The World Islamic Banking Conference has become an established part of the calendar in Bahrain. Last year’s conference was the 16th to be held in the Kingdom. 2009 also saw the WIBC broaden its scope with its first European Summit which was held in London.
The present Summit, the first of its kind to be held in Asia, is evidence of the growing geographical scope of Islamic finance which has emerged from being a niche industry to one that has moved into the financial mainstream. The choice of Singapore as the host for the WIBC’s first Asian Summit marks a further step in the globalization of Islamic finance.