussion was rounded off by el-Karanshawy, who thanked the speakers and the attendees and presented souvenirs to the speakers. At the end of the symposium, he said: “The subject of the symposium is a timely one because sukuk have a significant role in the financial markets. There is no doubt that this financial instrument could represent an alternative to the funding needs of Muslim countries, for example, by providing access to financing in the areas of basic industries, infrastructure and so on.”