IFN OnAir

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

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

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 shifti...

Stella Cox CBE , FCSI(Hon), DDCAP Group™, Chair of IFMAG, TheCityUK

Islamic asset management faces product scarcity, pushing managers toward alternatives and real assets, now increasingly supported by data analytics, digital custody and tokenisation. How is technology reshaping portfolio construction, screening methodologies, reporting and access to private markets for both retail and global investors? How can managers further develop effective Islamic products wh...

Abdulwahhab Abed , Chief Executive Officer, SEDCO Capital

Max Freeman , Founder, Epicenter Labs

Shariah-compliant pensions remain limited, particularly within workplace schemes and default fund options, despite strong unmet demand. We examine how providers can close gaps in access, scale and pricing through digital platforms, Shariah-screened investment strategies and Takaful-based retirement income solutions, and how these innovations can support the development of credible and competitive...

Patrick Drum , Fixed Income Lead and Portfolio Manager, Saturna Capital

Stéphane Brown , Chairman and Co-founder, Association of Shariah Asset Management

Eldorbek Umirkulov , Head of Treasury Department, Open Bank

A strong listing franchise for Sukuk and Islamic funds remains central to the UK and Ireland’s Islamic markets offering, but is not the only route to Shariah-compliant financing. We examine how structured real-asset finance, private credit, securitisation, infrastructure and transition-finance vehicles, and digital platforms can complement listings and broaden market relevance. We also explore the...

Andrew Selous , Former UK Government Minister and Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy

We examine how Shariah-compliant structured real estate and vehicle finance is evolving to support increasingly sophisticated institutional and cross-border transactions. We discuss private capital, development finance, refinancing structures, risk-sharing approaches and the growing importance of real assets within Islamic investment strategies. Moderator: Nicholas Edmondes , Partner, Trowers &amp...

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 fu...

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.

Radhika Das, IFN Journalist, interviews Desislava Radeva, Executive Director, Structured Export Finance at Standard Chartered, on structuring Uzbekistan's first commodity Murabahah facility, the role of risk mitigation in frontier markets, collaboration between commercial banks and multilateral institutions, and the future of Islamic trade and structured finance.

In this episode, Aminah Farid speaks with Bashar Al Natoor, global head of Islamic finance at Fitch Ratings, on the geopolitical resilience of the Sukuk market, the significance of tokenization, genuine ESG impact versus greenwashing, the challenges of cross-border Shariah standardization and the markets best positioned to drive the next phase of global Islamic finance growth.

In this episode, IFN journalist Radhika Das speaks with John Gartchie Gatsi, adviser to the governor on non-interest banking at the Bank of Ghana, about the implementation of Ghana's non-interest banking guidelines, prospects for Sukuk and Takaful and the progress toward licensing the country's first Islamic banking institutions.

Radhika Das, IFN Journalist, interviews Ahmed Jan, General Manager of Treasury at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, on trade finance priorities, resource mobilization, strategic partnerships and advancing regional integration across OIC markets 

 Radhika Das, IFN Journalist, interviews Aymen Kasem, Division Manager of Trade Development at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, on intra-OIC trade, SME participation, digitalization and trade development as a driver of regional integration