Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum was successfully held on 17th to 21st of November 2008 at Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur.  This one week event is divided into 3 main events; Shariah Forum, KLIFF Main Forum and International Convention on Takaful and Retakaful 2008 (ICTR2008).  3rd Shariah Forum (17th November 2008) This forum also known as 'Muzakarah Penasihat Syariah Kewangan Islam'. The objective of this one day forum is to promote discourse among the shariah scholars on the issues of Islamic finance.  The forum was officiated by YB Dato’ Haji Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzalah, Deputy Finance Minister I, Malaysia.  Conducted in 3 languages (English, Malay, Arabic) among renowned speakers invited for the forum are; Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, Shariah Advisor, Bahrain, Dr Engku Rabiah Adawiah Engku Ali, International Islamic University Malaysia, Dr Aznan Hasan, Shariah Advisor, Bursa Malaysia and Dr Mohamed Akram Laldin, Executive Director, International Shari’ah Research Academy (ISRA).  The forum attended by 200 delegates representing Islamic finance institutions, academicians and others.   KLIFF Main Forum (18th – 19th November 2008) The forum has been held annually since 2004.  The opening ceremony was officiated by The Hon Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Razak who is also Minister of Finance I, Malaysia.  More than 800 guests attended the ceremony including 350 participants of the forum. The theme of the forum was Islamic Finance – The Road Ahead. A wide range of topics on the Islamic finance were discussed in the forum.  There were; Evaluating Issues and Challenges in Islamic Finance at The Time of Global Credit Crisis, The Interplay Between Islamic Finance and Halal Industry, Real Estate and Project Finance in Islamic Finance: Demands and Future Trends, Global Islamic Financial Market: Unlocking The Opportunities, Opportunities in Islamic Capital Market: Investors' Preference, Expectations and Confidences, Global Sukuk Market:  The Road Ahead, Islamic Funds and Investments: Growth, Potentials and Challenges and Shariah Session: Shariah Rulings, Research And Responsibilities. A dinner and KLIFF 2008 Islamic Finance Award was also held in conjunction of the forum.  The awards were presented by YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, the Minister of Finance II, Malaysia. Click here for full list of the award recipients.   International Convention on Takaful and Retakaful 2008 (ICTR2008) This is the fourth convention organized by Malaysia Takaful Association (MTA) and the first time it was held in conjunction of KLIFF.  The convention started with a Keynote Address given by The Hon Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, former Prime Minister of Malaysia on Islamic Finance Landscape In 2020.  Experts on takaful and retakaful gave their thoughts and views on the related issues. Among them are; Bradley Brandon-Cross CEO, Principle Insurance Holdings Ltd, UK, Shahril Azuar Jimin Exec. Vice President / Chief Sales Officer, Etiqa Insurance and Takaful, Majid Mohamad President / CEO, Labuan Reinsurance (L) Ltd, Ismail Mahbob CEO, MNRB Retakaful and many others.  About 200 participants attended this one day conference and followed by a site-visit to three takaful operators on the next day.   Participants found the event was well organized and the presentations and panels’ session were of very high quality.  They also found that the forum were an excellent platform opportunity to meet several industry participants from both Malaysia and internationally. Last but not least Centre for Research and Training (CERT) as the organiser of 5th Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Programme (KLIFF 2008) would like to express our deepest gratitude and thanks to the sponsors for the unrelenting and generous support towards the successful organisation of KLIFF 2008. We firmly believe that support from these sponsors for this event helped much in propagating the development of Islamic Finance in Malaysia and worldwide. See you again in KLIFF 2009.