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<\/p>\nASTANA \u2013 Astana\u2019s eight-place rise in the Global Financial Centers Index 40 (GFCI 40) should ultimately be measured by whether growing international confidence translates into more investment, deeper capital markets and greater cross-border financial activity, Bakhtiyar Tleubekov, chairman of the Management Board of Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC Authority), told The Astana Times on Sept. 18.<\/p>\n
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Photo credit: AIFC<\/p>\n
In the 40th edition of the Global Financial Centers Index, Kazakhstan\u2019s capital ranked 57th among 117 financial centers worldwide, climbing eight places from 65th. Astana\u2019s rating increased by 18 points, from 684 to 702.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Astana retains regional leadership<\/p>\n
The city retained its leading position in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which it has held for more than three years. Astana was followed by Cyprus, which ranked 72nd globally, and Warsaw, which placed 78th.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov. Photo credit: AIFC.<\/p>\n
Astana\u2019s rise came against a 1.09% decline in the average rating of financial centers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was also named among the ten financial centers survey participants expected to play a more significant role in the global financial system over the next two to three years, ranking ninth with 45 mentions.<\/p>\n
In the separate FinTech ranking, Astana rose four places from 55th to 51st.<\/p>\n
\u201cAstana\u2019s eight-place rise and continued regional leadership send an important signal of growing confidence in the AIFC and Kazakhstan among the international financial community. For us, a position in the ranking is not an end in itself, but an independent assessment of the work we are consistently pursuing: improving the legal and regulatory environment, developing capital markets and financial technologies, and expanding international ties,\u201d said AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov.<\/p>\n
From ranking to capital flows<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real measure of success is whether growing international confidence translates into more investment, deeper capital markets, more international financial institutions operating in Kazakhstan, and greater cross-border financial activity,\u201d Tleubekov said.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Bakhtiyar Tleubekov, chairman of the Management Board of Astana International Financial Centre. Photo credit: AIFC.<\/p>\n
According to him, over the next two to three years, the priority is to reinforce the conditions that international investors value most: political and macroeconomic stability, a predictable and transparent regulatory environment, consistent application of the law, and effective protection of investor rights.<\/p>\n
Astana and Kazakhstan also need to continue strengthening their role as a regional gateway connecting international capital with opportunities across Central Asia and the wider Eurasian region.<\/p>\n
\u201cKazakhstan\u2019s geographic position and growing role in trans-Caspian transport and logistics create an opportunity to complement physical connectivity with financial connectivity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Structural progress and international confidence<\/p>\n
Tleubekov noted that the GFCI combines assessments from financial-sector professionals with quantitative indicators from more than 80 external sources covering the business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial-sector development and reputation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, an 18-point increase cannot be attributed solely to improved perception, nor can it be explained by any single indicator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He attributed Astana\u2019s performance to both external conditions and structural progress, including Kazakhstan\u2019s relative political and economic stability, regulatory continuity and openness to international investment.<\/p>\n
The AIFC has been consistently developing a legal and regulatory framework based on international standards, independent dispute-resolution institutions, capital-market infrastructure, fintech and digital-asset regulation, and mechanisms for international and regional investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, progress should be measured not only by rankings, but by new investment, international companies choosing the AIFC, and new opportunities for Kazakhstan\u2019s businesses,\u201d Bekturov said.<\/p>\n
The GFCI is published twice a year by the Z\/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute and assesses financial centers across five areas: business environment, financial sector development, infrastructure, human capital and reputation.<\/p>\n
Continuing the conversation<\/p>\n
The Astana Times has been following the AIFC\u2019s development and Kazakhstan\u2019s evolving role in the international financial system through its coverage and interviews with AIFC leadership.<\/p>\n
At the recent Astana Finance Days, Bekturov joined discussions<\/a> on the future of finance and Kazakhstan\u2019s role in the next digital frontier.<\/p>\n The AIFC also recently shared the results<\/a> of its first 10 years with The Astana Times team, offering a closer look at the centre\u2019s development, growing international presence and priorities for the next decade. Also watch our YouTube interview<\/a> with AIFC leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ASTANA \u2013 Astana\u2019s eight-place rise in the Global Financial Centers Index 40 (GFCI 40) should ultimately be measured…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,101],"class_list":["post-852727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}