On October 28, the Kazakhstan Finance Day forum for foreign investors took place in New York, organized by the National Bank of Kazakhstan in cooperation with the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the USA and in partnership with Citigroup, Mastercard, Visa, Solidcore Resources, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The event was held at Citigroup's headquarters in New York's business district and brought together over 450 financial market representatives from both countries, including Blackstone, Ashmore, JP Morgan, Cerberus, Apollo Global Management, KKR, Bloomberg, among others.
The forum featured representatives from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Agency for Regulation and Development of Financial Market, the Astana International Financial Centre, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Kaspi.kz, Halyk Bank, Freedom Holding, and various development institutions.
Kazakhstan Finance Day offered global financial market participants and potential investors an opportunity to learn about key macroeconomic indicators of Kazakhstan, up-to-date information on financial market development, recent achievements in digitalization, and priorities for advancing national financial infrastructure.
The Chairperson of the Agency, Madina Abylkassymova, spoke at the forum. The head of the regulator presented the current state of the financial market, including the banking sector, securities market, and insurance market, key reforms in financial regulation, and new initiatives for financial market development.
The Chairperson of the Agency also reported on reforms to liberalize requirements for opening foreign bank subsidiaries and their branches and the development of a new banking law.
Leaders in Kazakhstan's fintech industry – Kaspi.kz, Halyk Bank, and Freedom Holding – showcased their achievements in digitalizing banking products, developing mobile banking applications, ecosystems, and marketplaces to American investors.
Separate sessions and presentations were also held for investors and financial market professionals on direct and portfolio investments.
Participants at the event highly appreciated the completed and planned economic reforms. Delegates noted the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy, the resilience of the financial system, and the country’s investment appeal for business.