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Eurasia
August 3, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 19
record 34% of all OFZs and were worth RUB785bn ($12.7bn) as of the peak seen in February.
Compliance departments are said to love the Clearstream and Euroclear post-trade services arrangements as counterparty risks from banks and brokerages operating in someone else’s jurisdiction can be gotten rid of at a stroke —
not to mention the considerable cost savings that can be made. Clearstream said in a press release that Kazakhstan is its 57th market link. Citibank Kazakhstan JSC will act as local custodian and cash correspondent bank.
Philip Brown, Co-CEO of Clearstream Banking S.A., said: “The new link to Kazakhstan is an important milestone as it follows Clearstream’s strategic aim to provide further access for our global customers to the Caucasus and CIS region. We are happy to partner with Citibank to connect the Kazakhstan market to Clearstream’s international settlement infrastructure.”
Daniyar Akishev, governor of the National Bank
of Kazakhstan, commented: “Clearstream’s new Kazakhstan link is a major step for capital mar- ket development in our country. We are happy to continue to cooperate with Clearstream, and that the new link will connect European, international and domestic market participants at international standards.”
The new capital market has been a godsend for the Russian government amid the pressure of international sanctions — the Russian budget deficit is increasingly funded by foreign investors buying ruble-denominated assets. Kazakhstan’s close economic ties to Russia have meant the sanctions effect has tangentially impacted on the Kazakhs’ level of prosperity. Thus the access to the clearing houses is likely to help Kazakhstan draw in much needed extra financing to support economic diversification efforts.
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