In accordance with the
draft law approved by the Kazakh Mazhilis in the first reading, it will now be
easier to open a foreign bank in the country. In particular, it is envisaged to
reduce the list of documents required to obtain permission for opening a
financial institution. The number of documents will depend on the rating of the
foreign company. Thus, for an investor opening a subsidiary bank or a branch,
the list will be reduced from 24 to 17 or eight. It is also proposed to halve
the asset requirements for a foreign bank when establishing branches to $10
billion. Additionally, the permitted types of activity may be expanded, and the
procedure for obtaining a licence may be optimized.
«The list of permitted
activities will be expanded: branches will be allowed to conduct currency
exchange, act as transfer agents, and issue payment cards. In the second stage,
after obtaining permission to open a subsidiary bank or a branch of a foreign
bank, the list of documents required to obtain a banking license will also be
reduced from 50 to 7,» noted Madina Abylkassymova, the Chairperson of the
Kazakh Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market.
A separate set of
amendments provides for the optimization of norms in the laws regulating the
financial market, including the insurance sector and securities market. Thus, it
proposes the expansion of the types of activities and investment opportunities
for insurance organizations in the IT sector. Additionally, a requirement for
participation in the capital of an insurance broker is established in
accordance with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) on anti-money laundering.
«To
simplify foreign investors’ access to the domestic stock market, it is proposed
to enable international settlement organizations, such as Euroclear and
Clearstream, to open direct accounts in the Central Depository of Kazakhstan.
This would allow them to maintain records and confirm their clients' ownership
of Kazakh securities,» Madina Abylkassymova added.
Web-editor: Гайни Жумабек
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