Islamic finance Seminar held in Sberbank’s Tatarstan Office

The main branch office of Sberbank in Tatarstan was host to a seminar on the opportunities available for Tatarstan companies to attract Islamic finance. The seminar was organized by Sberbank, Abu Dhabi Investment Company, and the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.

Speakers at the seminar included Tatarstan Investment Development Agency (TIDA) Deputy Chief Executive Robert Galiullin, Deputy Managing Director of Sberbank Tatarstan Maryam Davletshina, Sberbank Middle East and North Africa Manager Maxim Osintsev, Executive Director – Treasurer of the Abu Dhabi Investment Company (InvestAD) Biswajit Dasgupta, and Advisor to the CEO of InvestAD Mikhail Davydov.

In opening remarks, TIDA Deputy Chief Executive Robert Galiullin underscored the importance of attracting Islamic investment to Tatarstan, noting that Kazan will host KazanSummit: International Economic Summit of Russia and OIC Countries on 2-3 October 2013. This event will bring together representatives of the regions, businessmen and entrepreneurs, and investors of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The bulk of the seminar was devoted to a lecture by Biswajit Dasgupta on the possibilities and requirements needed to attract Islamic finance. During this lecture, Biswajit Dasgupta also gave a general overview of the principles of Islamic finance, and explained the differences between Islamic finance instruments, among them sukuk, murabaha, ijara, istisna, musharaka, and mudaraba.

Advisor to the CEO of InvestAD explained to the audience gathered that they are actively exploring investment opportunities in Russia in conjunction with Sberbank. In December 2012, Sberbank and InvestAD signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with regards to investing in Russia and the Middle East. According to the document, the bodies will jointly provide their clients access to financial markets, private capital and trade financing. Both organizations also provide support and market research assistance to one another.

Closing the seminar, Maryam Davletshina reminded those gathered that Sberbank has considerable experience in financing investment projects and thanked the full auditorium for the interest they had shown in Islamic finance.

Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Press Service