$6bn raised through the Astana International Financial Centre in 2025 and over 1,400 new companies were registered
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has announced its operational results for 2025.
Key performance highlights and results:
– Investments. Since the launch of the AIFC in 2018, a total of $20bn has been raised through the Centre into Kazakhstan’s economy. In 2025 alone, AIFC participants attracted $6bn (including $4bn in portfolio investments and $2bn in investments by AIFC participants). This is $2.9bn more than in 2024.
– Companies. Between January and December 2025, more than 1,400 new companies joined the AIFC, which is 300 companies more than last year. Of newly registered entities, 33% operate in the financial sector, 12% in information and communications, 14% in professional, scientific, and technical activities, 2% in mining, 2% among ancillary service providers, and 17% in wholesale and retail trade. The remaining 20% represent other non-financial sectors. Overall, more than 4,900 companies from over 90 countries are registered at the AIFC, including firms from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Turkiye, Singapore, and the UAE. Over 1,500 of these companies provide financial and insurance services.
– Tax Contributions. In the first three quarters of 2025, AIFC participants paid KZT72.8bn in taxes to Kazakhstan’s national budget, representing a 76% year-on-year increase. Over the entire period of the AIFC’s operations, participants have contributed KZT221.2 bn (as of 1 October 2025).
– In 2025, Astana International Exchange (AIX) surpassed several milestones, including $2bn in trading turnover and 200 new listings since the beginning of the year. In 2024, these figures amounted to $1.3bn and 140 listings, respectively.
– Digital asset service providers recorded transaction volumes of $6.8bn during the first three quarters of 2025, with 192,400 clients, compared to $2.9bn and 141,500 clients in 2024.
– The number of investment funds at the AIFC increased from 101 at the beginning of the year to 159, while asset managers grew from 57 to 68. Total assets under management (AUM) at the AIFC exceeded $3bn by the end of the third quarter of 2025.
– In 2025, the AIFC Court and the International Arbitration Centre (IAC) handled 1,282 cases, including 76 court judgments, 303 arbitration proceedings, and 903 mediation cases. While last year the number of cases considered amounted to only more than 1,011.
Renat Bekturov, Governor of the AIFC, commented: “2025 became a year of strengthened trust for the AIFC. Investment inflows into the economy increased significantly, and the number of participant companies, including financial service providers, continued to grow. The Centre actively introduced innovative instruments and products, ranging from aviation finance to spot Bitcoin listings, an index-based Islamic ETF, and the world’s first spot ETF with staking functionality. These results provide a solid foundation for attracting both international and domestic capital, further developing Kazakhstan’s financial market, and strengthening the country’s position within the regional financial ecosystem.”
Key Developments in 2025:
– The AIFC retained its leading position in the international ranking of the Global Financial Centres Index, ranking first in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
– A new direction Aviation Finance Hub was launched for the development of the aviation financial ecosystem, including financing and leasing of commercial and cargo aircraft, and support for aviation projects.
– AIFC established an International Islamic Finance Advisory Board, bringing together experts from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Malaysia, Turkiye, and Kazakhstan.
– The first Turkic Green Finance Council meeting was held to discuss the development of green and sustainable finance in the Organization of Turkic States. Following the meeting, the parties signed a joint communiqué, reaffirming their commitment to sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and environmental protection.
– Nine industry analytical reports were published, covering topics such as prospects for deepening economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, fund management, Kazakhstan’s emissions trading system, global trends in voluntary carbon markets, the development of Kazakhstan’s mining sector, commercial real estate and REIT market prospects, trends and outlook for creative industries in Kazakhstan, a casebook on sustainable finance instruments. and investments in infrastructure and Smart City technologies.
– A new digital platform, the AIFC Data Marketplace, was developed to facilitate the buying and selling of analytical data across a wide range of industries.
– As part of the Astana Finance Days 2025, the AIFC presented a new corporate space, the “Museum of Trust”, dedicated to the history of the development of Kazakhstan’s financial system.
– The Expat Loyalty Club community was established to provide comfortable living conditions for international specialists in Kazakhstan, cultural exchange and networking through the AIFC Expat Centre.
– The FinPro mobile application was launched to develop financial literacy among teenagers through gamification tools. A key feature is an investment simulator based on real AIX exchange data, allowing teenagers to safely practice buying and selling demo shares.
Stock Market
Over the entire period of the AIX exchange’s operation, the volume of capital raised amounted to $473 million in equity instruments and $10.5bn in debt instruments.
In 2025, 13 new trading members joined AIX, bringing the total number to 64. The number of retail investor accounts opened through market participants reached 2.3 million, compared to 1.9 million in the previous year. The AIX Qazaq Index increased by 1.7% year-to-date.
Notable Issuances in 2025:
– The first dual listing on AIX and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). Ordinary shares of Jiaxin International Resources Investment Limited, a tungsten mining company, were admitted to listing and trading simultaneously on both exchanges. This marked the first cross-border IPO between Kazakhstan and China, the first IPO in Central Asia denominated in Chinese yuan, and the first listing in the “Belt and Road Initiative” segment on AIX.
– Exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuances, including: Fonte Solana ETF (SETF), the world’s first spot ETF fully focused on the Solana digital asset with staking functionality; Fonte Bitcoin ETF (BETF), the first spot Bitcoin ETF registered in Kazakhstan and Central Asia; ITS Shariah ETF (ITSS), the first Shariah-compliant index ETF in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
– The first issue of commercial paper on AIX was Alatau City Bank.
– Cross-listing of Eurasia Mining PLC with the London Stock Exchange.
– The listing of sukuk issued by AIFC participant Tayyab Finance Sukuk SPC Ltd. to support the development of Islamic auto financing for retail clients, along with other significant placements.
