Today, the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and World Gold Council led the IIFM-WGC Industry Consultative Meeting on Gold Documentation and Products Standardisation in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting was hosted by Borsa İstanbul at their campus.
The meeting assessed current market practices with respect to identified gold related documentation and products. Deliberations were aimed to inform and obtain input from key stakeholders including regulators, financial institutions, law firms, exchanges, industry associations and Shari’ah scholars on standardised product documentation through a series of discussions including: the use of the Allocated Gold Agreements, Gold Consignment Agreements, gold swap product confirmation and other products such as ETFs and gold Sukuk.
During his welcoming remarks, Dr. Şenol Duman, Executive Vice President of Borsa Istanbul, stressed out the importance of Stock Markets and the role of Borsa Istanbul for the development of Islamic Capital Market products. He stated: “We are delighted as Borsa Istanbul to host this important Consultative meeting and we are devoted to the development of the Islamic Financial Sector, the Precious Metals Market and the Capital Markets. Therefore we trust this meeting to be beneficial for all the participants and we hope for a fruitful outcome.”
Natalie Dempster, Managing Director of Central Banks and Public Policy at the World Gold Council, commented: “The World Gold Council is delighted to be working with IIFM to educate the financial services market and build awareness of the range of gold products available to investors. This collaboration offers the opportunity to provide greater access to the gold market and open up a new investment class for Shari’ah compliant investors to deploy their wealth and diversify market risks”.
Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive of the IIFM, who chaired the meeting, stated: “ This consultative meeting is a first step in achieving the common goal of developing a suite of Shari’ah-complaint standard documentation and product confirmations for use by institutions who are already active in Islamic finance as well as those who are looking to expand services in Shari’ah-complaint gold related asset class. We are grateful to Borsa İstanbul for hosting this important meeting and to all the participants for their valuable input and guidance. The outcome of the meeting will enable IIFM and World Gold Council to assess and prioritise the standardisation of certain gold related documentation and products to be developed in the next phase”.
The World Gold Council and the IIFM are working closely to develop and promote standardised product and transaction documentation in respect of Shari’ah-compliant gold products. These products (and their associated transactions) include:
- Physical vaulted gold / physical gold investment accounts;
- physical gold regular savings plans;
- physical gold certificates;
- physical gold ETFs;
- and physical gold undertakings.
The creation of a suite of standarised documentation will facilitate the establishment of a broader range of saving, hedging and diversification products, enabling Islamic banks and other financial institutions to grow their customer bases.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Daniel Adkins
Edelman
T +44 203 047 2310
E [email protected]
Usman M. Naseer
IIFM
T +97317500161
E [email protected]
Note to editors:
World Gold Council
The World Gold Council is the market development organisation for the gold industry. Our purpose is to stimulate and sustain demand for gold, provide industry leadership, and be the global authority on the gold market.
We develop gold-backed solutions, services and products, based on authoritative market insight and we work with a range of partners to put our ideas into action. As a result, we create structural shifts in demand for gold across key market sectors. We provide insights into the international gold markets, helping people to understand the wealth preservation qualities of gold and its role in meeting the social and environmental needs of society.
The membership of the World Gold Council includes the world’s leading and most forward thinking gold mining companies.
About International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM)
IIFM is a standard-setting body of the Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) focusing on standardisation of Islamic financial contracts and product templates relating to the Capital & Money Market, Corporate Finance and Trade Finance segments of the IFSI.
IIFM which is based in Manama and hosted by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), was established in 2002 under the Royal Decree No (23) Year 2002 of the Kingdom of Bahrain as a neutral and non-profit infrastructure development institution, by the collective efforts of the Islamic Development Bank, Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (formerly Ministry of Finance Brunei Darussalam), Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia (delegated to Labuan Financial Services Authority), Central Bank of Bahrain (formerly Bahrain Monetary Agency) and the Central Bank of Sudan.
Besides the founding members, IIFM is also supported by certain regulatory and government bodies such as Dubai International Financial Centre, State Bank of Pakistan, The National Bank of Kazakhstan and by a number of international and regional financial institutions active in Islamic finance as well as other market players.
In advancing its mission to create a robust, transparent and efficient Islamic financial market, IIFM promotes at the global level unification, best practices and Shari’ah harmonisation through introducing and developing Shari‘ah compliant standard financial contracts. It also contributes in creating industry awareness by organising specialised seminars and technical workshops in many jurisdictions as well as publishing research reports.
Information on IIFM and its activities is available on www.iifm.net
