ASTANA – The activities of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) were presented Nov. 8 at a high-level business seminar on Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) operations and projects in Hong Kong. The event was organised by the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Photo credit: zakon.kz
AIFC Managing Director Sayasat Nurbek said during a meeting with representatives of the economic and financial circles of Hong Kong that Kazakhstan and Central Asia have the potential to develop infrastructure investments. In this context, the Kazakh financial centre is interested in studying the experience of Hong Kong’s infrastructure investments and financial flows.
“This area is designed for the development of infrastructure investment and financing and may also be of interest to potential investors to develop infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan,” Nurbek said.
The event attracted more than 300 industry leaders among them about 40 IFFO partners, including multinational development banks and financial institutions, public sector investors, project developers, commercial banks, asset managers of financial firms from China, Hong Kong and foreign countries, according to Inform.kz.
The AIFC is currently collaborating to develop interaction with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Large-scale financing is scheduled to provide a platform for comprehensive financial services to businesses and corporations that invest in infrastructure projects along the Silk Road Economic Belt as part of the One Belt, One Road global initiative.
The AIFC adopted a Hong Kong Monetary Authority proposal on the development of a partnership with the newly created IFFO platform. The partnership with the AIFC was announced at the Private Participation in Infrastructure Project Finance in Emerging Markets seminar held Oct. 26 this year with the participation of heads of international financial institutions in Hong Kong.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the constitutional law “On the Astana International Financial Centre” Dec. 7, 2015. The law supports the establishment of a leading international financial services centre. The AIFC is set to follow English law principles and standards with English as the official language of the centre.
The AIFC aims to create favourable conditions for investment and finance and develop the securities market, ensuring its integration with international capital markets. The AIFC also intends to develop insurance, banking and Islamic finance markets in the country.
The IFFO is a platform established by Hong Kong Monetary Authority to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing July 4. It is a growing platform that provides an opportunity to strengthen cooperation, research infrastructure investment and financing opportunities.
The IFFO functions are to create a platform for the exchange of information and experience, increase capacity building and knowledge about investments in infrastructure and funding, promote market and development of new products, and facilitate investment in infrastructure and regulate financial flows.
