Beyond Oil And Gas: How Kazakhstan Wants To Become A Gateway For Chinese Capital And Technology

For many Chinese investors, Kazakhstan and Central Asia have long been associated with natural resources—oil, gas, mining and commodities.

Zhanbolat Kakishev, Chief Product Officer of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), believes that perception is beginning to change.

“Traditionally, China always looked into the advanced economies—Europe, America, Australia, Canada—and tried to do business and build production there because they would like to be closer to the international customer,” Kakishev told TechNode in Astana.

“But I think Central Asia was always skipped and overlooked,” he said. “We were only considered to be a natural-resources type play.”

Kakishev argues that Kazakhstan today offers more than resources. With access to Eurasian markets, investment incentives and special economic zones, he believes AIFC can serve as a platform for Chinese companies seeking international expansion.

Building a common-law financial center in Astana

AIFC was established as a financial center with its own legal and regulatory framework.

“We are set up as a common law jurisdiction,” Kakishev said.

The center has its own regulator, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), as well as its own court and arbitration system. Its court includes English judges, with a former Chief Justice of England and Wales serving as chairman.

AIFC also operates the Astana International Exchange (AIX), which focuses on international currencies within the common-law framework, while Kazakhstan’s stock exchange in Almaty mainly handles tenge-denominated securities.

According to Kakishev, AIFC offers corporate structures including partnerships, private and public companies, foundations and trusts.

“We are quite business oriented,” he said, noting that AIFC can adjust regulations faster than national legislative processes.

AIFC had surpassed 6,200 registered companies at the time of the interview and provides an Expat Centre that Kakishev described as a “one-stop shop,” offering around 120 services including visa support.

From finance to AI infrastructure

As Chief Product Officer, Kakishev oversees new financial products and investment initiatives within AIFC.

One focus is aviation finance. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are expected to lease around 300 new aircraft over the next four years, and AIFC is developing a framework to attract aviation leasing companies while exploring sustainable aviation fuel.

The center is also expanding into green finance, renewable energy certificates and carbon markets. Kakishev said Kazakhstan’s large land area creates opportunities for nature-based projects.

Islamic finance is another area of development. “We have both Malaysian and Arabic scholars within our organization,” he said. “We came up with a framework which we believe actually reconciles both.”

AIFC is also examining Kazakhstan’s role in artificial intelligence. Kakishev said the country may not compete directly in large language models.

“We realized that Kazakhstan probably is too late on the large language models application,” he said.

Instead, he believes Kazakhstan could find opportunities in AI infrastructure. “We see a lot of potential for Kazakhstan to play in the infrastructure space, building data centers.”

Turning resources and ideas into investable opportunities

While mining remains central to Kazakhstan’s economy, AIFC is working to address financing gaps in the sector.

Kakishev pointed to a dual IPO with Hong Kong involving Jiaxin International Resources Investment Limited as an example. “We would like to have more Jiaxins,” he said.

AIFC is developing a junior mining platform where exploration companies can present projects to investors after preliminary assessments. “We are acting as a centralized depository for all junior mining opportunities,” Kakishev said.

The center is applying similar financial structures to creative industries, allowing filmmakers and musicians to establish investment vehicles through AIFC.

“For international players, it’s also easier to invest when there is a proper common-law GP-LP kind of structure,” he said.

China, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan’s next phase

For Kakishev, China and Hong Kong are natural partners in Kazakhstan’s development. “I think China, including Hong Kong, is a natural fit with the opportunities which exist in Kazakhstan,” he said.

He sees Hong Kong as a source of capital and financial expertise, while China can contribute manufacturing and technology capabilities. “The third dimension I would mention is the technology transfer,” Kakishev said. “We don’t want only investments; we want capabilities.”

He highlighted areas including automobile manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, composites and critical minerals. “We would like to use that capability and create a win-win situation for both of the countries,” he said.

Kazakhstan as a testing ground for startups

Kakishev also believes Kazakhstan could become a launchpad for Chinese technology companies expanding overseas. “Technology companies usually want to scale,” he said.

Rather than immediately entering highly competitive markets, startups could use Kazakhstan and Eurasia as a testing environment. “We think that Kazakhstan market, Eurasian market, in its own right, can be a good piloting stage,” Kakishev said.

“Kazakhstan was always at the crossroads, uniting Europe, China, north Russia, and some of the Arabic culture as well, because of the historical heritage,” he said.

“People here understand different cultures, and it’s a good place to test your hypotheses and pivot your startup into a new geographic location,” he said.

For Kakishev, China-Kazakhstan cooperation has two major tracks: government digitalization and startup ecosystem development. “I definitely believe there is both big partnerships, win-win, both in the government sector as well as the private sector,” he said.

For Chinese companies looking beyond traditional markets, Kazakhstan wants to be seen not only as a source of resources, but as a financial hub, technology partner and testing ground for global expansion.