AIFC’s authority becomes full member of Islamic Financial Services Board

ASTANA. KAZINFORM The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) announced that it has been accepted as a full member of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the press service of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) says. 

Membership of the IFSB underpins one of the AIFC's objectives to become a centre for Islamic Finance in Eurasia. The AFSA's full membership was approved together with the Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia. Full membership is only available to the financial sector supervisory authority of each sovereign country.

Membership of the AFSB is recognition that the AFSA will play a leading role in the development of the Islamic Finance industry in Eurasia and permits the AFSA to be part of a respected international Islamic organization with the broadest stakeholders represented in the Islamic financial services industry. 

Full membership permits the AFSA to participate in global Islamic events, receive technical assistance; participate in the development of prudential standards and attend seminars and conferences that have special membership status.

The AFSA applies international standards across a broad range of financial services including Islamic finance. To support its commitment to maintain international standards the AFSA recently became a member of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

The AFSA's membership of the IFSB and AAOIFI will enable it to establish an environment that delivers fair and transparent Islamic financial and capital markets, in which individuals and institutions act with integrity and are trusted.

The AFSA's membership to the IFSB and AAOIFI will also facilitate the development of the Islamic Financial Services industry in Kazakhstan and Eurasia which will have position implications for Kazakhstan's economy.

To date, the 185 members of the IFSB consist of 75 supervisory and regulatory agencies from the banking, capital markets and Islamic Finance (takaful) sectors from 57 jurisdictions, as well as eight international inter-governmental organisations, and 102 market players (financial institutions, professional firms, industry associations and stock exchanges.

Recall that in December 2015, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Constitutional law "On the Astana International Financial Centre" (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to form a leading international centre of financial services. For the first time in post-Soviet region Common law framework will be introduced in the AIFC. English shall be the official language of the AIFC.