Exchange options
The four venues below cover most realistic routes for a Kazakh company. The requirements are summarised from the exchange profiles on this site, which link to the current rules; thresholds change, so always check the edition in force before filing.
| Exchange | Where | Segment to start | What is required |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIX | Astana, AIFC (regulator AFSA) | Main Market or Regional Equity Market Segment (REMS) | Main: expected market value from USD 1 million, free float 10%, 3 years of audited accounts with at least one profitable year (AIX may waive). REMS for issuers below USD 200 million: 1 year of accounts, no profit test; direct listing available only in REMS. |
| KASE | Almaty (regulator ARDFM) | Main Market, Premium or Standard; Alternative Market | Main Market: 3 years of existence and asset and revenue thresholds set in MCI, or an issuer rating of at least BB-. Premium adds IPO size, equity, free float of 10-25% by package, 300 shareholders and a market maker. Alternative Market has no size or profit thresholds. |
| LSE Main Market | London (regulator FCA) | Equity shares, commercial companies (ESCC) | Expected market value from GBP 30 million, free float 10%, an FCA-approved sponsor, prospectus with 3 years of audited accounts. A third-country company generally needs a listing at home or where most of its shares trade. |
| Nasdaq Dubai | Dubai, DIFC (regulator DFSA) | Growth Market or Main Market | Growth: expected value below USD 250 million, 1 year of audited accounts, free float 25%, 12-month lock-in for all pre-listing shareholders. Main: from USD 250 million, 3 years of IFRS accounts, 250 shareholders. No conversion into a UAE PJSC needed. |
Typical structures
Three structures appear most often. The simplest is a listing of the Kazakh joint stock company itself on KASE and, in parallel, on AIX. The second places a holding company in the AIFC above the operating business: the group then sits under common law, uses English-language documents and can list on AIX in US dollars, with KASE as a second venue. The third uses a holding in the ADGM or DIFC when the target investors are in the Gulf.
For London, the usual tools are global depositary receipts or shares of a holding company admitted in the ESCC category. Air Astana combined these elements in February 2024 with a simultaneous offering on the LSE, AIX and KASE, which shows that regulators in all three places can coordinate one transaction.
- Local JSC on KASE and AIX: minimal restructuring, local investor base, limited international reach.
- AIFC holding on AIX plus KASE: common law and USD trading without leaving Kazakhstan.
- Holding or DRs for London or Dubai: wider investor base, higher cost and disclosure load.
Home exchanges: KASE and AIX
KASE has the largest domestic investor base in Kazakhstan, including retail investors, and offers simplified admission for securities already listed on exchanges it recognises. Its thresholds are set in monthly calculation indices (MCI) and tenge, so they move each year with the MCI and the exchange rate.
AIX has a very low entry threshold and a regime designed for mid-size Central Asian companies. Its weak point is liquidity: trading is concentrated in a small number of large names, many of them dual-listed. For a mid-size issuer, the practical question is not admission but whether there will be enough trading after the IPO.
What to verify in Kazakhstan
- Link between a foreign offering and a KASE listing: according to legal commentary cited in the research for this site, Article 22-1 of the Law on the Securities Market ties the placement of shares abroad to a KASE listing; confirm the current wording.
- Currency regulation for receiving IPO proceeds abroad and for paying dividends to a foreign holding.
- Sector restrictions: subsoil use, strategic assets and other areas where a change of control or transfer of shares may need state consent.
- Tax treatment of contributing shares of the Kazakh company into an AIFC or foreign holding.
- Corporate law steps for converting an LLP into a JSC if the operating company is not yet a joint stock company.
A practical order of steps
- Collect the facts: years of IFRS audit, profit history, expected market value and the share the owners will float.
- Screen venues against the table above and the exchange profiles.
- Obtain a local legal opinion on currency control, permits and tax.
- Decide on the holding: none, AIFC, or ADGM/DIFC.
- Agree the listing sequence with the banks: home first, simultaneous, or international first.