David Zahra has recently spoken at a conference entitled “Fare finanza islamica da Malta: la costituzione di fondi Shariah Compliant” and organised by Bank of Valletta’s Representative Office in Milan and Valletta Fund Services.
This event, held on May 18 in Milan, dealt with the opportunities offered by Malta n the Islamic Finance sector with particular focus on the Maltese Funds Industry, in which sector the BOV Group is a principal player.
The event attracted over 70 professionals within the Italian financial sector (banks, asset management companies, fund managers, independent advisors, local and international law firms) who expressed strong interest in Malta’s offering as an attractive jurisdiction and viable alternative to other European domiciles traditionally prominent in the formation of Collective Investment Schemes and services relat
ed to it.
In his presentation, David Zahra focused on Malta’s regulatory framework with respect to Shariah-compliant funds with a detailed explanation being given on what additional requirements and disclosures fund promoters and managers need to meet to have their funds licensed in Malta as Shariah-compliant investment funds. All speakers commented favourably on the steps Malta has taken in this regard and encouraged Malta to continue with its efforts in being considered as an ideal location got such products and investments.
The conference was opened with a welcome address by the Italian Ambassador to Malta, H.E. Vanessa Frazier, followed by a speech on the general characteristics of
Islamic Finance by Adil Hussain, Global Head (Islamic Finance) at Clyde&Co; Joseph Camilleri (Head of Business Development at Valletta Fund Services), who gave an overview of the fund industry in Malta, demonstrating the benefits of the various fund structures (UCITS, PIFs, AIFs, NAIFs) that may be set up in Malta and David Zahra (David Zahra & Associates Advocates) who spoke about the specific matters related to the Shariah-compliant funds.
The seminar was brought to a closing with a panel discussion moderated by Simone Meneghini, Head of the Representative Office in Milan. The panel consisted of representatives from Malta Stock Exchange, the Italy based online platform Lafinanzaislamica.it, Assaif and Delfino Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
