For the first time, Uzbekistan intends to allow companies in the country to issue bonds under Sharia law (sukuk bonds) in order to expand opportunities for market participants to attract additional capital, Kun.uz correspondent reports.

“I hope that Islamic bonds will be available next year in summer,” director of the Capital Markets Development Agency Atabek Nazirov said, answering a corresponding question from Kun.uz.

According to him, the Agency is expecting the arrival of the IDB mission, with the support of which the novelty will be introduced in the market of Uzbekistan. 

“The IDB mission will arrive next month. They will develop a product for us and will help determine what changes to the law we must make so that it is legally available,” Nazirov said.

At the same time, he emphasized that sukuk (the Islamic equivalent of a bond) will be very popular in Uzbekistan.

It should be noted that in 2018, the Ministry of Finance developed a draft presidential decree on measures to create the infrastructure of Islamic banking and finance in Uzbekistan. But it was not adopted. The document provided for development of a draft decision of the president on establishment of the Islamic Development Bank of Uzbekistan (IDBU).