8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference to kick off on March 15

Under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, the 8th Doha Islamic Finance Conference will kick off on March 15, under the title "Digital FinTech and Decentralisation".The conference is organised by Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultation, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as the official sponsor.The conference will see an international participation by governmental institutions, international organisations, and financial and academic institutions in economy, finance and technology, in an academic partnership with the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Qatar University and the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.The outcome of the conference is expected to contribute to the development of the Islamic finance industry in Qatar and the world.Chairman of the organising committee of the conference and Vice Chairman of Bait Al-Mashura Finance Consultation, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, said that the conference focuses on discussing the reality of Islamic finance, its challenges and opportunities, according to forward-looking and future visions for this important sector.Dr al-Sulaiti said that the conference will discuss the topic of digital financial technology and decentralisation through four main themes: Supervisory Entities and Decentralised Digital FinTech; Shariah Rulings for Decentralised Digital FinTech; Decentralised Digital FinTech Products; and Use cases of Decentralised Digital FinTech.Dr al-Sulaiti added that the conference will be distinguished by the Community Financial Culture Week, which will be held as part of the conference's activities from March 13-17, in an effort to spread financial culture, and provide different community groups with knowledge and skills that enable them to practice financial behaviours in the world of digital financial technology according to a sound vision.Dr al-Sulaiti pointed to the data issued by the "DinarStandard" for research and consulting, which revealed that Qatar ranks 10th in the world in Islamic financial technology among a list of 64 countries, while it is estimated that the financial technology sector in the country will record an annual growth of 20%, reaching the level of QR7.64bn ($2.1bn) by 2025.