The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and Asia Alliance Bank have signed a US$10mn agreement aimed at boosting support for importers and exporters in Uzbekistan.

The facility is targeted at companies in Uzbekistan’s private sector and has a specific focus on SMEs, ITFC says.

It will cater to the import and pre-export financing needs of these companies and is being extended under a murabaha structure that adheres to Shariah financing principles, the lender adds.

The deal grows ITFC’s backing for Asia Alliance Bank to a total of US$19mn, “reflecting our longstanding commitment to fostering economic growth and development in the country”, says Nazeem Noordali, the ITFC’s chief operating officer.

The ITFC has rapidly grown its exposure in Uzbekistan since the country joined the multilateral bank in 2019.

Late that year the ITFC made its first sovereign deal with the Central Asian country, lending US$50mn to a state fund to provide financing for cotton farmers to purchase fertiliser and petrol.

In early 2022, the trade finance provider – which is part of the wider Islamic Development Bank Group – extended a US$15mn facility to Uzbekistan’s Invest Finance Bank for private sector lending.

In total, ITFC has now provided over US$420mn in trade finance lines to a dozen banks in Uzbekistan.