​The Sukuk Conference, organized by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in collaboration with the World Bank, will be held tomorrow the 6th of December 2016 in Riyadh, under the title Sukuk Market - Challenges and Opportunities. Within its five sessions, the (24) participating speakers at the conference will discuss the role of the debt instrument markets in supporting economic growth, and the challenges facing the Sukuk (Islamic instruments) markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular, and within the GCC states in general.

In addition to that, the conference will discuss the mechanisms and ways to develop the financial markets in the region in order to be reflected in the development of debt markets so that they are able to provide the necessary funds to the private and public sectors. The conference will also discuss the demand incentives for Islamic debt instruments. It will also address the most prominent international experiences and practices to utilize them in the development of the local debt instruments market.

The conference will kick off at 8:00 o'clock in the morning at Al Faisaliah Hotel with a speech from the World Bank Group presented by Regional Director of the Group in the GCC region, Mr. Paul Moreno-Lopez. Then a word from CMA which will be presented by H.E. Mr. Mohammed Elkuwaiz, vice-chairman of CMA's Board.

Then the conference sessions will begin with the first session titled The Ingredients of Sukuk Markets; linking the Sukuk market with economic development in the long term, the contribution of Sukuk market in providing required finance in the Gulf region, the development of the primary and secondary Sukuk market, Islamic financial markets in organized exchanges compared to trading outside the platform.

The second session titled The Dynamics of Sukuk Markets will address how to develop new products that strengthen the Islamic financing in the long run, the institutional investor in Islamic funding, the degree of risks for investors in Islamic finance, and incentives that can be utilized to attract institutional investors over the long term.

In the third session, titled How to Create an Effective Environment for Sukuk Market, speakers will discuss the major challenges in the issuance of Sukuk infrastructure, Sukuk infrastructure, the role of Sukuk in development projects, and the legal aspects of Sukuk.

The fourth session, titled Organizational Matters and Governance will discuss 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, will discuss 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 of the issuance of long term debt.