The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector ( ICD ), IDB Group's private sector arm, and the Halk Bank of Uzbekistan have signed a line of financing agreement aiming at allocation of a $15 million Shariah-compliant Line of Financing (LOF) facility to the bank to finance eligible small and medium enterprises (SME) in Uzbekistan. This facility is part of the $50 million SME line of financing facility approved in 2013 which brought total amount of LoF facilities to $133 million approved by ICD for Uzbekistan since 2007.

Through this agreement, ICD will expand further its investments into the SME industry of Uzbekistan and contribute to further development of the Islamic banking and finance in the country. Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO and general manager of the ICD, has welcomed the signing of this agreement that aims to support the SME sector in Uzbekistan and also to provide a better access to finance for local SMEs. Nodir Nazarov, chairman of Halk Bank, thanked the ICD and reaffirmed his full dedication to invest ICD Line of Financing facility into the SME sector, one of the main drivers of the country's economic development.

ICD is a multilateral organization and a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group established in 1999 with a paid-up capital of $2 billion. The mandate of ICD is to support economic development and promote the development of the private sector in its member countries through providing financing facilities and/or investments which are in accordance with the principles of Shariah. ICD also provides advice to governments and private organizations to encourage the establishment, expansion and modernization of private enterprises.

Halk Bank is a 100 percent state-owned Joint Stock commercial bank which has been operating in Uzbekistan since 1995. The bank's principal activities are commercial and retail banking operations. The bank's capital reached $102 million while its assets grew to $1.1 billion. The bank is expanding its investment operations to meet the banking needs of its growing client base.