Director General of the General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, H E Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanim Al Thani; Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Vice Chairman of Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultation Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti; and Chairman of Dukhan Bank Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani with other dignitaries at the 10th Doha Islamic Finance Conference.
Doha, Qatar: The 10th Doha Islamic Finance Conference was held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, yesterday.
The conference was organised by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultations in the strategic partnership with Dukhan Bank Group, official sponsorship of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and with diamond sponsorship from The General Directorate of Endowments ‘AWQAF’, entitled ‘Islamic Finance 2.0 - Fusion of Principles and Technology,’. The event saw local and international participation from governmental bodies, organisations, financial institutions, and academic entities in the fields of economics, finance, and technology to discuss the future of the Islamic finance industry.
Addressing the conference, Director General of the General Directorate of Endowments at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, H E Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanim Al Thani asserted that the AI has entered the realm of Islamic finance and endowment institutions, which imposes the stakeholders to study the ways for benefitting from the enormous developments in this regard.
The study shall consider several aspects including the relevant procedures, the matters of Fatwa, electronic services, and so forth and so on from the theoretic and practical perspectives. Such studies shall help in appropriate comprehension of the matter from both the legal and Shari’ah standpoints. He also pointed towards the significance of the topics that are discussed in the conference and the magnitude of the benefits the attendees will share, he added.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Vice Chairman of Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultation Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti said: “We cannot deny the tremendous revolution we are experiencing today in the world of technology. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence technology and its tools intensified this revolution, seeking not just to be part of our lives but to become an integral part of us. Virtual assistants, such as chat GPT technology, have appeared as substitutes for our thinking and decision-making. Moreover, attempts have been made to implant electronic chips in the human body. This serious transformation signals a new phase in human history.”
“Qatar is renowned as one of the countries pioneering Islamic finance and supporting the AI. With the Islamic finance of more than $174m, it has ranked 5th globally in terms of Islamic finance market size. The interest of the state in AI entailed the prevalence of AI market in Qatar. The value of AI is estimated to be $38m for the past year, while it is expected to be $58.8m by the year 2026 with more than 17 percent of annual growth. Qatar is 3rd among the Arabic countries within the index of the state readiness for AI, while it is 8th globally in terms of digital policies and legislation,” Al Sulaiti said.
For his part, Chairman of Dukhan Bank Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said: “Financial technology has reshaped Islamic banking and its products. Generative artificial intelligence has emerged with its tools to contribute to accelerating growth and increasing efficiency for Islamic financial institutions. This is achieved through predictive analysis of big data, neural analysis of texts and conversations, smart advisory robots, and other advanced technologies and innovations that represent a qualitative leap in Islamic banking services.”
“Dukhan Bank has become the third-largest and fastest-growing Islamic bank in Qatar and among the top ten Islamic banks worldwide. These accomplishments have been crowned with outstanding financial results, as the bank achieved historical profits exceeding QR1.3bn in 2023, with revenues surpassing QR6bn, reflecting a remarkable growth rate of 37 percent,” he added.
The conference also saw several panel discussions which included ‘Future of AI technology at supervisory entities’, The impact of latest technologies on boosting the efficiency of Islamic financial institutions, and Islamic finance ethics in the hues of smart systems.
