The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) issued 32 licences in the first half of 2024, including 14 authorised firms in the full regulatory regime, 4 FinTech Lab participants and 14 Ancillary Services Providers (ASPs), over twice as many compared to the figures for 2023.
Fourteen firms received AFSA licences to provide financial services in the first half of 2024, which is more than double the number licenced in the same period last year. As of the end of June 2024 the total stands at 103 licenced participants. The firms licenced this year include: Aspan Prime Capital, VPE Capital Fund Management, One Capital Ltd, Aquila Management Ltd, SQIF AM Ltd, JAS Ventures Limited., ITS Central Securities Depository Limited, Zubr Capital Limited, Tayyab Finance Ltd., Upside Lab Advisors Ltd., RCS Trust and Corporate Services Ltd, Radiance Capital Management Limited, Vizier Asset Management Company Limited, and Gesher Finance Ltd.
Four new FinTech firms joined AFSA in 1st half of 2024, among them Cepheus Pay Limited, Impact Capital Ltd., Swiftex.io Limited and deliryo Ltd. In general, there are now 14 companies currently operating within the regulatory sandbox. In March this year AFSA called on Digital Assets Services providers to test out new products and services involving digital assets. The new types of digital assets may involve margin trading, peer-to-peer, derivatives trading, staking, non-fungible trading, digital asset loans and other services. Besides, a Guidance clarifying the requirements for conducting Over-the-Counter (OTC) transactions[1] involving digital assets in AIFC was released.
In the first six months of 2024 AFSA licenced 14 Ancillary Services Providers (ASPs), which is double the number licenced throughout the whole of last year. This brings the total of ASPs as of today to 127 firms. The new ASPs licenced in the past six months are: Squire Patton Boggs Kazakhstan Ltd., Branch of SFAI Kazakhstan in the AIFC, Branch of Moore Kazakhstan LLP in the AIFC, Nexus For Success Ltd., B&G Solutions Ltd., FI.CENTER Ltd., Amicorp Kazakhstan Limited, Branch of "Independent Audit Company "Centeraudit-Kazakhstan" Limited Liability Partnership in the AIFC, AnalyticaPro Solutions Ltd, Branch of Scope Audit Kazakhstan LLP in the AIFC., Branch of Alma Audit LLP in the AIFC, AR Solutions Ltd., Pactum Legal Ltd. and Branch of Independent Audit Company Concord in the AIFC.
The Ancillary Services Providers’ industry is one of the fastest growing at AIFC. It received an added impetus following the arrival of larger companies in recent years, which necessitated forming the required infrastructure provided by ASPs.
Among important regulatory updates, in March 2024 AFSA informed Fund Managers of the modification made to the Section 92 (2) of the AIFC Financial Services Framework Regulations. The modification implies that, provided specific conditions are met, Fund Managers and their Approved Individuals responsible for executing day-to-day property management control will have the opportunity to participate in the Collective Investment Scheme they manage. This will allow fund managers to co-invest along with their investors.
In June 2024 AFSA recognised 12 jurisdictions as equivalent jurisdictions. This means that unlike before now firms applying to be recognised as Foreign Fund Managers in the AIFC are not required to conduct and provide a gap analysis to AFSA, thus expediting the whole process.
Meanwhile, the total number of AIFC participants registered within the first six months of this year stands at 508 - twice as many as in the same period 2023 - bringing the total to 2,858.
Reference:
The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.
The firms registered at AIFC provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan's economy. https://aifc.kz/
Contact information:
Public Relations and Communications Division of AFSA: +7 (717) 264 73 43; +7 7172 61-37-45 email: [email protected]
[1] In decentralised finance, OTC is considered as a separate trading option widely used for large undertaking or transaction by large or institutional players because OTC transactions allows to discharge large volumes of Digital Assets quicker and in large blocks.
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