Today at the briefing in the press center of the Government, Governor of Astana International Financial Center, Kairat Kelimbetov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of AIFC Administration JSC, Marat Aitenov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the AIFC Exchange, Amina Turgulova, Chief Digital Officer at AIFC Administration JSC, Assel Zhiyenbayeva spoke on the plans to implement the tasks set forth in the sixth direction of the Address of the Head of State.

As noted by Kairat Kelimbetov, currently the process of legal deployment of all areas of the AIFC is underway and key partners have already been identified in creating a regional hub capable of attracting international business circles that are interested in investing in emerging markets.

The development of the stock market will also contribute to the successful withdrawal of shares of national companies of the Samruk-Kazyna SWF to an IPO. The mechanism of effective holding of an IPO is being worked out, the process of attracting international players has been launched.

"At the initiative of the President, the AIFC received ample opportunities to attract financial technologies, innovations, develop green technologies and attract investment. We are also sure that the international presentation of AIFC in July 2018 will contribute to the development of Astana, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year," Kairat Kelimbetov stressed.

January 1 this year, the legal launch of the AIFC took place, active deployment of the financial center's structures was launched with the goal of reaching full design capacity by January 1, 2019.

With AIFC, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), which registers companies and licenses a wide range of services, has started its work. An independent court of AIFC has been established, acting on the basis of English common law, which will deal with commercial and civil disputes, as well as the International Arbitration Center.

Also, on the basis of the AIFC, a high-tech exchange was launched, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and NASDAQ as strategic partners. The work of the Expat-center, which provides a single-window system, a simplified mode of issuing visas, registration, obtaining work permits and other procedures, is aimed at simplification of the involvement of international experts in Astana.

Kairat Kelimbetov noted that during the visit to the US, the Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev personally invited the business captains to the AIFC site. A cooperation agreement was signed between AIFC, Bloomberg and the domestic business channel ABC TV. During the visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, the Exchange of the Astana International Financial Center and Euroclear Bank. The parties agreed to develop an international clearing system in Kazakhstan. The Memorandum determines the intention to work in partnership to support the creation of a market environment, in the conditions of which foreign investors will be provided the access to local Kazakhstan securities through the Euroclear system.

One of the main themes of the recent World Economic Forum in Davos was the issue of human capital development. To use the potential of the WEF site and the concentration of the business community, in a partnership with Thomson Reuters, AIFC held a panel session. At this event, the delegation of the AIFC informed the interested circles about the priorities of Kazakhstan and the conditions created in the country.

"In addition, a memorandum was signed with the Waves blockchain platform. Working with Waves, AIFC provides Kazakhstani start-ups with a unique opportunity to develop projects at a new technological level, thereby this initiative will help to popularize blockchain technologies in Kazakhstan," Kairat Kelimbetov said.