State Bank of Vietnam engages Kazakhstan on international financial center lessons and plans an expanded cooperation memorandum with the National Bank of Kazakhstan

The State Bank of Vietnam published an account of Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha’s participation in a Government delegation visit to Kazakhstan, focused on exchanging experience on building and operating international financial centers. The programme included engagements with the Astana International Financial Center and the National Bank of Kazakhstan on institutional design, governance and supervisory arrangements, and related monetary and financial stability frameworks. Discussions at the Astana International Financial Center covered its institutional and governance model, supervision mechanisms, risk management and dispute resolution, including international arbitration, as well as approaches to attracting investment and specialist expertise. The SBV delegation also explored licensing and coordination with regulatory agencies in supervising banks operating in the center. The SBV note highlighted AIFC’s scale, including more than USD 20 billion attracted since inception, nearly 5,000 registered companies from more than 90 countries, and nearly USD 440 million contributed to Kazakhstan’s national budget. At a separate meeting, the National Bank of Kazakhstan shared experience on monetary policy management, capital flow management, inter-agency coordination, systemic risk and crisis management, and highlighted legal readiness, broad political commitment and clear information-sharing arrangements as key factors in AIFC’s development. Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh directed the SBV to coordinate with the National Bank of Kazakhstan to promote a new memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation beyond the 2012 framework, including on fintech and international financial center topics.