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Birmingham & Islamic Finance New opportunities Mohammad Farrukh Raza Managing Director IFAAS Group (UK & France) Aston Business School Birmingham – 2 nd June 2009

IBB Head- office 2004 IFAAS UK 2007 Several law firms providing specialist legal services Birmingham’s latest export commodity – expertise in Islamic Finance 2009 IFAAS opens office in Paris 2008

 UK’s 2 nd largest city and 2 nd largest Muslim population  Largest concentration of professional services outside London  Recruitment and skills pool  Excellent connections within the country, across Europe and the world beyond  Travel time to London almost similar to some commute times within greater London  Significantly cost-effective for businesses & employers  Interesting investment opportunities for foreign investors  Hypothetically, the largest pool of employees with practical experience in Islamic finance

 Promote & position as the London alternative  Full support from the local key players i.e. BCC, LIB, WMBC, IBB & IFAAS etc  Capacity building within the local pool of professionals by way of cooperation and training etc  Linking Birmingham with other hubs of Islamic finance – Dubai, Bahrain, Kuala Lumpur and Paris etc  Targeting the mid & back offices services of financial institutions  Targeting inward investments

 Current global financial crisis  Internal budgetary issues at potential clients  Cost of relocation for existing businesses  Integrating the services & support offered by various stakeholders  Filling the gap in academic offer  Boosting Birmingham’s image as a world class city  Lack of glamour and romance

 Islamic Bank of Britain – the most known & highly respected Islamic finance brand leading the way in retail banking  IFAAS – a unique expertise in Shariah Compliance, Product Development & Structuring, Shariah Audit, Marketing & Communications Strategies and Training  A number of law firms with hands-on experience in Islamic contracts  Unprecedented support from the local authorities  Growing interest from the local academia