BANK KESHAVARZI IRAN

COUNTRY FOCUS: KAZAKHSTAN
NEWHORIZON January–March 2008
Astana,
Kazakhstan
©Iilya Postnikov
Dreamstime.com
establishment of a separate takaful
company or division. Aiman Mykhtibaeva,
chairperson of the board of BTA Life (a
member of the BTA Group, which also
incorporates BTA Bank) – a leading life
insurance company in Kazakhstan today –
explained: ‘Though there is a demand for
halal insurance products in the country,
especially in retail business, the local
regulatory framework and securities market
are still unavailable for full implementation
of the concept. Nevertheless, we are looking
into devising a Shari’ah-compliant product
that will operate on the principle of the
investment of insurance contributions based
on mudarabah concept.’ It is worth noting
that, at present, the insurance market in
Kazakhstan occupies a small portion of
the financial sector – thus, in 2007, the
insurance market ratio to GDP comprised
approximately 1.8 per cent.
As the country’s economy continues to
develop, the percentage of young practising
Muslims with higher economic and
technology education keeps growing and
so does the number of specialists with
professional experience in the financial
sphere. The Muslim population is eager
to work in accordance with their religious
beliefs, so it can be assumed that the
establishment of an Islamic bank or a
takaful company in Kazakhstan will not
face any problems with staff insufficiency.
Of course, further development of Shari’ahcompliant
banking and takaful significantly
depends on the modernisation of the
relevant legislation and how soon the
necessary amendments are adopted by
the parliament of Kazakhstan. But what’s
most important and reassuring is that the
country is already on the development
path. The foundation of the critical mass
required for successful growth and the
expansion of the Shari’ah-compliant finance
industry in Kazakhstan is already in full
swing.
BTA’s Islamic transaction wins the
‘Best Deal of the Year’ award
The Islamic Finance News has awarded BTA’s syndicated wakala facility the ‘Best Deal of the Year 2007 in Kazakhstan’. The key
reasons for the award were that the deal was the largest Islamic facility in the country and was the largest Islamic financial institution
syndicated deal outside the Middle East.
The transaction was launched in May 2007 for an amount of $150 million with syndication limited to a group of investors primarily
in the Middle East and Malaysia. It was so successful that BTA increased the facility amount to $250 million. The syndication closed
oversubscribed in July 2007. The facility tenure is two years, and its proceeds are used to finance BTA’s Islamic trade finance activities.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Barclays Capital and CIMB Bank were the principal agents of the transaction. A total of 14 financiers
joined the facility, with four being new players in Kazakhstan’s finance market. ADIB acted as Shari’ah advisor, documentation agent
and wakil (facility agent). The structure of the transaction was approved by ADIB’s Shari’ah & Fatwa Supervisory Board. Barclays
Capital acted as bookrunner, and CIMB as Malaysian roadshow arranger in connection with the facility. Allen & Overy, an
international law firm, provided legal advice.
28 IIBI
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