Vnesheconombank is exploring the opportunity of using Islamicfinance instruments

Speaking at a plenary session “New architecture of the World Economy: Prospects for Developing OIC Finance Industry in the Russian Federation” Sergei Gorkov stressed the importance of enhancing relations with the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for Russia and Vnesheconombank. And here he means above all investment cooperation and providing support for Russian industrial exports.

Sergei Gorkov: “Vnesheconombank is interested in developing competences in Islamic finance, sharing business experience in this area and using instruments of Islamic banking in the Bank’s activity. As a developing institution that invests in projects in the real economy, we embrace philosophy of the Islamic financial system which is based on asset-backing and refusal from unfounded capital gains. Even now weare working on the issues of using Islamic financing instruments to support export-import transactions and fund projects”.

Vnesheconombank is actively participating in ad hoc working groups under the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia. As part of this activity they discuss the need and ways of upgrading legislation in order to ensure the possibility of using instruments of Islamic finance in the Russian Federation.

Islamic finance is a systemof business transactions based on the principles of Shari'ah including refusal from lending rate and unfounded capital gains, it also provides for risk-sharing in a project for all parties to a transaction. Assets of the Islamic financial system exceeds 2 trillion US dollars. Islamic finance instruments are being widely used in the OIC countries (the Middle East and Malaysia are the world’s largest centers of Islamic banking). Such non-Islamic states as Great Britain, Luxemburg and France that are centers of international finance are also showing an interest in Islamic finance.