The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has prepared a draft of a new capital market law. The document, published for public discussion in September 2026, will completely replace the existing 2003 securities market law. The Times of Central Asia reported the development.
Over the past 23 years, the old law received more than 60 packages of amendments. The regulatory framework was built around individual products, and instead of another targeted update, authorities decided to rewrite the foundational document. Technical requirements will move to bylaws, allowing rules to adapt without going through a lengthy legislative cycle.
Simplifying business access
Despite market growth—equity market capitalization on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) reached 50.2 trillion tenge by September 1, 2026—the state and financial institutions remain the primary borrowers. According to ARDFM estimates at the end of 2025, the quasi-state sector accounts for 75–80% of corporate debt, banks hold another 12–13%, and other private companies make up less than 5%.
Banks provide about 90% of financing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Kazakhstan. Going public currently saddles small companies with disproportionate legal, audit, and consulting costs.
The draft law introduces a separate category for SMEs with simplified listing, delisting, and disclosure rules. Issuers will be able to use a shortened securities prospectus. The regulator plans to digitize issue registration and transfer it directly from the ARDFM to the Central Securities Depository.
Retail investor protection and new assets
By September 2026, Kazakhstanis had opened more than 5.2 million brokerage accounts, but only about 276,000 are active.
The new law will divide investors into qualified and unqualified categories, restricting the sale of the riskiest products to the latter. If a broker sells a complex instrument to an unqualified client in violation of the rules, the investor will have the right to demand the trade be canceled. In this scenario, the broker must buy back the securities and compensate for any losses.
The document also establishes the status of digital financial assets, which will be regulated based on their economic substance. If a token effectively operates as a security or derivative, corresponding exchange rules will apply. Finteqstan previously reported that Kazakhstanis traded 21.5 billion tenge in crypto assets on the KASE platform; this segment will now receive formal legal status under the draft law.