ICM Series: The Sukuk Market

DAY 1 – SPEAKER: ZAIRULNIZAD SHAHRIM

Zairulnizad Shahrim, the Director of Islamic Markets at AmInvestment Bank Berhad has over 12 years of experience in the Islamic capital market and financial services industry. He specializes in Islamic capital market activities and his expertise includes all areas of Islamic finance from origination to structuring, covering both Islamic debt, equity instruments and funds management.

He gained most of his experiences in Islamic finance and Islamic capital market during his time at the Securities Commission (SC) and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad (HLIB). He has been involved in extensive number of Islamic syndications and capital markets transactions which includes Sukuk (Islamic securities), private equity, funds, derivatives and structured products. Some of the recent key deals include RM2.0 bil Commodity Murabahah Sukuk programme for Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad, RM 2.465 bil Syndicated facility for Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd, RM4.9 bil for Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, RM1.35 bil for Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd and Islamic private equity fund for Jcorp Berhad. He also responsible for the non-ringgit Islamic cross-border and international Islamic finance initiatives under the International Currency Business Unit (ICBU) for the Bank.

He is also a regular presenter and participates from time to time in various industry initiatives in relation to Islamic capital market and Islamic finance industry organised by Securities Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia and also various related industry associations. Zairulnizad graduated from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom with a Masters in Finance and Investment. He is also a British Council Chevening Scholar and also a recipient of the Securities Commission (SC) Scholarship Award.

DAY 2 – SPEAKER: RUSLENA RAMLI

Ruslena Ramli is the Head of Islamic Finance at RAM. She plays a key role in further strengthening RAM’s franchise in Islamic finance, combining our fortes and insights in credit rating and sukuk transactions.

Ruslena began her stint as a credit analyst with RAM’s infrastructure and utilities rating team in 1999, before broadening her horizon in the Islamic banking sphere in 2004. Her vast experience now encompasses investment, commercial and retail banking, having structured and advised on sukuk/bond issues, syndicated facilities and bridging transactions, including securing Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval for the establishment of Islamic banking products.

She also brings to RAM her expertise in Shariah-compliant structures, acquired through her previous role as an Islamic banker seeking the Shariah Advisory Committee’s approval for Islamic financing structures as well as the principal terms and conditions of sukuk issuance and Islamic facilities. Prior to joining RAM, Ruslena held the position of Director/Head, Debt Capital Markets in MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Berhad (a wholly-owed subsidiary of Malaysia’s largest fund management company, Permodalan Nasional Berhad).

Leveraging on her past experience, she is a trainer for the Securities Industry Development Corporation (training centre for Securities Commission of Malaysia) and have been invited to speak at various international Islamic finance conferences. Within her tenure with RAM, she was successful in branding the company’s Islamic finance publications under Sukuk Snapshot and Sukuk Reflections. Sukuk Snapshot is a quarterly report that is designed as a quick reference point for sukuk data and trends to serve the needs of market practitioners, enabling them to monitor global and Malaysian sukuk market developments. Sukuk Reflections represents RAM’s ongoing commitment to Islamic finance’s thought leadership values by capitalizing on RAM’s expertise in rating sukuk and ideas from leading industry experts.

DAY 2 – SPEAKER: WAN ABDUL RAHIM KAMIL

Wan Abdul Rahim Kamil has more than 30 years’ experience in the Islamic financial services industry in Malaysia and is actively involved in the development of human capital, especially pertaining to the Islamic capital market.

He is currently a consultant with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and is also a member of the Task Force for Islamic Finance for the Labuan Financial Authority in the area of Islamic Capital Market development. Since joining the SC in 2007, he has provided advisory services and developed capacity building programmes for investors and capital market intermediaries.

Wan Abdul Rahim Kamil is one of the pioneers in the development of sukuk and the bond market, starting with the creation of the first sukuk issued by Shell MDS Sdn Bhd in 1990 – a first for Malaysia and also the world. He has also been a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for the development of the Egyptian financial services particularly in the development of the masterplan for the sukuk and bond markets in Egypt.

Wan Abdul Rahim Kamil is widely acknowledged as a leading figure in Islamic finance through his involvement with several relevant academic and training institutions. He is also currently the Project Director for Islamic markets programmes for the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), which is an industry training body for capital market, under the purview of the SC. He is currently a Fellow at Institute of Islamic Banking and Economics (IBFIM) Malaysia, an industry training body under the Central Bank of Malaysia. He is also an academic Fellow at Universiti Insaniah, Kedah Darul Aman and a Member Board of Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia.