OREANDA-NEWS. On May 07-08, 2007 the Conference "Islamic Banking and Finance of Kazakhstan" was organized in Almaty by Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, Islamic Development Bank, JSC Bank TuranAlem under the patronage of the Agency on Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market and Financial Organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, National Bank of Kazakhstan, Agency on Regulation of Almaty Regional Financial Center and Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reported the press-centre of JSC Bank TuranAlem.


Representatives and experts from Islamic banks, Kazakh financial institutions, legal firms and governmental agencies took part in the conference. The idea of that event was preconditioned by an interest of financial institutions of Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the model of Islamic banking and prospects of its application.

Within two conference days the participants will discuss the following matters:
What is Islamic financing, what are its principles, what is the difference from traditional financing?
In what countries Islamic banking is used, how is it distributed in the world, comparative analysis of turnovers of Islamic banks and traditional banks?
Role and positions of Islamic banking in the banking sector.
Islamic banking regulation: law sources, methods, authorized bodies. Role of the Sharia Expert Board in Islamic financing.
Islamic banking practice in secular countries: description of demand at the market, description of carried out transactions and participants of current and potential transactions.
Instruments of Islamic financing: Murabaha, Gard Hasan, Idjara, Mudaraba, Musharaka, Sukuk. All stages and challenges of instruments’ realization. Islamic financing - market of syndications and bonds, trade finance according to Sharia principles.
To what extent Kazakh law is applicable to Islamic financing. Regulatory requirements. Prospects of development of some Islamic financing instruments adjusted for regulatory legislative restrictions.


Islamic financing is based on Sharia law. The distinguishing feature of the Islamic financing is that Sharia law does not allow to charge any interest under loans whether nominal, ordinary, compound, fixed or floating. To derive profit from lending, financial institutions must either have a sharing interest and fully go shares in risks and premiums or may participate in trade and derive profit from mark-up between self-cost of goods acquisition and sale price of goods. Only trade operations not related to financing of alcohol, cigarettes and guns can be financed according to Sharia law. Trade contracts must be based on fair principles and cannot suppose illegal benefication of any party that is a basis of any business in substance.