ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 20. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has implemented its first project in Islamic financing, Trend reports via the bank.
Ruslan Dalenov, Deputy Chairman of the EDB, and Almas Abaideldinov, CEO of Istkomtrans, Kazakhstan’s private railway rolling stock operator, signed a Murabaha agreement. Murabaha is an Islamic financing tool involving a sales contract in which the price of goods includes an agreed-upon profit margin, with the customer paying in installments.
The financing will be used for the capital, depot, and current repairs of rolling stock at Istkomtrans, which will enhance the efficiency of freight transport, strengthen transportation connectivity, and improve logistics infrastructure in the region.
The EDB noted that this first Islamic finance project lays the foundation for expanding such practices within the bank’s operations and opens new opportunities for supporting key industries and infrastructure initiatives in the region.
The Eurasian Development Bank is a multilateral development bank focused on investment activities across the Eurasian space. As of July 2025, the EDB’s portfolio includes 319 projects with a total investment volume of $19.1 billion.
Istkomtrans is a private rolling stock operator in Central Asia and ranks among the top 50 largest private companies in Kazakhstan. It has offices in 11 cities across Kazakhstan and Russia and operates a fleet of more than 11,000 wagons.
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