The Russian Raiffeisenbank has been added to the list of shareholders of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) as a nominal holder of shares. It holds a stake of 13.1%. It became one of the holders of 10% or more of the exchange's shares on December 3, 2024. The specific ownership of the securities for which the Russian subsidiary of the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International acts as a depository has not been disclosed.
Additionally, as of February 1, 2025, the list of shareholders of the Kazakh stock platform no longer includes two participants with Russian registrations, which had acquired a stake in the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) in the fall of 2024. This stake also amounted to 13.1%. On the KASE website, the new participants were identified as follows: LLC "Tetis Capital," which manages the combined mutual fund "Nigella" (stake - 8.5%), and LLC "Balance Asset Management" with the combined mutual fund "Levkoe" (stake - 4.6%).
Recall that the Moscow Exchange was placed on the OFAC sanctions list of the U.S. Treasury on June 12, 2024. The "company" was accompanied by its Russian subsidiaries - the National Clearing Center (NCC) and the National Settlement Depository (NSD). The following day, June 13, the Chairman of the National Bank, Timur Suleimenov, told reporters that "various options are being discussed" in response to a question about the potential buyout of the MOEX stake by the Kazakh side. At KASE, there were discussions about plans to negotiate with the Russian shareholder regarding the acquisition of "shares by the exchange itself and/or the sale to third parties in coordination with KASE."
After the entry of new shareholders in October 2024, the Chairman of the Board of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Alina Aldambergen, held a briefing where, as reported by Forbes Kazakhstan, she claimed that the exchange "does not know the terms under which MOEX sold its shares," and KASE "plans to request" information about affiliated parties from the new shareholders.
As of February 1, 2025, the list of KASE shareholders includes over 100 participants. These include banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and other entities, as well as individuals. The largest share of the stock - about 47% - belongs to the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan.