Astana International Exchange (“AIX”, “Exchange”) held its third annual Capital Markets Forum for institutional investors ‘Finding a new reality amid economic uncertainty’. The forum, which was held online, was attended by over 50 representatives of investment funds from Europe, the US and China that focus on frontier markets investments and stay open to new opportunities in Kazakhstan.

Over the course of four panel discussions, esteemed speakers discussed macroeconomic outlook, priority sectors for investment in the economy of Kazakhstan and measures that the Government of Kazakhstan is taking to reduce the impact of the crisis. Analysts and practitioners of the investment community shared their perceptions of changes in the capital markets, forecasts, new investment opportunities and ways to reduce the risks that have arisen. Top managers of Halyk Bank JSC and NAC Kazatomprom JSC also made presentations to investors.

CEO of AIX, Tim Bennett, commented:

“The economic downturn, which will affect most businesses in Kazakhstan will leadto an increase in the need for foreign investments. The most promising sectors for attracting investments in the capital market in the Central Asian region are mining and mid-sized private companies and we see good interest in these sectors from both issuers and investors”.” 

Ildar Davletshin, Head of Research, Russia and the CIS region, WOOD & Co., said:

“Being one of the world’s biggest supplier of natural resources with ability to create land bridges for Asia / Europe trade flows, Kazakhstan is in a unique position in the heart of Eurasia bordering world’s 2nd largest economy. Equally exciting is the opportunity to become a regional hub for raising capital for new companies or accessing liquidity for more established players from all countries in the region (e.g. Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and others). A peaceful foreign policy and strong balance of interests in relations with key countries in the region as well as the expansion of the recently created Astana International Financial Centre  offer regional  businesses an opportunity to bypass the inefficiencies they might encounter in  their home countries.”

AIX Forum was held within the framework of Online Astana Finance Days 2020: Markets in a Disrupted World, organized by Astana International Financial Center.