AIX also became one of nine exchanges worldwide accredited to conduct transactions involving International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-REC). The first transaction was concluded between Samruk-Green Energy and the British company Valor Carbon. In June, Bank CenterCredit became the first bank in Kazakhstan to purchase I-REC certificates via the AIX platform.
Direct links between depositories were launched to enable cross-border settlements and listings between Nasdaq Dubai and AIX, as well as between ADX and AIX.
To expand access to investment products for users of the Tabys mobile application, a private partner was engaged in the form of brokerage firm Teniz Capital Brokerage Ltd. Trading with the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s investment gold coin was also launched on the Tabys platform. For the first time, retail investors in Kazakhstan were able to purchase investment gold coins in shares.
Regulation
The AIFC is recognized as one of the world’s leading jurisdictions for implementing international standards for crypto- and digital asset regulation developed by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
In 2025, the number of funds focused on digital financial assets increased, including several listings targeted at retail investors. Algorithmic hedge funds emerged within the AIFC ecosystem, and private credit funds gained popularity.
In September 2025, the AIFC regulator, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), announced the launch of a pilot project allowing regulatory fees to be paid in stablecoins. The first payment under this mechanism was made in October.
AFSA also issued its first license for the issuance of fiat-backed stablecoins. This regulatory decision, adopted within AFSA’s comprehensive stablecoin regulatory framework, marked an important step in the development of Kazakhstan’s digital asset ecosystem.
By the end of the year, seven AIFC participants successfully completed testing within the FinTech Lab regulatory sandbox and transitioned to the full regulatory mode.
AFSA also officially joined the international I-SCAN initiative, a global cooperation and information-sharing mechanism among securities regulators established under the auspices of IOSCO. Membership in I-SCAN enables AFSA to publish fraud alerts in IOSCO’s global notification system.
AIFC Court and International Arbitration Centre
Since the commencement of operations and as of 24 December 2025, the AIFC Court and the IAC had completed and enforced more than 4 600 cases, including 227 court judgments, 1 039 arbitration cases, and 3 427 mediation cases. The disputes covered a wide range of matters, including contractual obligations, construction contracts, public-private partnership projects, banking and financial activities, real estate, employment disputes, and other issues.
Investors from 36 countries choose the AIFC Court and the IAC to resolve commercial disputes, highlighting the high level of trust in the institution. The Court’s register includes 846 lawyers from 40 jurisdictions authorized to represent parties.
One of the key initiatives of the year was the launch of the Centre for Global Policy Leadership in Dispute Resolution and the Rule of Law (CGPL), established in partnership with MNU University, Astana IT University, and China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL). The Centre brings together representatives from academic community, the private and public sectors, and other stakeholders to implement joint projects aimed at improving justice systems, legislative policy, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
The Centre’s first project was the “Legal Technology Laboratory”, created in cooperation with leading universities in Kazakhstan and China. The laboratory aims to develop innovative approaches to applying artificial intelligence to improve the quality and efficiency of legislative drafting and general legal practice. This project is the first of its kind in Eurasia.
The AIFC Court and the IAC also launched a new AI-based transcription service, providing real-time transcription of court and arbitration hearings in English and Russian.
In 2025, the AIFC Court and the IAC, in partnership with leading law schools have world class physical premises, digital technology, and enforcement arrangements in Astana and Almaty, and in 9 countries where business relationships exist in Kazakhstan and related case disputes arise: Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Sustainable Development
With the support of the AIFC Green Finance Centre (GFC), approximately 70% of all green bonds and green loans issued in Kazakhstan have been implemented over the years. Since the launch of the sustainable finance market and by the end of the year, bonds were issued and loans provided in total amount of $2.5bn. At the regional level, seven sustainable finance issuances in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan were conducted with external reviews provided by the AIFC GFC.
With the GFC acting as ESG instrument verifier and financial advisor, the first social bond issuance by the “Aktobe” Social Entrepreneurship Corporation (SEC) took place. Proceeds from the bonds were used to finance the SEC’s strategic activities, including business support and the implementation of industrial and agro-industrial projects. With GFC support, Aktobe SEC also published its first ESG report in accordance with GRI standards and received an ESG rating from S&P Global.
GFC received the Global Banking & Finance Awards 2025 in the category “Best ESG Consulting Company, Kazakhstan.”
AIFC Academy
In 2025, the AIFC Academy trained 467 specialists through legal and financial programs and delivered more than 37 training courses aimed at improving professional skills of employees of public and private sector organizations.
The AIFC Academy continues to develop practice-oriented financial and legal education in Kazakhstan, expanding cooperation with the country’s leading universities and private-sector representatives. The first graduating students from Almaty Management University and SDU University graduated under the Academy’s minor programs integrated into university curriculum. Certificates in “Derivative Securities -Options” and “Asset Management” were awarded to 51 students.
A pilot project introducing financial literacy fundamentals was launched in the curriculum of five Kazakhstani schools: Quantum Tech School, Flagman School, a state school in Akmola Region, KILC International College, and Dara School (Kosshy village).
Reference:
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a leading financial hub in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, designed to connect global capital with the vast opportunities of emerging markets. Positioned at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the AIFC combines international best practices with innovative approaches to create a world-class platform for investment, business, and financial services. Since its establishment in 2018, the AIFC has attracted USD 20 bn in investments into Kazakhstan’s economy. Over 4900 companies from over 90 countries, including the USA, the UK, China, Turkiye, UAE, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and others, are registered within the AIFC’s jurisdiction. www.aifc.kz
AIFC Press Office
Ainur Issabayeva, Press Secretary
E-mail: [email protected]
