Muscat, The second session of the Omani Islamic banking conference began today under the slogan "Islamic Banking and Finance: Augmenting Competitiveness and Generating Investment Opportunities".

According to Oman News Agency (ONA), the conference explored innovative methods and emerging trends in Islamic financial products, legal and regulatory frameworks and ways to expand the scope of the Islamic products in the Sultanate of Oman.

The conference was organised by Al-Roya newspaper in cooperation with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

The opening ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr. Mohammed Said Al Ma’amari, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

Tahir Salim Al Amri, CBO Executive President said that the total assets of Islamic banks and Islamic windows stood at RO 7 billion by September 2023, up by 13 percent on an annual basis.

Al Amri added that Islamic banking institutions also provided financing worth RO 5.8 billion, and their total deposits stood at RO 5.3 billion. This corresponds to a 17.6 percent market share in terms of total assets and more than 19 percent of market share in terms of Islamic financing and Islamic deposits.

He pointed out that this great progress has been achieved in a relatively short period of time, just over 10 years.

The conference constitutes an important platform for discussion and consultation about developments taking place in the Islamic banking sector.

The conference focused on two main concepts: "Developing an Islamic banking sector that meets future priorities" and "Challenges and solutions for expanding the scope of Islamic products".

Source: Bahrain News Agency