Head of KASE comments on what will happen if MOEX is added to the sanctions list

Alina Aldambergen, head of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has talked about what the platform can do if the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), which controls a big stake in KASE, is added to the international sanctions list.

«KASE is very serious when it comes to compliance with sanctions. We would stop doing business with any person on the sanctions list immediately after we came to learn about such a fact. So far, MOEX isn’t on the sanctions list. However, we are examining international requirements and consulting on the issue, so we are going to be ready if this happens,» Aldambergen said, noting that the Russian exchange continues to be a strategic partner of KASE.

Even though KASE and MOEX are supporting operational cooperation its main form is IT services.

In early November, the U.S. imposed sanctions against SPB Exchange, another Russian platform that specializes in providing access to foreign stocks. The Russian exchange also used to provide technical support to the ITS exchange in Astana which was created as a secondary market of foreign stocks. When the American sanctions were imposed, SPB dropped its share in ITS.

Currently, the European Union is discussing the 12th package of anti-Russian sanctions. If it is adopted, it will hit the Russian exports of oil, diamonds and liquified natural gas. There are no direct indications that MOEX might be affected.