business and economy
UAE-based Islamic bank to open shop in Kazakhstan
(SRI) - Abu Dhabi’s government-owned Al Hilal Bank plans to set up an Islamic bank in Kazakhstan, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The bank will be headquartered in Kazakhstan’s financial capital Almaty and will open in the second half of 2009 with an initial capital of USD27 million, Reuters reported.
“It will be (one of) the first Islamic bank in Kazakhstan, which has a majority Muslim population,” Reuters quoted the bank’s chairman Ahmed Ateeq al-Mazrouei.
Hilal’s move into Kazakhstan comes at a time when the malaise infecting conventional markets may be spreading to the Islamic finance market, which until now has been relatively shielded from the effects of the slowing global economy.
The bank has reportedly no other foreign expansion plans in 2009 except for Kazakhstan. There, it plans to open a branch in Astana and potentially expand to other cities if there is enough demand for its services.
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