Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) will help create a competitive financial market in Kazakhstan, Natasha Khanjenkova, Managing Director, Central Asia at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said.
“I am sure that the development of the AIFC will help create a competitive, efficient and transparent financial market in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the wider region. We at the EBRD are particularly pleased with the level of understanding and partnership between the two institutions and the commitment of the AIFC management,” noted Khanjenkova.
The AIFC development plays an important role in the overall reform agenda of the country: it will help channel domestic and foreign investment to Kazakhstan, stimulate growth, set new standards of corporate governance, and promote skills transfer and green innovation.
The Centre is expected to attract international investors to finance large-scale infrastructure projects and will play a vital role in the privatization of large blue-chip companies – one the country’s key reform challenges.
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the AIFC and the EBRD in 2016, the EBRD supported the introduction of green financing under the AIFC and helped review the exchange rules for the Astana International Exchange (AIX). In particular, these rules will govern the establishment and operation of the AIX, set the fundamental principles for market transactions and rules of trading on the exchange.
In 2017, the EBRD approved its new country strategy for Kazakhstan and signed a three-year Enhanced Partnership Framework Arrangement with the country aimed at the modernisation and diversification of the national economy.
To date, the EBRD has invested over $ 8.7 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan.
