The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has presented an ambitious draft of the Capital Market Development Program until 2030. This document marks a systemic shift: the regulator intends to radically simplify companies' access to the stock exchange and transfer the securities market to self-regulation. This is about building a modern architecture capable of becoming a full-fledged alternative to bank lending for long-term financing of the economy.
Institutional investors and a new approach to liquidity
The program places key emphasis on strengthening the role of institutional investors. Plans include revising approaches to managing pension assets and expanding opportunities for financial organizations to invest in domestic instruments. This should create sustainable long-term demand for shares and bonds of Kazakh issuers.
To improve secondary market liquidity, the regulator proposes introducing a centralized securities borrowing mechanism. This will allow institutional players to provide temporarily available assets for market operations, legalize covered short selling, and strengthen the role of market makers. Special attention is paid to independent issuer research, which is critical for transparent pricing.
Self-regulation and investor rights protection
The program provides for granting the KASE exchange and its regulatory functions greater autonomy. The next step is creating an independent regulatory committee within the exchange's structure that will make decisions separately from commercial management. Information on signs of market manipulation will be promptly transmitted to the agency.
In parallel, requirements for corporate governance and transparency of public companies are being tightened, which should strengthen the protection of minority shareholders' rights and build long-term trust among retail investors. To implement these tasks, a new law "On the Capital Market" will be developed and submitted for discussion to the Mazhilis in December.
Tax incentives and a new form for business
Stimulating IPOs is planned through tax incentives. A "tax ladder" mechanism is proposed: the higher the free float and the wider the circle of shareholders, the greater the size of the benefit. This will support companies at the stage of preparing for public offering and increase market liquidity.
For growing businesses, a new organizational and legal form is being introduced — a non-public joint-stock company. It will become an intermediate link between an LLP and a public JSC, simplifying requirements for the issuer while maintaining minority shareholder protection. This will allow companies to issue shares and convertible instruments without immediately having to meet the strict standards of a full JSC.
My view: Kazakhstan demonstrates an understanding, rare for the post-Soviet space, that liquidity and trust are not only administrative requirements but also economic incentives. The combination of "tax incentives + self-regulation + simplified corporate form" is a comprehensive recipe that, with consistent implementation, could genuinely revive the capital market and open new opportunities for retail investors.