Kyrgyz government approves projects on introduction of Islamic Sukuk

The Kyrgyz government approved the project on introduction of Sukuk, State Secretary Abduhalik Shamshiyev said at the board meeting of the State Service for Financial Market Regulation and Supervision.

Kyrgyzstan, is located in Central Asia and Islam is the dominant religion with 80% of the population being Muslim.

International law firm Simmons & Simmons and the Kyrgyz Republic signed an agreement in May 2014 to provide consultancy services for the development of laws and regulations, supporting the introduction of Takaful (Islamic insurance) and Sukuk (Islamic securities) in the Kyrgyz Republic. The consultancy services to be provided by Simmons & Simmons were funded under a technical assistance grant provided by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The former Soviet republic expects to expand Islamic finance to help attract foreign investment, Tayirbek Sarpashev, First Vice Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, said in a statement at the time.

Kyrgyzstan’s per capita gross domestic product is about $1,300, or just a tenth of that in oil-rich neighbour Kazakhstan.