ASTANA – Trading volume at the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) hit 389.1 trillion tenge (US$753.6 billion) in 2024, 5% less than the previous year, said KASE Deputy Chairwoman Dana Amanzholova on Jan. 29 in Astana.
Photo credit: KASE
Delivering her remarks at the KASE Day in the Kazakh capital, Amanzholova focused on key trends that shaped KASE’s work in 2024.
“Stock market showed confident growth of 18%. The corporate sector was a key driver of this growth, which increased by more than two times,” she said. “The volume of trading in the foreign currencies market made up 38 trillion tenge ($73.6 billion), increasing by 28%.”
The volume of primary placements grew by 38%, from 7.1 trillion tenge ($13.8 billion) in 2023 to 9.8 trillion tenge ($19 billion) in 2024. Government bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance accounted for 57% of the total, decreasing from 72% in 2024. Corporate bonds jumped from 22% in 2023 to 35% in 2024.
The total trading volume of corporate bonds nearly doubled from 2.2 trillion tenge ($4.3 billion) in 2023 to 4.3 trillion tenge ($8.3 billion) in 2024. Amanzholova further highlighted a 32% growth in the secondary market for corporate bonds. The figure increased from 664.9 billion tenge ($1.3 billion) to 876.9 billion tenge ($1.7 billion).
As of Jan. 1, 2025, the total value of all companies listed on KASE had increased by 23% to 32.9 trillion tenge ($63.7 billion). The majority of the market, or 62%, is held by individual retailers, 16% by brokers, 6.9% by foreign residents, and 0.9% by banks.
According to Amanzholova, the total volume of government securities trade has reached eight trillion tenge ($15.5 billion) in 2024, including six trillion ($11.6 billion) on the primary market.
“The Ministry of Finance accounted for 5.6 trillion tenge ($10.8 billion) [of the total]. An average weighted yield to maturity ranged from 10.74% to 13.5 % per annum.,” she said. “The volume of secondary trading [on government securities market] totaled almost two trillion tenge ($3.9 billion). Regarding distribution, the Ministry of Finance accounted for 52%, and the National Bank notes for 46%.”
Key macroeconomic indicators
“As for macro indicators, in 2024, inflation in Kazakhstan fell to 8.6%. In response, the National Bank of Kazakhstan lowered the base rate to 14.25%. However, considering macroeconomic factors and the current situation, the NBK later raised it to 15.25%. Globally, inflation slowed across major economies. This trend was observed in the United States and the European Union, where central banks also cut base rates,” she said.
Amanzholova cited the latest macroeconomic survey by the National Bank, which projects key economic indicators for the end of 2025. Market participants forecast the base rate at 14.7%, annual inflation at 7.5%, and GDP growth at 4.7%.
“These projections mean there is cautious optimism among market participants regarding the macroeconomic situation,” she added.
