IslamicFinance.de

Kazakhstan will host a meeting on the implementation of Islamic finance on March 5. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is organizing the event to discuss the development of Islamic finance with the further release of sukuk in Kazakhstan. The list of participants includes the regional manager of the ICD Samir Tagiyev, the representative of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund "Damu" Rustem Ismailov, the chairman of the Islamic Finance Development Association (ARIF) Timur Rustemov, along issuers and investors of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange. The parties will also consider the ARIF projects on Islamic financing in Kazakhstan, as well as the possibility of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange functioning as a platform for the development of Islamic finance.

Kazakhstan’s previously commercial Zaman-Bank became an official Islamic bank on Aug. 17. The license from the National Bank of Kazakhstan allows the bank to tap into the Islamic banking sector and makes Zaman-Bank the second Islamic bank in the country. Al Hilal Bank, operating since 2010, had been the country’s only Islamic bank so far. Zaman-Bank is planning to focus on retail banking and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The bank already offers a range of deposit options, including wakala and mudaraba. Head of the Islamic Finance Development Unit, Timur Rustemov, said the bank converted to an Islamic bank, because this sector is still open in Kazakhstan, especially consumer banking. He added that the bank plans to offer Islamic auto finance, Islamic mortgage and a range of products and services for SMEs.