The fact that there are no Islamic banks in Russia makes the Russian market attractive for Islamic finance. That is why the Islamic finance will certainly find its niche on the financial market in Russia. This opinion was expressed by Mr. Abdulrahman Shehab, Senior Vice President of the biggest international Islamic Bank of Al Baraka Banking Group.
The fact that there are no Islamic banks in Russia makes the Russian market attractive for Islamic finance. That is why the Islamic finance will certainly find its niche on the financial market in Russia. This opinion was expressed by Mr. Abdulrahman Shehab, Senior Vice President of the biggest international Islamic Bank of Al Baraka Banking Group.
“Taking into consideration the high share of Muslim population, we think that Russia is a prospective market for Islamic banking operations”, said Mr. Shehab.
The main obstacle for Islamic finance development in Russia, according to Mr. Shehab, is the time needed for a banking license acquisition, which is two or three years. «This is a very long time period. Russian government should create legislative conditions to attract Islamic investors, as it was made in the United Kingdom, Singapore and some Arabic countries – Lebanon, Syria and others”, he mentioned.
«Islamic banks as any other financial organization are interested in good international business-projects. Russia is one of the perspective markets in this respect”, Mr. Shehab added. “Cooperation with Russia in many areas, including extraction and exploration of commercial minerals, can be helpful in establishing stable relationship between Islamic banks and Russia”.
When asked which area is more attractive for foreign investors in Russia, the Al Baraka representative answered: «Firstly, it is Islamic banking, secondly – exploration of natural resources».
Islamic-Finance.ru based on materials of IslamRF