Tatarstan attaches great importance to Islamic banking and is ready to become a pilot region of the experiment in this area in Russia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Midhat Shagiakhmetov told RIA Novosti.
Earlier Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said he hoped the law on legalization of Islamic banking in Russia would be adopted at the fall session of the State Duma. He said Dagestan and Chechnya are being discussed as pilot regions, but Tatarstan and Bashkiria are showing great interest and activity. According to Aksakov, these regions should also be included in the experiment on Islamic banking, which may start as early as 2023.
"The Republic of Tatarstan has been paying great attention to the development of Islamic financing for many years. Practical results have been achieved. Projects related both to provision of financial services and attraction of funds on the principles of partnership finance are implemented," Shagiakhmetov said.
Among such projects he mentioned purchasing cars, equipment and real estate, investment of funds for business development and a number of others.
The vice premier of Tatarstan reminded that starting 2009, the republic has been annually hosting the international economic summit Russia - Islamic world: KazanSummit, where issues of Islamic banking are considered and discussed, agreements are concluded, and interaction with the Islamic world is built.
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov heads the GSV Russia - Islamic World.
"Tatarstan is ready to share its accumulated experience and become a pilot region for the implementation of Islamic banking," Shagiakhmetov stressed.
Islamic finance is an ecosystem that includes, in addition to banks, a specialized insurance market (takaful) and the market of a whole class of Islamic finance instruments (sukuk), similar to securitization instruments, Timur Iskandarov, director of ACRA group of project and structured finance ratings explained earlier to RIA Novosti. The advantages of Islamic banking include social orientation and closeness to the concept of sustainable development.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo:Evg Klimov/Unsplash
Based on materials from RIA Novosti