IslamicFinance.de

In 2009 and 2010, one survey found that 97 percent of people in Russia who were mainly Muslim or from an Islamic background were interested in using an Islamic bank. Of that 97 percent, 40 reside in Moscow. Though not formally allowed to be practiced in America or Russia, it's still growing at an annual rate of around 15 to 20 percent. However, there are still a few roadblocks to clear before Islamic finance can achieve its true potential in Russia. Islamic banking regulations and laws have to be introduced, then job creation, investment diversification, and foreign investment could serve to give the Russian economy a boost.

Aproximatly 100 investment projects worth 300 billion roubles have been introduced at the 4th International Summit in Kazan.
The organizers of the forum were the government of Tatarstan, the Islamic Business & Finance Development Foundation (IBFD) with the support of the Federation Council of Russia.
The summit is attended by thousands of guests from over 30 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation including: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey, the UAE, Oman, Pakistan.

It is possible that the Commonwealth of Independent States will become the next frontier for Islamic finance. At this point, six Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan are members of the CIS. Moreover, Russia has also 20m indigenous Muslims in Russia, mostly concentrated in the semi-autonomous Caucasus provinces of Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
Although the relationship between Russia and its Muslims wasn't very good, it has started to make concerted efforts to reach out to Turkey, Iran and the Arab nations to the south and Pakistan, Malaysia and the Islamic democracies of South East Asia.

The Second Annual Islamic Finance Forum will gather investors, borrowers and regulators in the same place to accomplish a better understanding of existing instruments of Islamic Finance and to find answers to problems encountered frequently in the course of doing business.
The forum delegates is amde of representatives from the Embassies of UAE, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and other countries.

India has little or no facilities for them to invest their money in a Sharia-compliant manner. The total size of 100 per cent Islamic funds registered for sale in India was only $3.1 million (Dh11.4 million) in March 2011.
But, actually, India is important for the growth of Islamic finance. The country has historical ties to the Gulf, and is not only part of the Bric group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), but it is also categorised as a rapidly developing economy (RDE).

Gasprombank is building support for Sukuk but Russian legislation is missing. Executives from Gazprombank have been collecting interest in South East Asia. It seems that Alexander Kazakov, director of structured and syndicated finance at the bank, is claiming up to five companies were interested in Sukuk issuance.
AmanahRaya is also working to establish Kaz Haj, a pilgrimage fund, along with Kazakhstan's Islamic asset management company, Fattah Finance.
On the other hand, Aznan Hasan, Associate Professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia, warns that Russia will need to address its legal framework before Shari’ah-compliant transactions can go ahead.

There is a possibility that the Islamic finance will launch this year in the Tatarstan republic in the form of sukuk.
Gazprombank has been researching and developing Islamic finance tools for several years. The Director of Gazprombank stated that Russia is ready for sukuk.

Tatarstan seems to be the first region in which Russia will launch an Islamic bond. The aim is to serve people that in the past were underserviced.
The experts say that Russia's position is very good for attracting Islamic investing and the country is rich in infrastructure and agriculture.

Jim O'Neill, chairman of the massive Goldman Sachs Asset Management arm, said he believed that the Arab world could emerge as the fifth Bric, joining the booming economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Emerging markets fund manager Charlemagne Capital is launching a new fund to exploit opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) as a result of the political tensions across the region.

Barwa Real Estate Company QSC and Gazprombank OJSC announced yesterday the first closing of the Shariah compliant, Barwa Gazprombank Russia Real Estate Fund. The Fund represents the first collaboration between Barwa and Gazprombank and the two companies will seed the Fund with $75m capital each.
The First Investor QSCC (TFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barwa Bank, will contribute $2m into the Fund.

The major milestones are the establishment of the Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance; the first Halal Expo Exhibition; publication of an authorized translation of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions’ Standards of Islamic Finance Transactions; and the first Islamic finance deals on the Russian market.

Until recently the issuance of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, was confined to the Muslim world. But now a number of international borrowers are tapping the markets, including Nomura Holdings in Japan and Europe's first corporate borrower, International Innovative Technologies.
The ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s say they expect to see a rise in the number of sukuk issues by new players over the next 12 months, including issues by borrowers in Singapore, Australia, Luxembourg, Thailand, Hong Kong, France and Russia.
While the Islamic Financial Service Board and the accounting and auditing organization have defined standards for sukuk, defaults over the past year have shown that new guidelines must be set as problems arise, particularly as sukuk start to generate global attention.

As part of its efforts to promote Islamic finance around the world, the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) secretary-general Dr Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, and the Grand Mufti of the Shura Council of Russian Muftis, met in Moscow with the Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance.
The purpose of the meeting was to enhance the prospects of the development of Islamic financial institutions and products in Russia and the application of AAOIFI standards to regulate them.
Dr Alchaar highlighted the importance of establishing a suitable legal and regulatory environment to help accommodate and promote the Islamic financial industry in Russia, noting that the Islamic sukuks in particular have a promising market in the Russian economy.

As Russia's 20 million Muslims observe Ramadan, the country's banks are beginning to wake up to the growing opportunities offered by Islamic banking. Last summer VTB Capital opened an office in Dubai. The bank also plans to launch other Islamic projects, investing in Russian property together with the Sultan of Oman's State General Reserve Fund. However, there are still major obstacles to developing Islamic finance, including a lack of banking legislation that meets Islamic rules.

VTB Capital said that it has mandates to manage the sale of at least three Sukuk for Russian companies, each of which could raise USD 200 million to USD 500 mn. The sale shall start soon according to Yury Solovyov, VTB Capital's president and chief executive, said in an interview in Dubai.

Oksana Kobzeva reported on 18 March on ArabianBusiness that Russia's second largest bank VTB may become the country's first issuer of sukuk. VTB Capital and Liquidity Management House, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, on Wednesday signed a protocol of intention aimed at cooperating in the development of Islamic finance in Russia and other former Soviet countries.

VTB Capital is headed Yuri Solovyov