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Good practice Imported

Astana International Financial Centre — An English Common-Law Enclave for International Finance

Kazakhstan · Astana · See the Kazakhstan profile · See the Astana profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 27% 76/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Kazakhstan built an English-common-law jurisdiction in Astana in 2018 to attract international finance; by 2025 it hosted 4,900+ firms from 90+ countries and channelled $20bn into the economy since launch, though a 2024 IMF review flagged financial-stability links to watch.

4,900+
Registered AIFC companies (2025)
90+
Countries represented among registered firms (2025)
$6bn
Capital raised via AIFC (2025)
$3.1bn
Capital raised via AIFC (2024)
$20bn
Cumulative capital channelled since launch (2018-2025)
76%
Year-on-year rise in tax contributions (Q1-Q3 2025)
Astana International Financial Centre — An English Common-Law Enclave for International Finance

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC); Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA)
Period
2018–2025
Keywords
financial services, fintech, capital markets, investment promotion

Context

Kazakhstan established the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) on a December 2015 constitutional statute, formally launching 5 July 2018 as a ring-fenced English-common-law jurisdiction inside the country's civil-law system, with its own regulator (AFSA) and common-law court.

Objectives

The centre aims to attract international financial firms and capital by offering a familiar common-law legal environment, following the enclave financial-centre model pioneered by Dubai's DIFC and Qatar's QFC.

Activities

AFSA regulates AIFC participants under English common law, with an independent AIFC Court for commercial disputes; participation has grown to firms from the United States, United Kingdom, China, Türkiye, Singapore and the UAE among others.

Results

By 2025, AIFC hosted more than 4,900 registered companies from over 90 countries, with participants raising $6 billion in 2025 (up from $3.1 billion in 2024) and roughly $20 billion channelled into Kazakhstan's economy cumulatively since 2018.

Conclusions

An October 2024 IMF/World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program review found AIFC's financial activity still small relative to Kazakhstan's wider financial system, limiting near-term systemic risk, while flagging interconnections worth continued monitoring; the centre's use of an English common-law court inside a civil-law state has also been domestically controversial.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) regulator staff, AIFC Court judges/administrators, Management Council chaired by the President

Conditions for success

  • an independent regulator (AFSA) with an English-common-law court operating separately from the host civil-law system
  • high-level political backing (Presidentially chaired Management Council)
  • engagement with international bodies (IMF, World Bank, WEF) for credibility

Common failure modes

  • domestic friction inherent to enclave-style legal transplants (a common-law court inside a civil-law state)
  • IMF review flags financial-stability interconnections with the domestic system worth continued monitoring

Where it fits

Governance type
special economic/legal zone with independent regulator
Scale
national financial hub
Income level
upper-middle-income (Kazakhstan)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes Own resources / municipal budget

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Data sources

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