Debut Sukuk Issuance for the Northern Gates Industrial Park Announced in Kazan
Debut Sukuk Issuance for the Northern Gates Industrial Park Announced in Kazan
22 May
Plans for the debut issue of Islamic bonds — sukuk — were unveiled at the XVII International Economic Forum "Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum". The bonds are intended to attract investment for the construction of the "Northern Gate" Industrial Park production complex in Kazan.
The financing amounts to more than 3.5 billion roubles, with a two-year maturity. The transaction is structured on trust management principles and complies with both Russian law and Shariah standards.
The parties to the financing agreement are the state development corporation VEB.RF — which signed a co-operation agreement with the Government of Tatarstan in May 2025 in the field of partnership finance — and "Alabuga Development" company.
The project carries strategic significance: it not only tests the partnership finance instrument but also lays the groundwork for a new segment of the Russian capital market. Roman Amirkhanov, Deputy Minister of Economy of Tatarstan and Head of the Department of Socio-Economic Monitoring, stressed that the aim is to create a model for attracting long-term investment capital on partnership principles.
Konstantin Vyshkovsky, Deputy Chairman of VEB.RF, noted that the use of sukuk will help draw in investors from friendly countries. According to him, the development institution is keen to expand the range of debt instruments that can bring new categories of investors into Russian projects — with both risks and economic returns shared.
Anton Fomin, Vice President and Manager of Gazprombank's Kazan branch, expressed the hope that the sukuk will serve as a foundation for establishing a partnership finance hub in the capital of Tatarstan. He is confident that the instrument will attract interest from both corporate and private investors, given the region's considerable investment potential.
Denis Shulakov, First Vice President of Gazprombank, estimates the potential sukuk market in Russia at between 700 billion and 2–3 trillion roubles. Alexey Rudenko, Executive Vice President and Head of the Debt Market Instruments Department at Gazprombank, added that the "partnership" bonds will be accessible to all categories of investors.
Northern Gate is a project of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Kazan. Total investment in the industrial park is expected to reach 88 billion roubles. Taliya Minullina, Head of the Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan, reported that the project has been verified by the National Bank, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, and other financial organisations involved in the transaction. According to Taliya Minullina, this is the first ever precedent for Islamic bonds in Russia — the deal is structured in accordance with Shariah principles, but without recourse to external Islamic finance.
This unique pilot project opens up opportunities for the development of partnership finance in Russia and could become the starting point for the emergence of a full-fledged market for regular sukuk issuance.
Photo: Press Service of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan
The financing amounts to more than 3.5 billion roubles, with a two-year maturity. The transaction is structured on trust management principles and complies with both Russian law and Shariah standards.
The parties to the financing agreement are the state development corporation VEB.RF — which signed a co-operation agreement with the Government of Tatarstan in May 2025 in the field of partnership finance — and "Alabuga Development" company.
The project carries strategic significance: it not only tests the partnership finance instrument but also lays the groundwork for a new segment of the Russian capital market. Roman Amirkhanov, Deputy Minister of Economy of Tatarstan and Head of the Department of Socio-Economic Monitoring, stressed that the aim is to create a model for attracting long-term investment capital on partnership principles.
Konstantin Vyshkovsky, Deputy Chairman of VEB.RF, noted that the use of sukuk will help draw in investors from friendly countries. According to him, the development institution is keen to expand the range of debt instruments that can bring new categories of investors into Russian projects — with both risks and economic returns shared.
Anton Fomin, Vice President and Manager of Gazprombank's Kazan branch, expressed the hope that the sukuk will serve as a foundation for establishing a partnership finance hub in the capital of Tatarstan. He is confident that the instrument will attract interest from both corporate and private investors, given the region's considerable investment potential.
Denis Shulakov, First Vice President of Gazprombank, estimates the potential sukuk market in Russia at between 700 billion and 2–3 trillion roubles. Alexey Rudenko, Executive Vice President and Head of the Debt Market Instruments Department at Gazprombank, added that the "partnership" bonds will be accessible to all categories of investors.
Northern Gate is a project of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Kazan. Total investment in the industrial park is expected to reach 88 billion roubles. Taliya Minullina, Head of the Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan, reported that the project has been verified by the National Bank, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, and other financial organisations involved in the transaction. According to Taliya Minullina, this is the first ever precedent for Islamic bonds in Russia — the deal is structured in accordance with Shariah principles, but without recourse to external Islamic finance.
This unique pilot project opens up opportunities for the development of partnership finance in Russia and could become the starting point for the emergence of a full-fledged market for regular sukuk issuance.
Photo: Press Service of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan
