Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan is set to develop Islamic securities. Sardor Koshnavarov, a consultant for the National Agency for Perspective projects (NAPP), highlighted at the Cbonds conference in Tashkent that the new draft law "On the Capital Market" includes a dedicated chapter on Islamic securities.

According to Koshnavarov, the draft law is currently undergoing additional coordination with three ministries and agencies, following recommendations from the Ministry of Justice, including the Committee on Religious Affairs of Uzbekistan.

The document, which consists of 16 chapters and 127 articles, was developed with the assistance of experts from the Islamic Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and international law firms. Chapter eight of the law focuses on the regulation of Islamic financing.

"New financial instruments, previously unavailable in Uzbekistan, will be introduced. Once the law is enacted, organizations will be able to issue such securities. A mechanism for a specialized Islamic financial company, which will act as the issuer, will also be established. Additionally, a practice of obtaining opinions from a specialized board on Islamic financing standards will be implemented," Koshnavarov noted.

He explained that the initiative to introduce Islamic securities did not come from consultants or regulators but was driven by requests from several brokers and issuers seeking instruments that comply with Islamic financing standards and principles.

"We are responding to market demands and its participants, which is why we prepared the draft law in line with these requests," added the NAPP consultant.