The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) presented a concept for transitioning to a self-regulatory organization model. The platform proposes taking over first-line supervision of trading and issuers, leaving the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) with veto power and strategic control. The specialized Telegram channel FinMentor reported this, and the publication BES.media also provided details of the concept.
How first-line supervision will work
The target reform model is described as a “strong exchange-self-regulatory organization.” According to the concept’s authors, KASE should receive broader powers to control the business conduct of market participants.
To implement these tasks, the exchange proposes creating a separate regulatory committee. Its competence will include approving internal rules, admitting and monitoring issuers, and controlling the trading process. The committee will have the right to review internal audit materials, apply disciplinary measures to violators, and act as an arbitrator in disputes between market participants.
This continues the exchange’s course toward structural and technological modernization. Finteqstan previously wrote that KASE discussed digital asset development with Ant Digital Technologies, and is now rebuilding its core control architecture. The reform is planned in stages. The regulatory committee must be formed within six months after the relevant law takes effect.
In the future, KASE is considering a deeper separation of commercial and supervisory functions. The regulatory committee could be spun off into a separate legal entity within the group.
Dividing powers with the state
The emergence of an exchange committee means creating a two-tier control system, where the ARDFM retains the function of supreme supervision.
The state regulator will be able to intervene in the committee’s work at any stage. The ARDFM reserves the right to veto exchange decisions, demand their review, and request meeting minutes and all related reporting. If necessary, the agency can temporarily restrict specific committee powers. The exchange must transfer all materials showing signs of industry legislation violations to the ARDFM.
As benchmarks for the new model, KASE cites the experience of Bursa Malaysia, SGX in Singapore, JPX in Japan, and KRX in South Korea. According to the platform, more than 70% of exchanges worldwide perform self-regulatory functions, and in Asian financial centers, disciplinary procedures are already conducted at the trading platform level.
Context: Market reform through 2030
KASE’s self-regulation proposal emerged amid preparations for a massive state program to develop Kazakhstan’s capital market through 2030. As Kapital.kz writes, the document must be drafted by September 2026, and a new securities market law is planned for adoption by the end of the year.
According to ARDFM Chair Madina Abylkassymova, Kazakhstan’s equity market capitalization reached 39 trillion tenge, accounting for 24% of the country’s GDP. The volume of corporate bonds is estimated at 16.2 trillion tenge, or 10% of GDP. At the same time, the regulator abandoned the idea of fully merging KASE and the AIFC Exchange (AIX). According to National Business, instead of a merger, the platforms will strengthen coordination through a single commission: already, issuers listed on both exchanges simultaneously form over 85% of equity market capitalization.
The exchange is building its supervision on the Asian model, where disciplinary procedures are conducted at the platform level but under state regulator control.