Director
Muhammad Zahid Abdul Aziz
Pioneered Islamic Corporate Banking in Malaysia at Bank Islam (1990–2000), led Sukuk origination at AlBilad Investment in Riyadh, and has trained professionals across 10+ countries. Author of "The Foams of the Waves of the Sea – The Case for an Islamic Monetary System."
Zahid holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from University of Exeter, United Kingdom and MSc Islamic Banking & Finance (UIAM). After graduating with the first degree in 1977, he joined an International Accounting Firm, Arthur Young & Co., London Office.
He returned to Malaysia in 1982 and joined Arab Malaysian Merchant Bank Kuala Lumpur. He joined Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad in 1990 where he pioneered and helped develop Islamic Corporate Banking specializing in Islamic Syndications and Sukuk Issuance. He left Bank Islam in September 2000 to form Muamalah Financial Consulting Sdn Bhd., an Islamic Financial Consultancy/Shariah Advisory company.
From July 2006 to March 2009 he was based in Riyadh as Head of Investment Banking/Sukuk Origination for AlBilad Investment Company Ltd, a CMA licensed wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Bank AlBilad.
In April 2009 he returned to Malaysia to resume his position at Muamalah Financial Consulting, an Islamic Finance and Islamic Capital Market Consultancy/Trainer based in Kuala Lumpur.
He held an appointment as Honorary Visiting Consultant on Islamic Banking and Finance for University Science Malaysia, Penang. In 2012 he graduated with an MSc Islamic Banking & Finance from International Islamic University Malaysia. He is a well known and popular International Trainer in Islamic Banking and Finance having taught in Dubai, Brunei, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Russia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, as well as Malaysia.
With over 25 years experience in the Islamic Muamalat Industry he has recently been appointed a Subject Matter Expert Advisor to the Syariah Advisory Committee of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB). He is also Author of a new book titled "The Foams of the Waves of the Sea – The Case for an Islamic Monetary System." He is presently active as Principal Consultant of Muamalah Financial Consulting Sdn Bhd in setting up of Islamic Banks in Africa apart from giving public Talks on The Islamic Monetary System.
Experiences
- Islamic Corporate Financing
- Arrangement of major Islamic Syndications / Sukuk issuances
- Arrangement of International Islamic Syndications / International Sukuk issues
- Lecturer at Islamic Banking Courses
- Invited Speaker for Central Bank, Securities Commission, Labuan Offshore Authority, courses and conferences
- Invited Speaker at International Islamic Banking Forums and Conferences
- Teaches Islamic Corporate Financing, Islamic Legal documents, Islamic Stockbroking, Sukuk and Islamic Asset Backed Securitisation
- Sukuk/Islamic Capital Market/Islamic Investment Banking Consultant to various Islamic Banks, Bursa Malaysia, Petronas and other institutions
Speaker & Conference Presentations
- October 1996 — 3rd Annual Dubai Forum on Islamic Banking and Finance. Paper: Infrastructure and Project Finance; Pooling of Funds for Syndicate Financing of Large Scale Projects.
- May 1997 — International Conference on Islamic Banking & Finance (Securities Commission of Malaysia). Paper: Islamic Financing of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
- November 1997 — Second Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec EFI) Meeting, KL. Paper: Islamic Financing for Infrastructure Projects.
- December 1997 — Marketing Strategies for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions. Paper: The Challenges of Marketing Islamic Corporate Financing Products.
- April 1998 — International Conference on Islamic Investment & Challenges (International Association of Islamic Banks). Paper: Corporate Financing and Securitization Issues & Challenges.
- August 1998 — Workshop on Developing Islamic Financial Instruments for a Labuan International Islamic Money Market. Paper: Method of Financing and Practical Issues in Structuring Islamic Financial Instruments.
- June 1999 — Seminar on Islamic Banking and Finance for D8 and OIC Member Countries. Paper: Syndication and Securitization.
- July 1999 — Seminar on Islamic Capital Market (Securities Commission of Malaysia). Paper: Islamic Financial Instruments and The Islamic Capital Market.
- September 2000 — Seminar on Islamic Corporate Financing (Bank Islam Institute of Research & Training). Paper: Islamic Syndications & Islamic Bonds.
- October 2000 — World Class Islamic Finance Conference (Marcus Evans ICM Conferences). Paper: Economics of Islamic Banking From A Practitioner's View.
- July 2001 — New Development's in Malaysia's Debt Capital Market. Paper: Islamic Private Debt Securities Issues, Challenges and Analysis on Future Direction.
- September 2001 — Seminar on Islamic Private Debt Securities. Paper: Issuance of Islamic PDS: Complying with SC Guidelines.
- 2001 onwards — Various Securities Commission/Bank Negara Malaysia In-House Seminars & Colloquiums.
- 2018/19 — Provide consultancy in setting up an Islamic Bank in Nigeria.
- IFN Roadshow Singapore 2012 — Risks, regulatory and taxation support for Islamic Banking finance.
