The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), an international institution focused on the development of the global Islamic capital and financial markets, announced today the appointment of Dr Azmir Agel as Head, Capital Market and Support Services.
Dr Azmir, a Malaysian national, brings with him over 20 years experience in financial services, private equity and corporate advisory services as well as the international oil and gas industry.
Prior to joining the IIFM, Dr Azmir was Head of Islamic Capital Market and Offshore Market at Bursa Malaysia, previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. He has also served as Director of Strategic Planning and Research at the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA), the regulator and administrator of Malaysia’s Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre.
Dr Azmir is the first Head of Capital Market and Development at the IIFM, which is based in Bahrain.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Ijlal Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of the IIFM, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dr Azmir to the IIFM. His Far East background will add significant value to IIFM’s role in developing self-regulatory standardised contracts and templates and the infrastructure development of an Islamic management system.
“In particular, Dr Azmir’s broad experience in financial services and his expertise in capital markets, will be a tremendous resource for the IIFM as it begins work in earnest on developing and stimulating the Islamic capital and short term financial market.”
Key responsibilities of Dr Azmir include the development of a capital market management system and related issues.
Dr Azmir has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University Technology Mara, in Malaysia, and a Master’s Degree, also in Business Administration, from Oklahoma City University in USA. His Doctorate degree in Strategy and Finance is from Generale University, Canada.
He began his career in the oil and gas industry with British Petroleum and Total, before joining the financial services industry and specializing in Islamic capital markets and a broad range of offshore operations.
About International Islamic Financial Market
The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) was established in Bahrain in 2002 by the Islamic Development Bank, the central banks of Bahrain, Malaysia, Sudan and Indonesia and the Brunei Finance Ministry.
The mission of the IIFM, a globally-focused non-profit institution, is to develop the primary Islamic and short term financial market and, subsequently, the creation of a secondary market for Islamic financial instruments. IIFM is also focused on the advancement and standardization of Islamic financial instrument structures and contracts, infrastructure development, Islamic management system, issuance of guidelines and enhancing cooperation among the world’s Islamic financial institutions.
IIFM’s membership currently stands at 5 central banks, a Ministry of Finance, a multilateral institution and a number of Islamic financial institutions from 12 countries and, as its revised plans are implemented, the membership from financial institutions is expected to increase significantly in the future.
