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Islamic-finance.ru editorial had interviewed Mr. Linar Yakupov the General director of IFC Linova few questions about the results of the official visit of the delegation of Tatarstan headed by the President of the republic Rustam Minnikhanov to Malaysia on December 14-15, 2010.

Islamic-finance.ru editorial had interviewed Mr. Linar Yakupov the General director of IFC Linova few questions about the results of the official visit of the delegation of Tatarstan headed by the President of the republic Rustam Minnikhanov to Malaysia on December 14-15, 2010.

Islamic-finance.ru: Could you tell us about meetings held in Malaysia, and negotiations on the upcoming KAZANSUMMIT 2011?

Mr. Linar: We had a meeting with the authorities of the Central Bank of Malaysia and Malaysian International Islamic Financial Center, during which Mr. Rustam Minnikhanov the President of Tatarstan Republic personally invited them to participate in the upcoming KAZANSUMMIT 2011. They are aware very much about it and expressed their strong desire to participate in upcoming event.

During the talks, President of the Republic of Tatarstan put forward the idea of organizing in Tatarstan, within the framework of KAZANSUMMIT, a special workshop for regulators, finance ministries and national banks of Russian Federation and other countries on the subject of Islamic finance and banking regilations.

Another fruitful meeting was held with the representatives of DRB-HICOM, a group of companies which operates in 3 different areas: automobile industry, real estate and financial services. In financial services, they are the majority shareholders of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad the second largest Islamic Bank in Malaysia. Top management of this bank, which was also present during the meeting expressed their strong desire to participate and support KAZANSUMMIT 2011.

Islamic-finance.ru: Such a large-scaled event as KAZANSUMMIT, requires extensive preparations and considerable financial expenses. Were any negotiations on the possible sponsorship of the event held during the visit?

Mr. Linar: Bank Muamalat, as we’ve said, showed its readiness not only to take part in the summit, but also to give to the event a certain degree of financial support. In addition, among our reliable partners at the upcoming summit, traditionally, will be Amanah Raya Berhad and Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad and some other international institutions.

Islamic-finance.ru: We know that on Dec. 15, 2010 the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, IFC Linova and two other companion signed a MoU issuing a sovereign sukuk for the Republic of Tatarstan. What's the next step on this project?

Mr. Linar: According to an MoU, in upcoming 3 months, Kuwait Finance House, Amanah Raya Investment Bank and IFC Linova will conduct feasibility study on the issuance of sukuk for Tatarstan. Hopefully, results of the study will allow us to proceed with the first issuance of sukuk in Russian Federation.

For information:

* Kuwait Finance House was established in Kuwait in 1977. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has emerged as one of the leading Islamic banks in the world. KFH has business operations in Bahrain, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia as well as affiliates in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bangladesh.

Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad (KFHMB) is the first foreign Islamic bank that was granted a licence under the Islamic Banking Act (Malaysia) 1983. A wholly-owned subsidiary of KFH, the move to set up an office in Malaysia was on the heels of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM's) decision to open up the country's Islamic banking industry to qualified foreign players as recommended under its Financial Sector Master Plan

Today KFH offer a complete range of Shariah-based financial products and services under Corporate and Investment, Commercial, and Retail and Consumer Banking as well as Treasury and International Business.

** Amanah Raya Investment Bank is a subsidiary of Amanah Raya Berhad. Amanah Raya Berhad founded on May 1, 1921 is the market leader in providing asset management and legacy services related to wills. The company currently has 19 branches throughout Malaysia. The company's headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Since December 2003, the chairman of the board is Dato Haji Ahmad Dusuki.

The company's revenues in 2007 amounted - $183.97 million, $157.46 million - in 2008. Employees - 700.

As trustee and administrator, AmanahRaya's services encompass the legal, financial and administrative duties in preparing trust documents and wills, acting as trustees of trust funds, acting as administrators and executor of deceased estates as well as monitoring the transaction of unit trust funds under our care.