Press Release on IHMC's Speakers Release Date: 10 May 2010

1. PRESS RELEASE
Brunei’s IHMC has outstanding programme for 2010
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources
Monday, 10 May 2010
Now in its 5th year, Brunei’s International Halal Market Conference is being hosted at the
International Convention Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan on 5-6 June 2010.
Every year, the organizers at the Entrepreneurial Development Centre at the Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources, in a collaboration with Imarat Consultants Sdn Bhd,
endeavour to put together a programme that addresses issues at the cutting-edge of the
emerging Halal market.
Halal plays a pivotal role in the diversification of the Brunei economy, and is arguably
more central to the growth of their economy than in any other Muslim majority country,
and this ‘ideas leadership’ role is reflected in the programme of the IHMC 2010.
Taking in the Big Picture
With a theme “Halal – The Next Decade”, the IHMC 2010 aims to review some of the
significant developments in the Halal sector in recent years, analyse the current trends
and dynamics at work in the Halal market, and to try and take a look upstream to see
what the coming decade is likely to bring.
One of the major headlines for this year is the roll-out of the much anticipated Brunei
Halal range of branded products, with the first fifty products expected to be on show at
Brunei’s concurrent International Halal Products Expo from 3-6 June. Ghanim
International Foods is in charge of the Brunei Halal brand project, and their new CEO,
Wahid Kandil will be presenting the latest developments of this groundbreaking project
at the IHMC.
Other major corporate speakers in Session One will include Peter Vogt, the new
Managing Director at Nestlé Malaysia, and marketing expert Alex Andarakis whose
corporate experience includes Unilever, Aujan Industries, the Emaar Group and is
currently Advisor to Al Islami Foods in Dubai.
What’s Next?
Session Two looks at the convergences taking place in the Halal sector with activities in
the Islamic Finance sector, tourism and hospitality, as well as the impact that online
media and networking is having at both industry and consumer levels.
In this session, David Smith from Global Futures and Foresight in the UK, Shahed
Amanullah of HalalFire Media in the USA as well as Islamic Finance veteran Rushdi
Siddiqui from Thomson Reuters will be putting forward their views and giving an

2. indication of the directions that the wider Halal market will be taking in the coming years.
Rushdi Siddiqui has been working with TR partners Ideal Ratings, using some of the
latest analytical tools to assess the financial strength of the Halal sector, and his findings
will be presented for the first time at the IHMC, further strengthening the links between
the Halal sector and Islamic Finance.
Halal as a Tool for Economic Growth
Sessions on Day Two will cover a spectrum of key national Halal development
programmes from countries such as Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and the United Kingdom, as well as contributions from Malaysia
and IHMC hosts Brunei Darussalam.
These countries will all play strategically important roles in the next stage of
development for the Halal markets, and with S E Asia continuing to play a leading role,
the development plans of these countries will be really worth hearing.
European countries are also becoming an increasingly important element in the next
chapter of the Halal market, and companies from Bosnia and the UK are going to be key
players in the coming years as the demand for Halal products and services continues to
grow in both eastern and Western Europe.
So, the IHMC organisers stress that this event is not just food related, and companies
and organisations that are involved in Islamic finance, travel and tourism, hospitality,
media and networking, as well as government officers dealing with economic
development policy will find the IHMC content highly relevant. There is a world-class line
up, and an opportunity not to be missed!
Once again, the IHMC programme reflects Brunei’s serious commitment to the Halal
sector, and this event confirms their conviction that developing the Halal market is a
‘fardu kifaya’ or collective responsibility for the Muslims.
More details and a full programme is available at www.ihmcbrunei.com, or for other
queries, please email info@ihmcbrunei.com or info@halalfocus.com.
/END
Date: 10 May 2010
Distributed by:
The Public Relations Section
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources
Brunei Darussalam