Astana International Financial Centre explores to partner with India's GIFT City

Astana International Financial Centre is exploring potential collaboration with India's GIFT city due to regional proximity. This partnership aims to enhance financial services and investment opportunities between Kazakhstan and India. AIFC has established itself as a leading financial hub in Central Asia since its launch in 2018. Initiatives from AIFC include developments in sustainable finance and digital assets.

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is exploring to partner with India's GIFT city given the geographical proximity between India and Kazakhstan.

"GIFT city is emerging as a key financial centre. AIFC is Eurasia's best performing financial centre and a collaboration between the two entities is being explored," Renat Bekturov, Governor of AIFC told ET.

AIFC is an independent jurisdiction where investors and businesses meet emerging opportunities of Kazakhstan and Central Asia in a transparent and sustainable environment backed by the principles of English Common Law. More than 6500 companies from 90 countries are registered within the AIFC jurisdiction, including companies from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Türkiye, Singapore, India, the UAE, and others.

Among key objectives of the AIFC are facilitating investment attraction into the economy of the Kazakhstan; Developing Kazakhstan's securities market and ensuring its integration with international capital markets, Advancing insurance and banking services, Islamic finance, financial technologies, digital assets, e-commerce, and innovative projects, Strengthening financial and professional services based on international best practices, and International recognition of the financial centre.

The AIFC was officially launched in 2018. Since then, the full institutional infrastructure required for its operation has been established and is functioning effectively. This includes the AIFC Authority, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the Astana International Exchange (AIX), the AIFC Court, and the International Arbitration Centre (IAC), as well as a number of products and ecosystem development areas (the Green Finance Centre, Expat Centre, the AIFC Academy, the

Aviation Finance Hub, Junior Mining Platform, etc.).

"Over the years, the AIFC has achieved significant progress as the leading financial centre in Central Asia. It has made a substantial contribution to the development of Kazakhstan's financial market by attracting both direct and portfolio investment, improving the regulatory framework, and engaging international financial institutions. These achievements have laid the foundation for a more integrated and globally competitive financial ecosystem," Bekturov said.

As of September 2026, the total volume of investments attracted through the AIFC over the years of its operation - $27 billion. The AIFC is the only independent jurisdiction in the region based on the principles of English common law.

"It offers a business-friendly environment including tax incentives for licensed companies, the possibility of establishing companies under legal structures new to Kazakhstan, simplified labour and visa regimes, and favourable entry and residence conditions for foreign employees through the Expat Centre and the Investment Tax Residency Programme," according to Bekturov.

For three consecutive years, Astana has maintained its position as the leading financial centre in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Global Financial Centres Index, outperforming other regional capitals and offering investors a comprehensive ecosystem integrated with global financial markets, according to Bekturov.

In 2023, the AIFC successfully completed an assessment confirming its compliance with the international standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT). In 2022, the AIFC regulatory framework was also recognised as compliant with the tax transparency standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

AIX is a world-class exchange operating on the Nasdaq platform. The AIX Central Securities Depository maintains a direct account with Euroclear and is integrated with Nasdaq Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Exchange through the digital hub Tabadul.

The AIFC Green Finance Centre has verified approximately 70% of all green bonds and loans issued in Kazakhstan. With the participation of the AIFC, Kazakhstan became the first country in the region to develop a national Green Taxonomy, creating the foundation for sustainable finance development.

The AIFC also launched Kazakhstan's first exchange platform for trading I-REC renewable energy certificates on AIX, creating infrastructure for climate finance, tokenisation of green assets, and integration of projects into global markets.

The AIFC was the first jurisdiction in the region to introduce regulation for digital assets. In October 2025, the AIFC was recognised as one of the world's leading jurisdictions for implementing international regulatory standards for crypto and digital asset regulation developed by the international association of regulators - the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

The AIFC aims to strengthen its position as a leading regional asset management hub, further integrating Kazakhstan into global capital markets, according to Bekturov.

Within a relatively short period, it has become the region's primary hub for interaction in asset and fund management, supporting private equity funds, hedge funds, venture funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and other collective investment vehicles.

The AIFC has established a legal environment unique to the region for the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property. This enables startups and creative projects to scale securely, protect their copyrights at the international level, and attract capital, according to Bekturov.

To support the development of the creative industry in the region, the AIFC is introducing a specialised ecosystem that includes venture funds, venture studios, and platforms for asset tokenisation and crowdfunding. Through this approach, the AIFC is building financial infrastructure that transforms creative ideas into protected and investment-ready business projects, according to Bekturov.

The Aviation Finance Hub has been established to develop an aviation finance ecosystem, including aircraft financing and leasing, the expansion of industry expertise, and the attraction of international market participants. Within this initiative, the AIFC also aims to support the development of environmentally sustainable aviation and facilitate the implementation of aviation projects.

The AIFC has also launched an initiative to support junior mining companies, aimed at facilitating access to financing for projects at the early stages of exploration and promoting Kazakhstan's development as a regional hub in the mining industry.