CC BY
20
- the more consolidated synthesis of eastern and western original features was shaped;
- the development of the secular society was and remains at the higher level;
- the historic orientation of Azerbaijani modernization to cultural development, education and science is also quite peculiar to a large extent, creates a foundation for chances of Azerbaijan's passage to the post-modern stage of development.
"Ekonomicheskaya modernizatsiya Azerbaijana: Vyzovy i resheniya", M, 2010, p. 275-280.
R. Bekkin,
orientalist (the IOS of the RAS) ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE ISLAMIC BANKING SYSTEM IN KAZAKHSTAN
Only in the beginning of the 2000s the banks of Kazakhstan started to pay greater interest to Islamic financial services. The first experience of Islamic methods of financing in Kazakhstan took place in 2003, when "Bank Turan Alem" obtained and attracted to Kazakhstan the credit corresponding to the demands of shariat, based on murabakh mechanism. In total, the bank succeeded to receive $ 250 million. In 2006, the other banks of Kazakhstan - "Center Credit" and "Alliance Bank" - followed the example of BTA and availed themselves of the opportunity to get credits from Islamic banks.
By October 2009, "BTA Bank" occupied the second place in Kazakhstan in terms of assets' amount and continued to remain the leader for creating the banking system on the territory of the CIS countries. The network of the banks-partners of "BTA Bank" includes
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Kirghizstan and Turkey. The BTA offices function in Russia, Ukraine, China, UAE and the Great Britain. For the period of years before the crisis, about 25% of accumulated financial resources were used by the banks of Kazakhstan for expansion to the neighboring markets.
In 2008, the leadership of the bank projected to make it one of the biggest private banks in the CIS, but the world financial crisis corrected this project. In the beginning of 2009, the government of Kazakhstan accepted the proposal of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on regulation and control over the financial market and financial organizations concerning redemption of the controlling block of shares of "BTA Bank". At present, 81.5% of the bank's shares are held by the Foundation of National Welfare "Samruk-Kazyn", owned by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The bank continued functioning under operating conditions after the change of the shareholder. All projects, based on the Islamic financing methods, "BTA Bank" implemented jointly with the IBD and Islamic banks of the countries of the Persian Gulf. For instance, in August 2007 "BTA Bank" and IBD concluded a framework agreement on the financial support by "BTA Bank" of the projects in the sphere of small and middle business with the use of istisna mechanism. At the same time, "BTA Bank" and "Emirates Bank Group" signed the memorandum on cooperation. According to this memorandum, "BTA Bank" should promote Islamic financial products not only in Kazakhstan but also in other CIS countries.
For the period before the crisis, the Russian press not once published information on the intention of "BTA Bank" to enter the market in Russia proposing Islamic banking products. However, these proposals resembled rather a PR campaign than a thoughtful
plan on development of Islamic financial services in the post-Soviet space.
In Russia "BTA Bank" obtained big stocks of shares in "Volga-Kama Joint-Stock Bank" and in "Slavinvestbank". The latter in December 2007 started negotiations with some banks in Muslim countries of the East on syndicated credits and financing support by means of Islamic instruments, such as murabakh and sukuk. The main reason of the interest paid by the banks of Russia and Kazakhstan to Islamic financial products was as follows: the banks of the Near East and of the South-Eastern Asia, unlike the banks in the West, up to the beginning of the world financial crisis in 2008 demonstrated the excess of liquidity. Confronting the problem of financial shortage, the banks of Kazakhstan had to look for financing sources in the internal market and in the countries, which were not aware of the liquidity crisis. The second way was more preferable, since the amount of the resources, accumulated from physical and legal entities, turned out to be inadequate to satisfy the needs of the banks in capital.
The issue of preparation of the normative-legal basis, needed for development of Islamic banks, was settled in a maximum short period of time. On 12 February 2009, president N. Nazarbayev signed the law "On Additions and Amendments in Some Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Organization and Activities of Islamic Banks and for Arrangement of Islamic Financing". In accordance with this law, the changes and additions were made in the Civil Code, in the law "On Banks and Banking Activities", the Tax Code, the law "On Investment Foundations" etc. The unique feature of the situation was in the adoption of the law in time, when there were no Islamic banks and Islamic "windows" within the traditional banks in Kazakhstan. According to the law, the Islamic bank is "the bank of the second level, carrying out banking activities in compliance with the principles of
Islamic financing... on the basis of license, given by the authorized organ" (articlel, paragraph 2, point 2 of the law). It is mentioned in particular that the Islamic bank is not a participant of the system of the obligatory guarantee of the deposits and that the deposits in the Islamic bank are not guaranteed by the system of obligatory guarantee of deposits (article l, paragraph 2, point 2 of the law).
This article, like a number of other provisions of the law, makes it possible to assert that a dualistic model was actually realized in Kazakhstan.
In contrast to Russia and a number of other countries, where the Islamic banks have abstained from making a show of their essence, the law in Kazakhstan ensures that "the name of the Islamic bank should contain the wording "Islamic bank" (article l, paragraph 2, point 6 of the law). And what is more, it is prescribed that the Islamic banks should "clarify to the clients the specifics of the banking operations realized with compliance with the principles of Islamic financing" (articlel, paragraph 2, point l0 of the law).
