At an Astana Finance Days panel, Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan Deputy Chair Nurzhan Tursynkhanov detailed measures under the Capital Market Development Program through 2030 to strengthen institutional investment, market liquidity and issuer access. The program, developed with the National Bank and market participants, comprises 35 initiatives across seven strategic areas and builds on the regulator’s broader capital market reform agenda. The agency proposes a larger role for professional managers in overseeing Kazakhstan’s roughly KZT 27 trillion of pension assets, 99.7% of which is managed by the National Bank. Any expansion would retain safeguards for pension savings and requirements for risk management, transparency and accountability, while allowing professional managers to take market risk consistent with long-term investment objectives. Other measures include mandatory centralized reporting of key over-the-counter transaction data, a best execution principle for client orders, improved market making, centralized securities lending and conditions for covered short selling. Plans to broaden the investor base include expanding investment funds and exchange-traded funds and improving access to investment products. For issuers, the program would simplify and digitize market entry, create a single digital window, standardize documentation and disclosure, and support initial public offering preparation and listing sponsors for small and medium-sized businesses. National requirements would not automatically apply within the separate jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre, although alignment between the two markets remains a priority for comparable and consistent market information.

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