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Abdullah Haron
Deputy Secretary-General
Islamic Financial Services Board
Mr Abdullah Haron is the Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), a prominent international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory authorities with interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry - defined broadly to include banking, capital market and insurance.
A distinguished financial expert, Abdullah has over three decades of experience in financial regulation, risk management, and Islamic finance, with a career spanning the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Central Bank of the UAE, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and the IFSB.
As a Senior Financial Sector Expert at the IMF, Abdullah managed technical assistance initiatives and oversaw the implementation of Financial Sector Stability Reviews (FSSR) follow-up for selected member countries. He participated in the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), Article IV surveillance, and played a key role in shaping the IMF’s approach to Islamic banking activities. Prior to the IMF, he was a Reviewer in the Banking Supervision Department at the Central Bank of the UAE, where he helped establish the Higher Sharī’ah Authority and integrate Islamic finance into the national prudential framework. From 2003 to 2013, he was the Assistant Secretary-General of the IFSB, where he played a key role in developing the organisation’s pioneering regulatory standards and leading global initiatives in Islamic finance regulation.
His career began at BNM in 1991, followed by leadership roles in market risk management at Maybank, Standard Chartered Malaysia, and the Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bank in Malaysia. He holds an MBA from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Science (Actuarial Science) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Speaking At
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2:30–3:45pmTue 17 NovSide EventMeeting Room 2, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 5Open
Others
[Closed-Door] [Invite-only] Trust as Infrastructure: Governance, Market Integrity and Values-Driven Decisions
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Abdullah HaronDeputy Secretary-GeneralIslamic Financial Services Board
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Dr. Amira AbdelazizAI & FinTech Solutions Senior ManagerCentral Bank of Egypt
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Arjun Vir SinghPartner, Global Head of Fintech & Digital AssetsArthur D. Little
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Dr. Ghiath ShabsighSecretary-GeneralIslamic Financial Services Board
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Nafees KhundkerGroup Managing Director & Chief Executive OfficerMuslim Pro App
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Ramana KumarPresident of Stablecoin EcosystemADI Foundation
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Sanjiv PurushothamFounder & Chief Executive OfficerBridge Solutions
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Nor Shamsiah Mohd YunusFormer GovernorCentral Bank of Malaysia
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Khyati ChauhanChief of Staff to Group Chief Executive OfficerGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
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Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
About this session
Capital moves on trust, and trust rests on good governance. Index providers and global investors are looking more closely at free float, ownership transparency and disclosure quality, and these factors increasingly decide which markets can attract long-term capital. Regulators and the exchange are raising free-float requirements and tightening ownership disclosure, showing how governance reform can rebuild investor confidence. Many growth markets face the same challenge, and the lessons apply well beyond any one jurisdiction.
Values-driven frameworks offer a useful lens. ESG standards, Islamic finance principles and other ethical finance approaches all rest on the same foundations: transparency, accountability, risk-sharing and fair treatment of stakeholders. Financial decisions are often driven by short-term profit, and values-driven investing can look harder to justify. But can putting values first drive stronger long-term returns? Digital rails and AI could build these principles into how markets work, through real-time disclosure, verifiable ownership data, AI-driven screening and monitoring, and programmable compliance.
This roundtable brings together central banks, regulators, standard-setters and financial institutions from Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Together they will look at:
- Governance as a market-access issue. What reforms are markets making on free float, ownership transparency and disclosure, and what has worked in rebuilding investor confidence?
- Shared principles across frameworks. Where do ESG, Islamic finance and other values-driven approaches meet? Can values, not just profits, drive financial decisions and long-term returns?
- Technology as an enabler of integrity. How can digital infrastructure, including AI, tokenisation, regtech and virtual asset regulation, make good governance easier to verify and enforce?
- Cross-border cooperation. How can jurisdictions exchange regulatory practices and build supervisory capacity together, through platforms such as the Azimuth Partnership?
The discussion will identify practical next steps for strengthening market integrity, and opportunities for institutions to contribute expertise and shape follow-on work. If you'd like to join this discussion, please reach out to the organizing team at govt@gftn.com
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