13th Meeting of the OIC Exchanges Forum held in İstanbul

The 13th Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Exchanges Forum took place at the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel hosted by Borsa İstanbul on Thursday, September 26 with the participation of speakers from abroad. Within the scope of the Forum, S&P OIC / COMCEC 50 Islamic Index Fund was launched. Officials and representatives of the exchange, clearing and custody institutions of the OIC member countries attended the meeting which was closed to the press. The Forum meets annually since 2005 to improve cooperation among member organizations.

Following the recitation of the Holy Quran, the meeting was opened with the speech of Selçuk Koç, Director of the Secretariat of the Standing Committee of Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC). In his speech, Selçuk Koç stated that the OIC Gold Exchange and Index task force activities within the Forum are of great importance for the implementation of the COMCEC decisions. He also congratulated the OIC Exchange Forum on the establishment of the S&P OIC / COMCEC 50 Islamic Index Fund.

During the opening session, Mehmet Gönen, Acting CEO of Borsa İstanbul, thanked to the representatives of OIC countries who attended the meeting and said: “As Borsa İstanbul management, we think that it is very beneficial to share experience and knowledge among OIC Exchanges, Clearing and Custody Institutions and that joint action accelerates the achievement of common goals. We believe OIC Exchange Forum plays an important role in this regard.”

Mehmet Gönen emphasized that the launch of the S&P OIC / COMCEC 50 Islamic Index Fund is an important achievement within the scope of the ongoing OIC Index project. He also stated the following: “In relation to the OIC Gold Exchange Project, which is still ongoing within the scope of OIC Exchange Forum, new expansions can be evaluated such as listing gold-based ETFs or similar products in the OIC Exchanges and scaling up Gold Transfer Project developed by Takasbank to the OIC countries. The OIC Exchange Forum will continue to foster cooperation among OIC capital market institutions by adding new projects to its agenda in addition to its successful work on existing projects.”

After the opening session, distinguished executives, academicians and experts delivered presentations during the Forum on a number of topics regarding OIC capital markets including Dr. Zamir Iqbal, Vice President Finance and CFO of Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Recep Bildik, Borsa İstanbul COMCEC Project Group Director, Kenan Turan, Ziraat Portföy Executive Vice President, Charbel Azzi, Head of Middle East, Africa & CIS, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Gökhan Elibol, Deputy General Manager of Takasbank, Murat İnce, Executive Vice President of QNB Finans Portföy, Prof. Habib Ahmed, Shariah Chair in Islamic Law & Finance at Durham University, Kenan Jusufspahic, Senior Investment Officer at Islamic Development Bank, Mahmut Aydoğmuş, Borsa Istanbul COMCEC Project Group Manager, Ismail Dadabhoy, Advisor to International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), Faheem Ahmad, President of Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA), Mohammad Majd Bakir, Director at AAOIFI, Prof. Obiyathulla Bacha, Head of the Graduate Studies Department at INCEIF. In addition, Borsa İstanbul, Tehran Stock Exchange, Indonesia Stock Exchange and National Clearing Company of Pakistan delivered presentations in the best practice sharing session.

Within the scope of the Forum, a new task force consisting of Borsa İstanbul, Pakistan and Indonesia Stock Exchanges was established to work on “Sustainability in OIC Exchanges”.

OIC Exchanges Forum Capacity Building Program

This year, in addition to the annual Forum meeting, a two-day capacity building and training program for Forum members was held on 27-28 September. The theme of the capacity building program was “Islamic Capital Markets and Sukuk”. The program was delivered by Prof. Obiyathulla Bacha, Head of the Graduate Studies Department at INCEIF  University in Malaysia. At the end of the capacity building and training program, the participants were given certificates.

About the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Exchanges Forum

OIC Exchanges Forum was established in 2005 with the initiative of the Standing Committee of the Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) to establish the framework of cooperation between the exchanges and post-trade institutions of OIC member countries. Borsa İstanbul is the coordinator of the Forum. The Forum brings together OIC exchanges, post-trade and other relevant institutions (IIFM, IFSB, SESRIC, AAOFI, ICDT, IsDB, AFE and others) every year in Istanbul. Detailed information about the Forum's activities can be found on the OIC Exchanges Forum official website:  http://www.oicexchanges.org

About Borsa İstanbul

Borsa Istanbul Group provides services with a fully integrated business model that covers trading, clearing, custody and registration in Equity, Debt Securities, Derivatives, Precious Metals and Diamond markets as well as Islamic Finance products.

Borsa Istanbul, whose roots go back to 1873 with the Dersaadet Bonds Exchange, completed  horizontal and vertical integration in 2013 to provide end-to-end access to full spectrum of financial services for fast-growing capital markets of Turkey.