IFN OnAir

We review the UK’s evolving position as a global centre for Islamic finance and whether market growth, regulatory clarity and innovation are keeping pace with expectations. We assess the sector’s strengths, such as legal certainty and international connectivity, alongside pressures around Shariah integrity, digital transformation and domestic market uptake. With prudential reform delays and shifting consumer behaviour, the session sets the tone for the day: what credibility, competitiveness and relevance now look like.

Moderator:

Farmida Bi, Chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Norton Rose Fulbright

Panelists:

Ahsan Ali, Managing Director and Head, Islamic Corporate and Investment Banking, Standard Chartered Saadiq
Bashar Al-Natoor, Managing Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance, Fitch Ratings
Imam Qazi, Partner, Foot Anstey
Jonathan Grosvenor, Partner, Trowers & Hamlins
Lawrence Oliver, Executive Director, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, DDCAP Group/ETHOS AFP
Shakeel Adli, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zunikh

Dr Abdulkader Thomas, Fellow in Islamic Financial Markets, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

The Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury

Alderman and Sheriff Robert Hughes-Penney, Representative of The Lady Mayor’s Office

Nick Edmondes, managing partner at Trowers & Hamlins Kuala Lumpur, discusses the trends in the Islamic finance industry, including tokenization widening access to Sukuk and the legal and regulatory hurdles facing the digital space, with IFN’s Nessreen Tamano.

In this episode, IFN journalist Radhika Das speaks with Fadlul Imansyah, the CEO of Badan Pengelola Keuangan Haji (BPKH), or the Hajj Financial Management Agency, about the management and investment of Indonesia’s Hajj funds, including BPKH’s Sukuk strategy, portfolio diversification, investment opportunities within the Hajj and Umrah ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and the role of technology in Hajj fund management.

Hejaz Group’s co-founder and executive director Muzzammil Dhedhy discusses with IFN’s Nessreen Tamano the mindset behind the group’s evolution, its new investment offerings, and its ambitious Wahda superapp as it looks beyond financial products.

Hamed Afzal, partner and regional head of capital markets at Norton Rose Fulbright (Middle East), talks to IFN’s Nessreen Tamano about the growing opportunities in the Saudi Sukuk market for mid-sized issuers and the potential for asset-backed and securitization structures to drive its next phase of growth.

In this episode, IFN journalist Radhika Das speaks with Sue Lee, the APAC head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, about the performance of Islamic capital markets during the first half of 2026, including the role of technology in Islamic equity returns, emerging market performance, Sukuk and the evolving demand for Islamic index products.

Bursa Malaysia’s CFO and Director of the Islamic Capital Market, Azizan Abdul Aziz, talks to IFN Editor Nessreen Tamano about how partnerships, digitalization and efforts to deepen liquidity are shaping the next phase of Malaysia’s Islamic capital market.