Why AIFC
The AIFC aims to create an environment where international and local participants can take full advantage of the unique benefits of the centre.
World-class Regulation
The AIFC has an independent regulator that aims to ensure equal and fair rules of the game for all financial market participants AFSA is the independent regulator of financial, market and ancillary services performed in and out of the AIFC.
In regulating the AIFC’s financial services, AFSA applies the best international standards of the regulation and supervision of financial services, which are espoused by IOSCO, IAIS, BCBS, IFSB, OECD, FATF and others. Prospective AIFC participants can use the digital system, eResidence, to register companies on the centre’s platform.
Special Tax Regime
AIFC participant companies can benefit from a preferential tax regime tailored to the type of activities they engage in. This regime, which is BEPS-compliant, provides generous exemptions to authorized companies offering a broad array of financial services, professional service providers and market institutions.
Furthermore, the tax benefits are not limited to legal entities alone; natural persons, including foreign specialists and investors, can also avail themselves of special exemptions. This makes the AIFC an attractive option for a diverse range of financial professionals.
Special Currency Regime
AIFC Participants have the opportunity to leverage the benefits of a specialized currency regime, allowing enhanced flexibility in executing currency transactions.
The currency regime is applicable solely to authorised companies. Among the principal advantages is the ability for companies to engage in transactions denominated in any currency, encompassing US dollars, euros, tenge, and other.
Independent Judicial System
AIFC Acts, as the core of AIFC law, were developed based on the principles, legislation and precedents of the law of England and Wales and the standards of leading global financial centres. The AIFC Court and IAC are the region’s first independent common law judiciary and international arbitration centre for the settlement of commercial disputes.
The AIFC has its own eJustice system that allows parties to file cases online at the AIFC Court and IAC from anywhere around the world without the need to be in Astana.
International Stock Exchange
The AIFC’s capital market offers a wide range of services and products through the organised exchange, AIX, and over-the-counter (OTC) market segment.
The AIX offers investors and issuers all the main capital market instruments, such as initial and secondary public offerings, trading in shares, sovereign and corporate bonds, depositary receipts, exchange traded funds and notes, as well as Islamic financing instruments and RMB bonds. AIX’s main advantages include the regulatory environment based on international standards, a developed trading infrastructure consisting of local and foreign brokers, a variety of tools for raising capital by businesses covering different areas and forms of ownership and innovations.