KASE shakes off some of its functions

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has transferred part of its functions to its subsidiary structure called the KASE Clearing Center. The center will be engaged in clearing and settlement activities and will play the role of central counterparty in all deals.

The KASE Clearing Center has obtained all the necessary licenses from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), including a license for some banking operations, which is a standard practice for clearing centers. In addition, as a central counterparty, the center will act as an intermediary and formal executor for all transactions on KASE, being responsible to bona fide participants for the delivery of the asset or money.

«The separation of functions between the two subjects of the exchange market infrastructure was carried out with the purpose of creating more comfortable conditions for investors, attracting new foreign investors, introducing the best international standards and expanding opportunities to provide services on other exchange markets in Kazakhstan and the region, as well as reducing potential risks for infrastructure organizations,» KASE said in a statement.

Currently, there are 43 KASE members who are participants in the clearing center. Moreover, the center is currently serving more than 1,500 financial instruments, including 989 securities issued by 252 issuers.

Initially, KASE, which was established in 1993, performed all clearing, settlement and central counterparty functions on its own. Later, however, it started gradually transferring these tasks to its subsidiaries. In 2012, the platform shook off functions related to derivatives; in 2018, related to the foreign exchange market and in 2019 and 2020 related to the stock and money markets. The KASE Clearing Center was officially established in June 2022 by the reorganization of eTrade.kz, another subsidiary of KASE.