The shariat council, called by the law as the Council for Principles of Islamic Financing, is the organ nominated by the general meeting of the shareholders of the bank according to the recommendation of the Council of directors or by the Council of directors according to the decision of the general meeting of the shareholders; the shariat council should be created to execute the control over compliance of the bank's activities with the principles of Islamic financing.
The Islamic banks should ensure for their clients transparency of the means applied by them. For instance, at the client's request "the Islamic bank shall submit its report on the use of money for the investment deposit".
The law considers in detail a number of main contracts practiced by Islamic banks: murabakha, musharaka, idjara etc. The terms, known in law of Kazakhstan, are used for definition of these contracts: murabakha is characterized in the law as an agreement on the commercial credit, idjara - as a lease (rent), musharaka - as an agreement on partnership etc.
Obviously, the adoption of this law creates more favorable conditions not only for the banks, which want to become Islamic banks, but also for traditional banks as receivers of financial means from foreign Islamic banks. Following adoption of the amendments in the legislation, the leadership of the country reckoned on the initiative for creation of the first national Islamic bank not only on the part of foreign Islamic banks but also on the part of local businessmen. However, the business community of Kazakhstan took a wait and see position. In full swing of the crisis there were not many businessmen, who were ready to take a risk and to experiment from null with a series of innovated banking products
As a result, a new bank - "Al-Khilal" from Abu-Dabi, founded on 18 June 2007, possessed by the Council for Investments at the government of this emirate, became the initiator of this process. On 17 March 2010, bank "Al-Khilal" (as a branch of this bank in the UAE) got the license for banking operations as an Islamic bank - according to the agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and the UAE, signed on 11 June 2009. As was expected, the bank concentrated its work in contacts with corporate clients. As far as the retail sector is concerned, the activities of the bank were reduced to operation services and deposit products for VIP clients. In the future, the bank intends to extend its sphere of retail banking products.
Evidently, existence of one Islamic bank is not a sufficient condition for a valuable development of the market of Islamic banking
services in the country. It should be supposed that for the nearest future the regulating organs will stimulate appearance of Islamic "windows" in traditional banks.
At the same time, even after creation of Islamic banks in the country the traditional banks in Kazakhstan will continue to act as loan-subscribers and obtain loans from the IBD and other Islamic banks. The cooperation with the IBD in the sphere of investments projects and trade financing promotes achievement of the task, set by the president of Kazakhstan in 2006 - to join the group of 50 most competitive countries of the world. The world financial crisis delayed the time of fulfillment of this objective. The large-scale devaluation of the national currency questioned fulfillment of the plans relating to the issue in Kazakhstan of Islamic securities nominated in tenge. In case of successful implementation of this project, Kazakhstan will have a fair chance to become the second country following Malaysia, where the IBD issued Islamic securities in the national currency.
For the time being, investors in Kazakhstan have to use Islamic structured bonds sukuk emitted by BNP Paribas in February 2009. The size of the three years accumulated sum of sukuk amounted for $ 20 million. The main minus of the indicated sukuk consists in the fact that they are issued for financing not the local but the foreign project connected with the group of several sovereign and corporate sukuk in Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE, while Kazakhstan itself is in a great need of investments. The ministry of finance of Kazakhstan projected to issue sukuk in the amount of $ 500 million.
In 2009, the first Islamic broker's company - a participant of the Regional Financial Center of Almaty (RFCA) - was registered by name "Fattakh Finance". In its turn, this company declared about creation of the first shareholders' speculative investment fund - "Islamic Foundation "Aman". In its investment strategy the foundation patterns
its behavior primarily on direct investments, particularly - investments in real estate and participation in the capital of companies in Kazakhstan.
"Islamskaya ekonomicheskaya model i sovremennost", M., 2010, p. 266-270.
Parag Hanna, political scientist (USA) KIRGHIZSTAN AND TAJIKISTAN: INDEPENDENT BUT POWERLESS
For an external observer most new countries after two decades of proclamation of their independence seem not to be excelled from each other. It does not matter, whether it refers to Kirghizstan or Tajikistan; these micro-states of the third world finally will be put under the imperial carpet, which implacably is being rolled out over the whole Central Asia. Being located in distant regions of the Central Asia, where the borders had been marked arbitrarily, they are not so much the states as the border zones between empires. Again, like a hundred years ago, "the Big Game" is being arranged at the peaks and in the shadows of Tyan-Shan and Pamir mountains.
Tyan-Shan mountain rage divides literally in two the Russified northern part of Kirghizstan and the densely populated southern cities Osh and Jalalabad, which belong to Islamic culture of Fergana valley, where they are located. Ten hours of difficult travel by mountainous routs separate the capital of Bishkek from the city of Osh. Kirghizstan as a stable and united country could be able to develop tourism near the borders of the lake Issyk-Kul. However, formerly closed for foreigners country will be most likely the picturesque pass in the restored "Silk
