Azernews.Az

The Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank's private sector arm, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is ready to buy up to 33 per cent of the equity of the first Islamic insurance company, Takaful, being established in Azerbaijan, head of division for Eastern Europe & CIS Coverage and Partnerships Department in the CIS, Murad Yandiyev, told Trend news agency.

Negotiations to establish an insurance company in Azerbaijan were conducted with Amrahbank.

"From our side there is approval for the opening of the insurance company with a capital of five million manat (about $6.2 million), but the process is sluggish from the Azerbaijani side, Yandiev said.

These companies are very popular in Europe, particularly Britain. Today, the countries of Europe and Central Asia are considered experts in the field of Islamic finance as the most promising in terms of development of Islamic insurance. In countries where the Islamic insurance market is the most developed, many of the clients of Takaful institutions are non-Muslims.

He noted that it will be the first insurance company of the ICD in the CIS. Up till now the ICD created investment and leasing companies and Islamic banks. Caspian International Investment Company (CIIC) and leasing company Ansar Leasing are also operating in Azerbaijan with its participation.

"Currently, we are creating a leasing company in Kazakhstan and we have Islamic banks in the Maldives and Africa," Yandiev said.

The Islamic Corporation for Private Sector Development was established by the Islamic Development Bank board of directors at the bank's annual general meeting held in Jeddah in 1999. The head office is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The bank's mandate is to support economic development in member countries through private sector development by providing finance for private sector projects in accordance with the principles of Shariah.