World Monitor Mag, Digitalisation WM_June 2019 web | Page 16

INVEST TO KAZAKHSTAN
180 companies became participants
of the Astana International Financial Centre
The number of companies registered in the International Financial Centre ‘Astana’ (AIFC) since the official
international presentation, which took place in July 2018, reached 180. About 70 per sent of them are
Kazakhstani companies, about 30 are foreign, of which about 13% are from European countries.
the world, China, and an important regional power, Russia. This
is a unique financial centre and exchange platform covering the
rapidly growing Central Asia region, rich in natural resources,
at a strategically important crossroad between East and West,
the Caucasus, as well as the EEU, the Middle East, Mongolia
and Europe.
Today, Kazakhstan can be called the financial hub of the
region. In the AIFC Global Financial Centres Index, it rose by
37 positions and ranked 51 out of 102. At the same time, the
financial centre ranked 1st in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Republic ranks 35th among 190 countries in the ‘ease of
doing business’ rating.
Due to the favorable tax climate, Kazakhstan is in 18th place
among the tax regimes of 189 countries.
Meanwhile, the AIFC plans to become a regional financial hub
for the entire Eurasian region and is actively working to ensure
that foreign business learns about the opportunities that are
opening up for it in the financial centre.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, First President of the Republic of
Kazakhstan:
“Over the past years, we have been convinced of the need for a
long-term perspective of effective and sustainable institutions;
we have carefully studied the global experience of creating,
operating and developing financial centres in the world.
Including Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and other centres. The
Kazakhstan model of the AIFC embodied the best practices
of these structures. The Centre is ready to work with both
residents and non-residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Participants of the AIFC will have access to capital not only
from Kazakhstan, but also from the entire region as a whole.”
AIFC: the shortest way to Eurasia
One of the important advantages is the geographical location
– the AIFC is located between the second largest economy in
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world monitor
Unprecedented Privileges for Investors
At the same time, for investors who register within the AIFC
territory in the republic additional unprecedented tax benefits
are provided – a zero tax rate on corporate and individual
income, as well as on profits from the sale of securities,
dividends and remunerations on listed securities for 50 years
(up to the end of 2065).
The list of privileges does not end there. In alignment with the
best international experience of advanced financial centres to
attract foreign investment in the AIFC territory, there is special
legal standards provided, based on the principles of English law
and the standards of leading financial centres.
A distinctive feature of English law is the use of a flexible and
transparent approach to resolving disputes, as well as the
primacy of protecting the rights and interests of investors.
The main institution for the resolution of disputes between
participants of the AIFC is the AIFC court, overseen by highly
qualified judges with practical experience in countries with
jurisdiction over English law. The head of the AIFC court
is Lord Harry Kennett Woolf – a former chairman of the