IMF Staff Country Reports

This paper presents a Technical Note on the Astana International Financial Center and the Kazakhstan Financial System for the Kazakhstan Financial Sector Assessment Program. The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) was launched in 2018 with the objective of establishing a leading international center for financial services in Astana, as well as to attract foreign investment and support the growth and development of Kazakhstan and the region. This note reviews the links between the AIFC and the Kazakhstan financial system, and the implications for financial stability. Infrastructure has been developed to support a wide range of financial activities in the AIFC. Financial activity in the Center remains small, limiting the immediate risks to financial stability. In general, additional policy challenges arise in cases where key financial services in a country may be provided under distinct legal and regulatory arrangements from both a “domestic” jurisdiction and a jurisdictionally-separated international financial center.