IMAN Holding is forming a model of Islamic banking in Uzbekistan based on international standards and financing of the real sector. The company attracts private and institutional capital and directs it into trade, commercial real estate and operating businesses. Obtaining banking status закрепляет this model within the regulatory system and allows Islamic finance to be integrated into the main framework of the country’s financial market.
What is Islamic banking
Islamic banking is a system of financial services that operates in accordance with the norms of Islamic law. Its key difference from traditional banking lies in the prohibition of charging and paying interest (riba) and in the rejection of a guaranteed income model. Instead, Islamic banking offers the sharing of risks and profits between the bank and the client.
Within this system, money is not considered as an independent commodity that can generate income by itself. Income is permitted only if it is linked to real economic activity.
Therefore, Islamic banks participate in projects and transactions backed by tangible assets — goods, real estate, equipment or production capacities.
Another feature of Islamic banking is the joint participation of the bank and the client in the financial result. Profit is distributed in pre-agreed proportions, and possible losses are not shifted entirely onto one party.
Islamic banking is often referred to as ethical finance. Ethics are manifested in the very principles of financial operations. The bank does not earn from the client’s debt dependence, but participates in real projects and shares the financial outcome with them.
From the same principle follows the prohibition of operations associated with excessive uncertainty and speculation. Transactions based on gambling mechanisms, excessive risk or non-transparent conditions are not permitted, as they violate the balance of responsibility between the parties.
This model is complemented by strict ethical restrictions on financing types of activity that encourage antisocial behaviour and create long-term social and economic risks. Investments in alcohol, gambling, pornography, usury, and in some interpretations, in the production and trade of weapons, are considered unacceptable.
Islamic finance has long gone beyond a confessional model and has proven itself as an effective alternative financial architecture. It is successfully integrated into the financial systems of Europe, Asia and other regions. In 2020, London became one of the global leaders in the adoption of Islamic finance instruments into traditional banking and investment infrastructure.
Why Uzbekistan needs Islamic banking
For sustainable economic growth at the level of 6–7% per year, Uzbekistan’s economy requires a constant inflow of long-term private capital. Formally, the level of investment is already high and reaches 33–39% of GDP. However, a significant part of these funds is allocated to state and infrastructure projects and does not transform into the expansion of the private real sector, while the inflow of foreign direct investment remains at the level of 2–3% of GDP.
At the same time, there is «sleeping» investment capital within the country, but it still remains outside the investment framework. According to the Central Bank at the end of 2024, the volume of soum and foreign currency deposits of individuals amounts to about 160 trillion soums, or around $13 bn. In addition, Uzbekistan has a significant shadow sector, which reaches about 33% of GDP.
According to a United Nations Development Programme survey, around 70% of citizens of Uzbekistan do not use banking products because they contradict their religious beliefs, and 75% are ready to use Islamic financial services if they appear in the country.
Islamic financing makes it possible to reduce this institutional gap by offering the population an ethical and understandable investment model and directly linking the capital of retail investors with turnover and assets of the real economy.
Unlike the interest-based model, such instruments involve savings that were previously not used in the banking system and direct them into business and production, forming an additional source of long-term private capital. Bringing funds out of the shadow economy contributes to the formalisation of the tax base and growth of budget revenues.
In addition, the development of Islamic banking instruments in Uzbekistan creates an institutional corridor for attracting long-term capital from the dynamic Islamic finance market, which is currently estimated at $5.5 trillion and will reach $9–9.7 trillion by 2030.
According to forecasts by the Eurasian Development Bank, Islamic banking assets in the region may reach $2.5 bn by 2028 and nearly $6.3 bn by 2033. In Uzbekistan, provided a полноценной legal framework is formed, the volume of Islamic banking assets will grow to $1.1 bn by 2028 and to $2.4 bn by 2033.
Implementation of Islamic finance standards
IMAN Holding became one of the first in Uzbekistan to propose and practically test a clear and replicable model of Islamic financing. The company built a transparent structure of transactions, introduced uniform requirements for clients and standardised procedures, which reduced operational risks and increased trust from investors and partners.
The company has gone beyond the role of an individual market player and is actively shaping the institutional environment of Islamic finance in Uzbekistan — through the replication of working models, the introduction of unified standards and discussion of rules of interaction between investors, businesses and regulators.
The company’s significant contribution to this process is associated with the application of standards of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, which ensure unified rules for the operation of Islamic financial institutions. Their use makes IMAN Holding’s products comparable with practices operating in 30–40 Islamic jurisdictions worldwide and lays the legal foundation for Uzbekistan’s integration into the global Islamic finance system.
In order for the implementation of Islamic finance to be sustainable, IMAN Holding adapts AAOIFI standards to national legislation. The company’s experts participate in профильных working groups and commissions involved in forming the legal framework for regulating Islamic finance in Uzbekistan.
IMAN Holding pays special attention to building trust in new financial institutions. Since its foundation, the company has focused on educational and explanatory work: it conducts public lectures, participates in industry events, and uses digital channels and media formats to explain the principles of Islamic finance. Such work contributes to increased understanding and trust from businesses and private investors and forms a sustainable foundation for market development.
