Kazakhstan is a leader in Islamic finance in Central Asia
Among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan occupies a leading position in the use of Islamic finance. 68 percent of all Islamic finance in the region is accounted for by this state, "Anadolu" agency reported.
Oljas Kizatov, Deputy Chairman of the Financial Market Regulation and Development Agency of Kazakhstan, said that the Islamic financial sector is expected to develop significantly in the country.
"For the development of Islamic finance, we plan to create an opportunity to carry out operations within the framework of Islamic windows created by classical banks and to transform an Islamic bank into a traditional bank," he explained.
Kizatov added that two Islamic banks are currently operating in the country.
Dr. Sami Al-Suwaylim, Director General of the Islamic Development Bank Institute, drew attention to the major economic crises faced by the world community in the last 30 years.
"These crises have shown that there are serious problems and shortcomings in the prevailing financial system. Therefore, people everywhere from the west to the east are looking for an alternative way. This is one of the important reasons for the growing interest in Islamic finance in the world," he said.
Al-Suwaylim noted the contribution of Islamic finance to the Central Asian region.
"One of the main goals of Islamic finance is to fight against poverty and serve the real economy. Central Asian countries have great resources and potential, economic opportunities in many fields. Therefore, we believe that Islamic finance will help the region to use its resources, unlock potential and create prosperity for all in the region," he said.
The share of Islamic finance, also known as partnership finance, reached 4 trillion dollars in the world market at the beginning of 2024, and the assets in the global banking sector reached 2%.
This is also evidenced by the report published by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).
Currently, Islamic banks are operating in more than 40 countries. The Islamic finance sector is actively developing in the countries of the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia, as well as in Europe and North Africa.
In Europe, Britain is a leader in honest financing. Here, the assets of the Islamic bank are 7.5 billion dollars.
In countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, the Islamic finance sector is just emerging.
The share of Islamic finance in these countries is from 0.2% to 1.5%, but experts note that there is a great potential for the development of Islamic finance in the countries of Central Asia and emphasize that this sector will grow in the future.
Ruslan Dalenov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Development Bank, told Anadolu Agency that according to estimates, the share of Islamic finance in the world will increase to 6.7 trillion dollars in 2027.
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