- IFN Roadshow Jakarta 2011 — Indonesia's Regulatory and Tax Agenda.
- IFN Roadshow Brunei 2012 — Islamic Finance Regulatory and Infrastructure Development in Brunei.
Key Consultant
Associate Director
Ismail Aminuddin
Associate DirectorOver 32 years in banking with 17 dedicated to Islamic Finance. Former Syariah Committee member at Deutsche Bank and Kenanga IB. Co-founder of AIBIM and pioneer in Islamic bank establishment.
Ismail has had over 32 years of working experience in the banking and finance industry (inclusive of 17 years dedicated to Islamic Finance). He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from University Technology MARA (UiTM), a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Ohio University, USA, and a CIFP member of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professional.
Ismail was a former Accreditation Panel member of Finance Accreditation Agency Sdn Bhd (FAA) and former Syariah Committee Member of Deutsche Bank Malaysia (1 year), Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (3 years) in Kuala Lumpur, and Shariah Advisor of Qays Re Global Ltd (Labuan), a Re-Insurance/Takaful company (3 years).
Ismail is also the President/Director of Eversolution Sdn Bhd, a software development company, a Director of Protac Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Federal Government Statutory Body, RISDA.
Ismail took early retirement from banking in April 2010. During his banking career, he held various positions including Chairman of IBFIM's Examination Committee for Islamic Certified Credit Professional (CCP-i), Member of the Board of Graduate Programme Studies of INCEIF, among the founder and Council Member of ACIFP, and Vice-Chairman of AIBIM.
Ismail's vast experience covers various aspects of banking such as branch banking, consumer, corporate and commercial banking, finance and accounts, credit evaluation, collection and recovery, operations, credit administration, product development and capital markets. His last senior management position was Chief Credit Officer.
He was directly involved in designing new Islamic banking products, preparation of product operation manuals, system specifications for product software development, and system testing. He has worked with five banking systems (1 conventional and 4 Islamic).
Ismail's commendable achievements encompass the establishment of two new Islamic banks and two Islamic banking windows, and in 2018/19 was part of a project team setting up an Islamic Bank in Nigeria.
Non-related to banking, Ismail has been directly involved as a Consulting Director since 2014 to set up a Pharmaceutical Plant for Inhalation products, commercialized in Q4/2023. In Eversolution he is active in banking digital software with successful mobile banking solutions delivered to major banks in Malaysia.
Takaful Expert
DR. WAN ZAMRI WAN ISMAIL
Takaful ExpertPhD in Takaful with close to 40 years of industry experience (30 years in takaful and retakaful). Former CEO of Asean Retakaful International and Group CEO of Syarikat Takaful Indonesia.
Dr. Wan Zamri, is an Associate of the Malaysian Institute of Insurance and holds a Masters of Science in Islamic Banking and Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia, and a Phd in Takaful from University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. He has close to forty years' experience in the industry of which thirty years was with takaful and retakaful.
He started his career in insurance in 1978 with a number of insurance and reinsurance companies in Malaysia. He moved to Syarikat Takaful Malaysia, the first full fledged takaful operator in the region and served as Branch Manager in the States of Kelantan and Pahang from 1986 to 1997.
In 1998 he was seconded by Syarikat Takaful Malaysia to help set-up and later appointed as the first CEO of Asean Retakaful International (L) Ltd until 2003. This is the first full fledged offshore retakaful operator in the region and have provided Shariah compliant retakaful solutions to numerous takaful operators worldwide.
He was again seconded by Syarikat Takaful Malaysia from 2004-2007 to its subsidiary in Indonesia, Syarikat Takaful Indonesia as the Group CEO, overseeing its two subsidiary companies namely PT Asuransi Takaful Umum (General Takaful operation) and PT Asuransi Takaful Keluarga (Family Takaful operation).
He left Takaful Indonesia in 2007 to join a financial group in Dubai, to help set-up a new general takaful company named Dar Al Takaful and was later appointed as its first CEO until 2010. In 2015, Dr. Wan Zamri was appointed by UNIRazak-IBFIM consortium to study and propose for the establishment of takaful in the Republic of Tatarstan and Russia.
In 2016 he was involved in the setting-up of Noor Takaful Insurance Nigeria and was latter appointed as its first Managing Director until 2018. He co-authored books titled, 'Fundamentals of Takaful' published by Islamic Banking and Finance Malaysia (IBFIM) in 2011 and 'Takaful: Business Competence' in 2015 published by IBFIM.
Dr. Wan Zamri currently sits as Board Member of Takaful Ikhlas General Malaysia and Noor Takaful Insurance Nigeria. He has travelled widely across Asia, Middle-East, Africa, Europe and the United States to promote takaful and retakaful.
Over the years has presented papers in international conferences, workshops and trainings in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, UAE, Thailand, Australia, Russia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Gambia, United Kingdom, United States.
Dr. Wan Zamri is retained as a Consultant in Muamalah Financial Consulting, a company specialising in Islamic finance consulting, training and advisory.