The Turkish Council of Ministers has approved the agreement for the establishment of the Center of Islamic Financial Studies in Istanbul. Three weeks following the approval, the World Bank and Turkish government inaugurated the Global Center for Islamic Finance in Istanbul.
The center is a World Bank initiative designed to carry out activities as a hub for promoting and developing Islamic finance globally. Trainings and researches are the activities, which will be performed by the center. Technical assistance and consultancy services are also among to services that will be provided to World Bank Group client countries interested in developing Islamic financial institutions and markets.
On the occasion of the opening, Turkey’s deputy prime minister Ali Babacan stated that the center’s primary objective would be to share information regarding Islamic finance issues. He added that the center will play an active role strengthening the regulative and institutional structure on Islamic finance and providing unity in practice. World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said that the center is a symbol of the World Bank Group’s shared objectives of developing in Islamic finance and maximizing its contribution to poverty alleviation and shared prosperity in client countries.
Meanwhile the news from the Sukuk market in Turkey has been positive. The Turkish Treasury’s latest sovereign Sukuk issuance was afforded a ‘Baa3’ rating by Moody’s Investors Service.
Additionally, private sector companies have also expressed their intention to issue Sukuk certificates following the successful issuances by the Treasury. Turk Telekomunikasyon recently informed the Public Disclosure Platform that it had officially authorized Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, J.P. Morgan Securities and Standard Chartered Bank for its own issuance. The total amount will be a maximum of US$1 billion with a maximum 10-year maturity term.
Ali Ceylan is a partner at Baspinar & Partners Law Firm. He can be contacted at
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