Kazakhstan’s financial hub says its model is attracting interest abroad as competition between financial centres intensifies, while limited market liquidity remains a key challenge.
For two days, Astana Finance Days 2026 brought together representatives of global financial institutions that collectively manage more than $26 trillion in assets, as Kazakhstan seeks to strengthen its position in the global competition for capital.
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The forum is organised by the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which was launched in 2018 and operates as a separate financial jurisdiction in Kazakhstan with its own regulatory and legal framework based on the principles of English common law.
The gathering included BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, alongside Goldman Sachs, Capital Group, Brookfield and other major financial institutions. Investors, policymakers and regulators met under this year’s theme, “Delivering Impact. Capital in Action”, with discussions focused on capital markets, investment and the changing global financial landscape.
At the forum’s main panel, “Rewiring the Architecture of Finance”, the financial centre’s Governor Renat Bekturov said its model was gaining popularity, with other countries seeking to replicate it.
“Because of the AIFC, we are one of the leaders in the region in terms of adopting digital assets — digital tenge, stablecoins, and what goes beyond the tokenisation of assets,” Bekturov said. “We see that this model is becoming more popular and many countries try to replicate it.”
The question of how far the AIFC could develop as an international financial hub also emerged during the discussion, amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“Someone who I spoke to this morning did liken it and say, ‘Will the AIFC become the new Dubai, given what’s happening in that region?’” said panel moderator Sallianne Taylor of Bloomberg.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the forum, Suleimenov said Kazakhstan would compete for investors just as established financial hubs compete with one another.
“There is always a certain degree of competition, and there will be,” he said, pointing to Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, and Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia.
“We will compete too. We need to talk to investors about what we can offer, what our advantages are and how flexible we are. Time will tell. Investors have to decide for themselves.”
Bekturov said competition was also growing as more countries developed their own financial centres, pointing to Oman, Vietnam and neighbouring Uzbekistan.
Since its launch in 2018, the AIFC has grown to more than 6,000 registered participants as of the first half of 2026. The financial centre is also home to the Astana International Exchange (AIX). Cumulative trading turnover on the exchange has exceeded $5 billion since its launch, according to Bekturov, with around $2 billion traded last year alone.
“I mean, it’s not huge, but we have success,” he said.
Liquidity, however, remains a major challenge. “For emerging markets like Kazakhstan, it’s really difficult to build liquidity,” Bekturov said. “So, small steps. But it still remains a challenge.”
He said further progress would require strengthening Kazakhstan’s position in international indices, alongside regulatory and legislative changes, new financial products and a broader pool of market participants.
S&P Global Ratings recently upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating to BBB from BBB-, its highest level since 2016. Bekturov said the upgrade had also helped.
The challenge of building liquidity also extends beyond the AIFC. Speaking to journalists, Suleimenov called for a single strategy for Kazakhstan’s financial market as the country develops new financial jurisdictions and platforms.
Alongside the national jurisdiction and the AIFC, Kazakhstan is developing Alatau City, near Almaty, under a special legal regime designed to attract investment and foster innovation. Suleimenov said the different platforms needed common goals and “a single pool of liquidity” to avoid competing with one another for investors and liquidity.
“I firmly believe that in the near future we need to sit down and develop a strategy for the national financial market of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” he said.