An extended meeting of the AIFC Council was held in Nur-Sultan at the Astana Finance Days international conference. During the opening speech, President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev noted that the AIFC is not only a territory with a special status in Nur-Sultan, but also a centre of competence, the development of a green economy and Islamic finance.
“We achieved all this not only through internal efforts, but also with the support of the international community and foreign partners. Over the year since the official launch of the AIFC, it rose by 37 positions, reaching 51st place in the global index of financial centres. Nur-Sultan has a leading position in Eastern Europe, Central Asia. For the successful work of the centre, all the conditions and infrastructure have been established. Now we need practical results," he said.
In turn, the head of the AIFC, Kairat Kelimbetov, said that over the last year about 200 companies had registered in the centre.
“We hope to become one of the pillars on the capital market. We are focused on three markets, including the EAEU, Central Asia and the One Belt, One Way initiative. In the future, the centre plans to develop green and Islamic finance, financial technologies. We are currently working with the government so that we have direct flights to Tokyo, Singapore, and Shanghai, and this will connect us with the world's large global financial centres," he said.
The EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti noted that the bank intends to assist Kazakhstan in further development of technologies and finance. His colleague, the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Bandar Hajjar, said that since the beginning of its work in Kazakhstan, the bank’s portfolio has grown to $1.5 billion due to investments in various sectors of the economy.
"Kazakhstan is considered a country with good potential in the development of Islamic infrastructure. We will work to promote our instruments to the capital markets of Central Asia so that investors can use them. The AIFC can become a trusting partner to attract investors from all over the world to Islamic finance," he continued.
The representative of Polymetal International, Igor Finogenov, shared the results of placement at the AIFC.
"On April 17, our shares were included in the official list of the stock exchange. At the end of trading, the volume of placement amounted to 1.69 million units for more than $17 million. The demand for shares exceeded the offer more than twice. The results exceeded our expectations, especially since this is the first experience of placing a private company on this exchange. We believe that AIX will become a place of attraction for investors from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and China," he explained.
A representative of the Russian company added that Kazakhstan accounts for 38% of Polymetal's geological reserves, or more than 9 million ounces of gold. In 2018, the company's Kazakh assets produced more than 7 tonnes of gold.
"With the Kyzyl deposit reaching its full design capacity, the production volume of the group of companies in the next three years will increase to 15 tonnes of gold per year. What do we see as the benefits of placing on the AIFC stock exchange? Kazakhstan has all the conditions for investors to see where their money go. Pension funds, insurance companies and banks show stable growth every year. Today, when there is a clear process of enclosing Western financial markets and trying to act non-market methods, we pay attention to Kazakhstan, which silt of its geopolitical location and we see an attractive market," Finogenov said.
President of Kazakhstan noted that Nur-Sultan is gradually becoming an international financial centre, recognisable on the world map.
"The capital becomes the main locomotive of the country. As a result of the work of the AIFC, Nur-Sultan has already become the leader of the region in Central Asia and even outside the region, in Eastern Europe, on the global financial centre market. Leading architects have created a unique look of the city. Now it's time for the world's leading financiers to create a successful financial centre here. The AIFC should become the main project factory for the whole country. This is where all major financing transactions should be structured," Tokayev said.
Earlier it was reported that the Astana Finance Days financial forum will be held in Nur-Sultan from July 1 to July 4. Within its framework, the President of Kazakhstan launched the work of the English law court and the International Arbitration Centre. In July last year, the first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, opened the AIFC Exchange.
By Jamila Karimova for LS (Kazakhstan). Image: Akorda press service
