The central Asian state of Tajikistan has decided to open its financial market to foreign banks, having kept them at arms length for years, in a move hailed by the World Bank. Central Bank chief Murodali Alimardonov said Tuesday the first operating licence was being awarded to the Kazakh bank Kazkommertsbank.
The World Bank welcomed the move, saying it was in line with the former Soviet republic's efforts to combat poverty. Under Tajik law foreign banks are authorised to work on the basis of their own capital and even to buy shares in local banks. But the central bank has refused to hand out licences for fear that the Tajik banks would be eaten up by bigger foreign banks.