Page 11 - RusRPTAug24

bne August 2024 Companies & Markets I 11
“We all know Kazakhstan is the leader in Islamic finance in Central Asia, and we believe this relationship will form the anchor for the Eurasian Development Bank to act as a catalyst to spread Islamic banking and Islamic finance across various [parts of] Central Asia and beyond.”
Gradual development
While the IDB first became active in Central Asia in the 1990s, national governments in the region only started development of their banks in the late 2000s and 2010s.
Dalenov commented at a panel on Islamic finance at the bank’s business forum on the rapid growth expected in the global Islamic finance sector.
“Only electric cars has better development prospects,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that Islamic finance is still relatively small in Central Asia, where it accounts for less than 1% of the banking sector by assets. He noted the small number of banks and non-bank financial institutions, as well as the low awareness of the population, especially in rural areas.
Expanding Islamic finance in Central Asia would bring "new
investments, greater strength of the financial system and mobilisation of financial resources”, he added.
Kazakhstan’s Vice-Minister of Finance Dauren Kenbeil welcomed the EDB’s plans to open an Islamic window, telling the panel “it is very nice to see this sector is developing”.
Olzhas Kizatov, deputy chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, said Kazakhstan is currently reviewing legislation in cooperation with foreign partners, specifically with plans to enable conventional banks to open Islamic windows.
“Islamic banking is one of the priorities of the agency along with the government. That is why we will continue the work to develop Islamic banking,” he said.
Al Hilal bank was the first Islamic bank to launch in Kazakhstan back in 2009. Its deputy chairman Aidyn Tairov told the panel that after a slow start the bank is growing and has shown good profit lately.
Al Hilal’s entry to Kazakhstan was followed by the conversion of long-established Zaman-Bank to an Islamic bank in 2017.
Local, international and regional chains vie for Balkans’ expanding food retail market
Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Local, international and regional chains are vying for market share in the Balkans’ fast-growing food retail market.
As bne IntelliNews has reported, consumer markets in Southeast Europe are booming, in what is largely a catch-up story. As their populations gradually become more affluent, they are driving the kind of growth in retail and other consumer-oriented sectors seen in Central Europe a decade or so ago.
Romania, as the biggest country by far in terms of population and GDP, has long been home to International food retail chains. German retailers Lidl and Kaufland are the largest by market share, but other such as Delhaize Group’s Mega Image and France’s Auchan and Carrefour also have a presence.
Among the other countries in the region, the next in size
by population are Bulgaria and Serbia. Slovenia has a tiny population of just over 2mn but is the most affluent country in the region. At the other end of the scale, there are the relatively poor and very small markets such as Kosovo (1.8mn) and Montenegro (617,000).
However, spending power is steadily growing leading retailers to seek opportunities even in smaller markets.
Retailers in some countries also benefit from a bump in the summer months when millions of tourists descend on the Adri- atic and Black Sea coasts. In both Croatia and Albania, tourism accounts, directly and indirectly, for around a quarter of GDP.
After pan-European players initially came to Romania, they are now making inroads elsewhere.
Already established in larger markets, Lidl in particular is now targeting the smaller markets in the region.
There is clearly an appetite for the German retailer; a bne IntelliNews story reported that day trips to the Lidl store in Serbia’s Vranje had become popular in neighbouring North Macedonia.
Now North Macedonia is getting its own Lidl stores. Lidl started its expansion back in February 2021 with the estab- lishment of its corporate entity in the country. The retail giant later confirmed its plans for a flagship store in Skopje.
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