The Astana International Financial Centre (hereinafter referred to as AIFC) signed several memorandums with financial institutions of the People’s Republic of China within the framework of the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev to PRC.
AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov and the Executive Vice President of Bank of China Ren Deqi signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation. The parties intend to jointly explore new opportunities for further development of cross-border business to provide high-quality services and develop new banking products.
“The Bank of China is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, so its expertise is important for the establishment of AIFC as a regional hub for financial services. The global network of the Bank’s partners will help attract the latest financial technologies to the AIFC,” says K.Kelimbetov.
A memorandum on strategic partnership with the Silk Road Fund (SRF) was also signed during the visit. The document is designed to promote the development and prosperity of the two countries’ economies by providing investment and financial services through equity and investment funds.
An important event timed to the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev was also a joint statement of the parties on the opening of a representative office of the China Development bank (hereinafter – the CDB) on the AIFC site. It will be the first representative office of the CDB in Central Asia and the seventh in the world, including offices in London, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, etc.
The official presence of the CDB in Astana will help deepen practical cooperation with Kazakhstan by providing long-term and stable financial support to organizations and enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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AIFC. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a constitutional law on the creation of the Astana international financial Centre; (AIFC) in December 2015. The purpose of AIFC is the formation of the leading the Centre of financial services at an international level. This is the first time that the principles of English law are introduced in a former Soviet Union country, the official language of the financial centre is English.
AIFC’;s goals are to assist in attracting investments in the country’s economy by creating an attractive environment for investing in financial services, developing the securities market of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ensuring its integration with international capital markets. AIFC also intends to develop the market of insurance, banking services and the market of Islamic finance in the country.
Astana International Exchange (AIX) – JSC Exchange of the Astana International Financial Centre. The main strategic partners of the stock exchange are the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with which a shareholder agreement was concluded, and NASDAQ, which provided the technical platform. It is worth noting that the Shanghai Stock Exchange and NASDAQ are among the five largest exchanges in the world. The role of AIX is to ensure domestic and regional development by mobilizing domestic resources and attracting foreign portfolio flows. www.aix.kz
Bank of China is a commercial bank, one of the five largest state-owned banks in China. It ranks second in the country in terms of assets, is one of the twenty largest banks in the world. Has more than 13 thousand offices in China and 550 offices in 25 other countries.
The Silk Road Foundation was established in December 2014. The Fund’s reserves amount to 40 billion dollars, which is formed on the basis of the PRC’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, as well as the assets of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China.
The Silk Road Fund invests in projects in the states and regions covered by the One-Way, One-Way initiative (The Economic Belt of the Silk Road and the Silk Road of the 21st Century). Investments are medium- and long-term, preference is given to large-scale projects, a special place is occupied by projects of an infrastructural nature.
The Fund identified “four major areas”, in particular investment projects in the field of infrastructure construction, energy development, industrial production and financial cooperation.
The China Development Bank was established in March 1994 with headquarters in Beijing. The authorized capital of the bank at the time of establishment was 50 billion yuan (over 6 billion US dollars).
It is the largest of China’s three state development banks (in addition to the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank of China, directly subordinate to the State Council of China.) It is also the only financial institution, which has the status of the Ministry.
The main functions of the Bank include support and construction of basic industries, support for the development of individual territories (provinces), financial support for the activities of leading state corporations, including their investment activities; performance of duties on loans of international financial organizations, etc.