Political leaders as well as the international financial industry came to Astana in the first week of July 2018 for the Astana Finance Days and the grand opening of Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

The opening of AIFC fell on the 20th anniversary of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, providing another good reason for a big celebration in Astana.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev formally opened AIFC after his keynote speech. He made very clear, that the Kazakh government is fully committed to making a success story out of AIFC.

Our CEO Dr. Jochen Biedermann spoke at the capital markets forum at a panel moderated by François Goffinet (Euroclear) on new technologies and digitalization. He explained the new world of security tokens and what it means for exchange infrastructures.

Among the guests were many global leaders, including His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister U.A.E. and former Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Chun-ying Leung.

AIFC intends to develop a healthy and prospering FinTech and Blockchain ecosystem in Astana.

Jochen Biedermann is a member of AIFC’s FinTech Advisory Council, which also covers Blockchain and Cryptocurrency issues.

In a live interview with Kazakh business channel Atameken, he stressed that the Belt and Road Initiative as well as other regional developments will provide ample opportunities for Kezakh startups in the financial industry and beyond.

AIFC will have its future offices in the 2017 Expo site in Astana, with its exciting Kazakh pavilion “Nur Alem”.

We congratulate AIFC to successful and exciting Astana Finance Days and wish them a good start!