The two-day international workshop on 'Islamic Capital Market and Sukuk' ended at a city hotel on Sunday, with a hope for creating more trained and efficient bankers in Islamic banking and finance.
Experts and representatives from different entities concerned, banks and financial institutions expressed the hope at the concluding session of the workshop.
It was jointly organised by the Academy of Business Professionals (ABP) and the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) of Malaysia.
'Sukuk' is an Arabic term for 'financial certificates', which is generally referred to bonds that comply with Islamic Shariah law. 'Sukuk', however, differs in concept and structure from bonds in Western finance.
Dean of the Faculty of Business Studies of University of Dhaka Professor Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam spoke at the concluding session as the chief guest.
He said Bangladesh is the fastest growing economy in the Asia-Pacific region with a significant performance in lowering poverty level below 25 per cent.
According to different global financial indicators, the national economy will continue to grow in near future also, he also said.
The countries under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) contribute to 12 per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and have one-fifth of global population.
"Islamic banking and finance can be effective tools for Bangladesh to increase its economic relations with the OIC countries."
There are wide opportunities for Bangladesh to explore different aspects of Islamic finance, especially 'Sukuk', he added.
The ABP Chairman Md Shahid Ullah Mazumder, and CEO and managing director (MD) M M Fakhrul Islam, among others, also spoke at the programme.
The ABP MD sought support from the organisations participating in the workshop, so that such advanced programmes can be arranged to increase skills of bankers on various areas of Islamic finance.
He also said the concept of 'Sukuk' is quite new in the country, and more discussions should take place for better understanding of different aspects of the financial instrument.
A number of participants from different organisations, including the Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, and several commercial banks and financial institutions, attended the workshop. They were also awarded certificates at the end of the programme.
The INCEIF Director (Executive Education) and Assistant Professor Dr Ziyaad Mohamed, and Associate Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) Professor Dr Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid were the trainers at the two-day workshop.
