Mr Ayman Amin Sejiny, the CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (www.ICD-idb.org), and Mr Sakhi Annaklichev, the Chairman of the Management Board of Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank (JSCB), signed a USD 25 Million Shari’ah-compliant Line of Financing Agreement which will be utilized by JSCB to local finance private sector businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The ICD, the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG), extended its third Line of a Financing facility to JSCB with the aim of promoting Islamic finance, improving financial inclusion and supporting private sector development in Uzbekistan.
On this occasion, Mr Sejiny commented that: “This Line of Financing facility will be utilized by Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank to support economic activities and recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond”. He added: “SMEs have a crucial role to play in a country’s growth and development. ICD is now focusing on increasing access to Islamic finance by channelling funds to established financial institutions in its member countries”.
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Mr Sakhi Annaklichev, Chairman of the Management Board of JSCB praised the quality of the partnership between the two institutions. Mr Sakhi stated: “In fact, the bank benefited from the first line (USD 12 million) from ICD in 2009 and the second line (USD 6 million) in 2002. The lines enabled the bank to support several SMEs by financing projects in various vital sectors such as production, agriculture, construction, and transport. Mr Annaklichev added: “We thank ICD for extending this facility in challenging times caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic when banks need to support their clients, especially SMEs”.
Since its inception and as a testament to ICD’s firm commitment to developing the private sector within its member countries, ICD has extended Line of Financing facilities to several financial institutions in Uzbekistan for the development of the private sector agencies.