Attracting long-term investment
IMAN Holding is already attracting capital into Uzbekistan’s economy and directing it into real projects within the country. The company works with private and institutional investors, including high-net-worth clients. About 5% of IMAN Holding’s portfolio is formed by private investors. This area is under development: a separate team and infrastructure for working with large investments are being created.
The holding’s activities have been recognised at the international level: IMAN Holding entered the top 30 Islamic fintech companies according to Salaam Gateway and received awards from AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics and International Finance Corporation (Harvard University). IMAN Holding is also the first and only project from Central Asia that has attracted investment from the venture fund 500 Global.
An important step for IMAN was the entry into its capital of entrepreneur and developer Murad Nazarov, who increased his participation in managing the holding and became a member of the supervisory board. Another member of the supervisory board is Habibullo Ibragimov, Senior Vice President of Lesha Bank — a leading Islamic investment bank in Qatar with assets under management of more than $5 bn, and one of the key financial institutions in the region.
Thanks to this combination of local and international experience, IMAN accumulates resources and directs them into promising projects within Uzbekistan, expanding sources of financing for the country’s economy.
Creating new growth points in the real economy
At the current stage of Uzbekistan’s economic development, the key task remains the expansion of the productive base — sectors that create real output, employment and sustainable domestic demand. This logic is consistent with the principles of Islamic economics, in which the accumulation and creation of wealth are based on the real contribution of economic agents to the development of productive forces.
IMAN Holding builds its model around the redistribution of private capital into the real sector of the economy. The company’s investments are directed into trade, commercial real estate and operating businesses — segments that generate employment, domestic demand and the tax base. This approach links financial instruments not to the circulation of money as such, but to specific economic activity.
In the consumer segment, the company adheres to a restrained policy. Instalment plans are approved only if there is confirmed solvency, which makes it possible to limit the growth of household debt burden. At the macro level, this reduces the risks of overheating in consumer lending, which in recent years has become a noticeable source of imbalances in the economy.
A separate area is investment in commercial real estate. The office market of Uzbekistan faces a shortage of quality space, primarily in the A/A+ and B/B+ segments, which increases price pressure on businesses. Against the backdrop of declining vacancy and limited commissioning of new properties, rental rates are growing faster than the overall market, increasing companies’ operating costs and constraining the expansion of business activity. By the end of 2025, average rates increased by 7.1% year-on-year, and in the B/B+ segment — by more than 13% amid steady demand specifically for modern offices with high-quality fit-out.
In these conditions, IMAN Holding addresses a structural market problem by directing investment into the construction of new high-quality office real estate. Such projects not only expand the supply of in-demand space, but also create a multiplier effect — generating demand for construction materials, logistics, engineering and service activities, involving related sectors in economic activity.
Another important area of IMAN Holding’s activity is support for small and medium-sized businesses as the entrepreneurial foundation of the real economy. For traditional banks, this segment often proves insufficiently attractive due to margins, as well as sectoral, administrative and operational risks. Therefore, many entrepreneurs face limited access to capital.
Connection to the IMANUM platform allows companies to expand their client base through an audience oriented towards Islamic financial instruments. According to the service, this leads to an increase in turnover and average transaction value by an average of 30–40%. An additional factor is IMAN Holding’s participation in promoting partners and marketing activities. The platform cooperates with both large retail chains and mid-sized companies.
In addition, the holding is developing a format of direct investment into operating businesses. Work is currently underway to form a portfolio and investment model: financial models are being developed to assess project efficiency and mechanisms for profit distribution between participants are being refined. At the same time, IMAN Holding is conducting negotiations with potential projects for pilot launch — including in the education and trade sectors. About 5–10 initiatives are being considered that may be implemented in subsequent stages of platform development.
On the path to the first Islamic bank in Uzbekistan
In academic literature, Islamic banking is considered as a tool capable of serving as a foundation for economic development in various conditions, including supporting sustainable financial flows and reducing dependence on external shocks.
The strategic goal of IMAN Holding is to form a full-fledged banking model in Uzbekistan and Central Asia based on Islamic principles. Within this model, the company plans to develop two key areas — retail and investment banking.
In December, IMAN Holding received a microfinance organisation licence with subsequent transformation into a microfinance bank. Bank status allows the company to scale investment products, build a full compliance system and operate within a unified regulatory framework alongside other financial institutions.
In the retail segment, a basic set of products for private clients has already been formed: trade instalments, payments and money transfers. In the future, the product line will be expanded with car leasing and Islamic mortgages under the ijara model. When introducing car leasing products, priority will be given to financing electric vehicles and the most environmentally efficient transport, which reduces the carbon footprint and corresponds to ESG principles.
Investments in commercial real estate and trade finance create a foundation for the development of investment and private banking направления. In the near future, clients will have the opportunity to invest in the equity of real sector companies, as well as in IMAN Holding itself.
High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients will be offered tailored investment products, within which the company will take on asset management and investment сопровождение.
The Islamic bank of IMAN Holding will lay the foundation of a system of ethical finance in which banking activity is based on real assets, participation in risks and transparent rules. Such a model creates conditions for the redistribution of capital in favour of business and production and will contribute to sustainable economic growth.
