The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan outlined the main provisions of its Capital Market Development Program through 2030 at a roundtable, advancing work with the National Bank and market participants on a modern market framework and a new Capital Market Law. The program comprises 35 initiatives across seven strategic areas intended to deepen liquidity, diversify financing and convert domestic savings into long-term investment. Over the past five years, Kazakhstan’s equity market capitalization has more than doubled from KZT 19.1 trillion to KZT 41.8 trillion, while the debt securities market has grown from KZT 32 trillion to KZT 58 trillion. Planned measures include reforming pension asset management and widening financial institutions’ ability to invest in domestic instruments. Issuance would be digitized, with registration transferred to the Central Securities Depository, while medium-sized companies would receive more flexible placement terms. A centralized securities lending mechanism would support covered short selling, market-making and secondary-market liquidity. The program also seeks to connect Kazakh equities to major international custody and settlement systems, strengthen corporate governance and minority investor protections, and improve issuer transparency. The agency completed pilot testing of an updated risk-based supervisory model in 2026 and plans to extend it across the market. KASE’s regulatory role would also become more independent through a regulatory committee separated from its commercial management, with suspected market manipulation reported promptly to the agency. The proposed Capital Market Law is being developed alongside the program to consolidate existing rules and establish an integrated regulatory architecture.

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