Merger of KASE and AIX halted, exchanges to retain current structure, functions - National Bank of Kazakhstan
ASTANA. July 10 (Interfax) - The process of merging the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) has been suspended, and the trading platforms will continue operating as before, the National Bank of Kazakhstan told Interfax.
"At present, the merger process between KASE and AIX has been suspended. The structure and distribution of functions among Kazakhstan's stock exchanges thus remain unchanged," the bank said in response to a query from Interfax.
It was previously reported that, according to KASE, the possibility of creating a holding company to make strategic decisions "in the best interests of the Kazakh market" had been considered. The merger process was later frozen due to sanctions against one of KASE's shareholders - the Moscow Exchange . In the autumn of last year, the Moscow Exchange exited the Kazakh trading platform's shareholder structure.
In 2023, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in his address to the nation, instructed officials to explore the possibility of merging the two Kazakh stock exchanges under unified management. "Currently, Kazakhstan has two stock exchanges that largely duplicate each other and sometimes even compete. For our financial system, this is excessive. To enhance the capacity and attractiveness of the domestic market, I am issuing instructions to work on consolidating the potential of these exchanges under unified management," he said.
National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov later said that the National Bank, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) had developed a solution for merging the two exchanges, which was under review by the presidential administration.
KASE, a stock exchange headquartered in Almaty, ranks second among exchanges in the Commonwealth of Independent States in terms of equity market capitalization. It was founded in 1993. As of early 2025, its main shareholders were the National Bank of Kazakhstan (47% of shares), JSC Kommesk-Omir (7.6%) and Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan (6.8%). Other shareholders held stakes of less than 5%.
The AIX exchange was established in 2017 as part of the development of the Astana International Financial Center - a special economic zone in the Kazakh capital with preferential tax, currency and visa regimes, created to attract investment into the economy. Trading in securities on the platform began in November 2018. The AIX's shareholders include the AIFC administration, the China-Kazakhstan Production Capacity Cooperation Fund (a subsidiary of the Silk Road Fund), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the U.S.-based Nasdaq, which also serves as AIX's primary technology partner.
