MEDIA CENTER

Building a new era of Islamic Leasing

Kazakhstan based Al Saqr Finance has announced today that it has engaged Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), a GCC based Shari’a Advisor focused on Shari’a Certification and Shari’a Audit solutions for the asset management, banking and insurance industries, to help Al Saqr Finance achieve Shari’a Compliance in its business activities.

“Providing flexible, efficient and innovative leasing solutions are critical components of what we offer to our clients,” said Nurzhan Slamkulov, Chairman of Al Saqr Finance. “The introduction of Sharia compliant facilities is another demonstration of our commitment to better serve our clients.” He continues, “Over the years, we have been making similar investments in strengthening domain capabilities for value based transformation experiences and long-term leasing management. We expect these investments to help Al Saqr Finance further increase its market success and presence as a provider of wide range of Islamic products in 2016 and beyond.”

As one of the largest leasing services companies, Al Saqr Finance is committed to making its Sharia compliant programs work for customers and clients. Through creative solutions it provides individuals, small businesses and commercial customers across Kazakhstan new and better ways to manage their financial leases. Al Saqr Finance has been doing business in Kazakhstan for more than 15 years when it was founded in 2000 and now it is one of the largest leasing companies in Kazakhstan, it is considered as one of the pioneers of leasing in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to ranking of RA “Expert RA Kazakhstan” Al Saqr Finance annually enters in the TOP-5 of leasing companies by amount of new financing.

Al Saqr Finance projects in the real economy sector for renovation, modernization and expansion of fixed assets. Al Saqr Finance has 3 domestic offices and approximately 240 clients. Its regional network includes representations in Almaty, Astana and Atyrau.

Duman Nurbayev, Managing director of Al Saqr Finance adds, “Al Saqr Finance is going to be the first leasing company in Kazakhstan to be fully converted into Sharia compliant activities. Moreover, we are planning to be the first company in the CIS region which will be providing a wide range of Islamic Financial products and services, thereby becoming a unique Islamic Financial Investment organization. I am extremely hopeful that our efforts to supporting growth with Islamic leasing’s will endure; they underline Al Saqr’s commitment to Kazakhstan and acknowledge our competitive advantage in the Leasing sector.” Speaking about the assignment of SRB, he states, “We are excited about the engagement. Together, they will support our vision of being a world-class organization by introducing best practices in Islamic finance and offering valuable expertise in the areas of product structuring, Sharia Consultation and Certification.”

SRB has been at the forefront of Shari’a Advisory for more than a decade. Today, SRB leads in providing Shari’a certification, Islamic product structuring and Shari’a Audit services to the GCC and international financial institutions, asset management power houses, data intelligence, and to major corporations, insurance firms, and alternative wealth management organizations.

Yasser S. Dahlawi, CEO at SRB, comments, “Our establishment is a trusted partner to clients worldwide seeking to attain Shari’a compliance in their products.” Yasser confirms that Islamic financial services around the world and more specifically in the Middle East have been growing steadily. He states: “We are having a sweet moment in terms of companies from multiple industries seeking Shari’a compliant transactions to expand their investor base.” Commenting on the new engagement, Yasser adds “Al Saqr Finance is considered as a leader in leasing solutions and also has a great reputation in Republic of Kazakhstan. We look forward to serving their Shari’a compliance needs with distinction.”

Managing relationships and keeping institutional clients updated on the Shari’a compliance health of their organizations and products can be challenging for a Shari’a Advisory platform headquartered in Bahrain. But in recent months, SRB has been growing progressively, with clients from US, UK, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong and Australia. The strategy of the company remains ambitious both in terms of scholarly expertise development and international business expansion.

Commenting on the assignment, Mansoor M. Ahmed, Assistant General Manager of SRB states “Our geographic footprint is becoming more and more attractive to organizations seeking Shari’a Compliance. Being the lead runners of outsourcing functions of Shari’a Certification and Shari’a Audit we have come to apply existing know-how in completely unexpected and exciting ways. Our multi-sector product Certification and development consultancies all under a single roof has become quite a hit with our existing client base.”

Mansoor added that “With our long history of working with institutional systems and facilities from almost all sectors of the financial industry we are pleased to have formed this important relationship with Al Saqr Finance.”