Air Astana starts unconditional trading on AIX

Astana International Exchange (“AIX”, “Exchange”) is pleased to announce that ordinary shares (the “Shares”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) of Air Astana JSC have been listed and are admitted to regular trading on AIX. It was preceded by three and a half days of conditional trading, representing a novelty for Kazakhstan’s stock market. AIX offered Kazakhstani investors the opportunity of conditional trading alongside with the global investors at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) simultaneously.

Assel Mukazhanova, CEO of the AIX, said:

“The triumph of Air Astana’s IPO was clearly driven by Kazakhstani retail investor base. It’s evidenced by AIX’s more than 29 thousand orders received for the amount of over KZT 100 billion, where half of that originated from retail investors.

Every recent IPO underscores the deepening of the Kazakhstani stock market, accompanied by a burgeoning base of retail investors who are progressively enhancing their skills and capacity to engage in large scale transactions.

Air Astana’s IPO marks a significant shift in the dynamics between the domestic and international markets, with the domestic order book surpassing its international counterpart for the first time. The milestone positions AIX to render future IPOs of Samruk Kazyna Fund’s assets even more accessible and appealing for the citizens of Kazakhstan.”

The volume of orders on AIX for GDRs and shares amounted to $112.0m (equivalent of KZT50.6bn) and KZT49.6bn, respectively. As a result of the allocation, AIX investors have received GDRs worth of $71.6m (equivalent of KZT32.4bn) and shares totaling KZT15.6bn. Among those, the share of retail investors reached  56%, the share of institutional investors was 44%. 

Air Astana locally placed GDRs and shares totaling the equivalent of $215.0m, including $106.1m via AIX which comprised 49.3% of the total amount.

Over 3,400 applications received from retail investors via Tabys mobile app were satisfied for a total amount of more than KZT 500m.

The results of conditional trading, held for three and half days prior to unconditional trading were as follows:

• Conditional trading volume (GDRs and shares) on the London Stock Exchange was $31.0m, on AIX $7.8m.
• Number of transactions on AIX – 1,998 deals.

Real-time market data is available on the AIX website at the Market Watch web page (https://market.aix.kz/).

Reference:

AIX was formed in 2017 within the Astana International Financial Centre development framework. AIX shareholders are AIFC, the Shanghai stock exchange, the Silk Road Fund, and NASDAQ, which also provides the AIX trading platform. The exchange operates within a regulatory environment based on the principles of English Law, thus providing a reliable investment environment. The mission of AIX is to develop an active capital market in Kazakhstan and the region by providing clear and favorable conditions for attracting financing to private and public businesses. AIX develops special segments for mining companies as well as infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road initiative. www.aix.kz

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction that started (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. www.aifc.kz