BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 18
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
The development of Islamic finance is in its initial stages in Uzbekistan, CEO of HF Corporation, Hussain Farooq told Trend in interview.
“Uzbekistan - with a population of some 33 million people and its historic Islamic roots - has a huge potential for Islamic financial solutions. Unlike conventional banking which is motivated by profit, Islamic finance is built on humanistic goals. This mode of financing can uplift SMEs and help the country in achieving its sustainable development goals,” Farooq said.
However, according to him, the development of the Islamic finance sector is at its early stages in the country.
CEO of HF Corporation stressed that once a regulatory framework for Shari'ah (Islam's legal system) compliance will be in place, one can expect a decent number of Islamic financial institutions and related service providers to enter the Uzbek market owing to its potential.
“According to our information, the laws in Uzbekistan allow foreign banks to establish subsidiaries and become shareholders in Uzbek banks. Having been connected to the real estate sector, we would very much like to play a role in the real estate- home-financing in Uzbekistan in line with the principles of Islamic finance such as diminishing Musharakah (partnership structure in Islamic finance in which partners share in the profits and losses of an enterprise),” noted Farooq.
In his words, HF Corporations strives to provide a platform that will bring together the investors, Shari'ah scholars and other like-minded people in order to provide a wide range of Islamic financial solutions to the people of Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan Islamic Finance company is a brainchild of mine, which is yet to be established as a financial advisory firm in Uzbekistan. We will wait for an appropriate time to register and launch ourselves in Uzbekistan,” stated Farooq.
He expects Uzbekistan to be a very promising market for Islamic finance, and it might also be able to draw the attention of international investors and foreign institutions.
“We are monitoring the progress for the development of the regulatory framework for Islamic finance in the country and, we expect 2021 to be the year we will start working in Uzbekistan,” he stated.
HF Corporation is primarily active in the international real estate, investment, and immigration sectors in different countries, including Turkey and Pakistan. The Pakistani company has a special interest in Islamic finance and endeavor to work within the parameters defined by it.
As CEO of the company noted, HF Corporation aims to develop and promote Shari'ah-compliant financial solutions for the people of Uzbekistan, once the regulatory framework has been put in place in the country.
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