​The Sukuk (Islamic instruments) Conference, organized by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in collaboration with the World Bank; titled Sukuk Market - Challenges and Opportunities, discusses the role of the debt markets in supporting economic growth. This conference will be held next Tuesday in Riyadh.

The conference aims to discuss the challenges facing the Sukuk markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular, and in the GCC states in general, as well as the mechanisms and ways to develop capital markets in the region, to reflect the development of debt markets so that they are able to provide the necessary finance to both the private and public sectors. The conference also discuss the incentives of demand for Islamic debt instruments. The conference addresses the most prominent international experiences and practices in order to utilize them in the development of local market debt instruments.

The conference, through its five sessions presented by government officials and representatives from the World Bank as well as the private sector, economists and financial partners in the financial market, covers the elements of Sukuk markets, the dynamics of Sukuk markets, ways to create an effective environment for Sukuk market, regulatory issues and corporate governance in Sukuk market, and the role of debt markets in economic growth.

The first session of the conference, titled The Ingredients of Sukuk Markets, discusses linking the Sukuk market with economic development in the long term, the Sukuk market contribution in providing the required funding in the Gulf region, the development of the primary and secondary instrument markets, and Islamic financial markets in organized Exchanges compared to trading outside the platform.

During the second session; titled Dynamics of Sukuk Market, speakers deals with methods to develop new products that strengthen Islamic funding on the long term, the behavior of institutional investors in Islamic finance, the degree of risks taking for investors in Islamic finance, and incentives that can be utilized to attract institutional investors over the long run.

The third session; titled How to Create Effective Environment for Sukuk Market, speakers discuss major challenges in the issuance of Sukuk infrastructure, infrastructure instruments, the role of Sukuk in development projects, and legal aspects of Sukuk.
As for the fourth session; titled Regulatory Issues and Corporate Governance, discusses recent regulatory efforts by authorities determining international standards, standardization and legitimate governance, and main challenges for organizing and supervising authorities over Sukuk markets.

Finally, the fifth and last session; titled The Role of Debt Markets in Economic Growth, discusses the recent regulatory efforts of Saudi government agencies with respect to the debt markets, the role of debt issuance in supporting economic growth, and the pros and cons for the issuance of long term debt.