Published: on 04 July 2012
By Hamisah Hamid
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will share his thoughts in a keynote address entitled "Transforming Nations, Changing Mindset" at an international forum on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth and finance.
At the forum, Dr Mahathir will receive an honorary membership award from the Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of Islamic Development Bank (Adfimi) to recognise his outstanding contribution to the development of Islamic finance and the Muslim community.
SME Bank in collaboration with Adfimi will organise the two-day SME Bank-Adfimi International Development Forum which starts tomorrow.
SME Bank Bhd managing director Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus said the forum will be a platform to share global best practices in Islamic and micro finance as a tool to develop small and medium enterprises, especially those in Muslim countries.
These include challenges and opportunities from the global economic crisis, Islamic financing, DFI (developmental financial institutions) experiences on small and medium enterprises, venture capital, innovation and green finance.
Radzif said this is the first time Malaysia is hosting the Adfimi Forum.
"Besides introducing various Islamic finance tools for the SME community to grow, the forum will also promote Malaysia as the global Islamic finance hub," he told Business Times in an interview.
The two-day forum will start tomorrow.
Speakers from Malaysia include ISIS Malaysia chief executive Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin and Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Abu Hassan Alshaari Yahya.
There will be a gala dinner tomorrow night, where International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed will be present.
Radzif, who is also Adfimi vice-chairman, believes that SME Bank was chosen to co-organise the forum due to its recent efforts and initiatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment