Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) has announced that it is supporting the 19th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) as Gold Strategic Partner, which is held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain and with the official support of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The Conference is being held at the Gulf Hotel between the 9th, 10th and 11th of December 2012 where more than 1,200 industry leaders, senior decision-makers and key regulators from over 50 countries have gathered for the WIBC 2012. While the global financial crisis had put a hold on economic growth and also forced leading players in the international Islamic finance industry to re-think key strategies, today's changing landscape promises new opportunities and the arrival of the next phase of growth for those forward-thinking Islamic finance institutions. The theme for this year’s World Islamic Banking Conference, “New Strategies for Islamic Finance to Come of Age”, is addressing new opportunities in terms of expanding the industry on an international level – boosting cross-border transactions, accessing new markets and creating new products that point the way forward towards renewed growth horizons. For almost 2 decades, the WIBC has firmly established itself as the largest gathering of Islamic finance leaders in the world and has strengthened its pivotal role as the platform where the future of the industry is shaped. As a Gold Strategic Partner, KFH - Bahrain is pleased to support such important occasions. The WIBC is aiming to develop and strengthen the Islamic finance industry by making it competitive and a preferred choice for clients worldwide. The WIBC has emerged as a global forum for communicating the values of Islamic banking to a wider audience. As per the conference theme “New Strategies for Islamic Finance to Come of Age”, financial institutions need to ensure that they are well positioned to address the progressive market and regulatory requirements before they step into new geographical regions and expand regionally and internationally. The WIBC aims to highlight emerging trends in the Islamic finance sector and potential new markets. This year's conference is featuring a host of new and value-added topics that set it apart from all other conferences. It is also the platform to launch the 9th edition of the WIBC Competitiveness Report, the world's only original research into the performance and key trends of Islamic banking worldwide.