Iqbal Khan, Fajr Capital CEO and a long-time advocate of the Islamic finance industry, was presented The Royal Award for Islamic Finance for 2012 last night by His Majesty Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, the King of Malaysia.
Iqbal Khan was selected by a panel of seven independent international jurors. The award selection criteria focused on both qualitative and quantitative aspects to honour an individual’s exceptional contribution to the global development of Islamic finance in the areas of financial innovation, exceptional leadership and vision, serving as an inspiration and influence towards future progress and development in this arena. A total of thirty-two nominations were received and reviewed closely.
Iqbal Khan is the second recipient of the prestigious biannual award. The first recipient was Dallah Albaraka Group founder Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel of Saudi Arabia in 2010.
Iqbal Khan has had a prominent role in developing and promoting Islamic finance on a global scale. He was instrumental in establishing or scaling up a number of industry institutions and initiatives, including Citi Islamic Investment Bank, HSBC Amanah, Meezan Bank, the Islamic Finance Project at Harvard University, the International Institute for Islamic Banking and Insurance in London and the IDB Infrastructure Fund. He also had an important role in innovating and promoting global sukuk as a mechanism to raise capital by sovereign and corporate issuers.
He now serves as a founding Board member and CEO of Fajr Capital, an international Islamic investment firm backed by leading institutions including the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the Alsubeaei Group of Saudi Arabia, the Government of Brunei Darussalam, HSBC Investment Bank and Khazanah Nasional of Malaysia. He is also a Board member of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Jadwa Investment, and the MENA Infrastructure Fund.
Commenting on The Royal Award, Jury Chairman Tun Musa Hitam said, “The Jury went through a very stringent and rigorous selection process on the nominees’ merits and achievements. The Award recognises Mr Iqbal Khan’s contribution towards the development of Islamic finance that serves as an inspiration for the next generation.”
In his acceptance speech, Iqbal Khan said, “I am greatly honoured to receive this distinction, but our work has just begun. The Islamic finance industry has to create role model institutions and economies to create a demonstration effect across the world. Giving capitalism a moral compass and building economies with a heart is a vision we can all commit ourselves to.”
The Royal Award was spearheaded by the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) initiative and supported by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia. The recipient of Royal Award was selected by an independent and international jury comprising prominent individuals with diverse backgrounds, namely Tun Musa Hitam as Jury Chairman, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Professor Dr. Volker Nienhaus, Professor Dr. Abbas Mirakhor, Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari, A. Riawan Amin and Dr. Yahia Abdul Rahman.
