Kazakhstan's International Reserves Reach $104.7 Billion According to National Bank's 2024 Forecast
In a Nutshell: Kazakhstan's Economic Stability Shines Amid Global Turmoil, thanks to a skyrocketing international reserve of $104.7 billion, as disclosed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan's Chairman, Timur Suleimenov, during a presentation. Kazakhstan's inflation declined significantly, dipping from 9.8% in 2023 to 8.6% in 2024, a testament to strategic measures aimed at economic stabilization.
The country's gold and foreign exchange reserves surged by 27.5%, reaching an impressive $45.8 billion, a growth attributed to gold transactions and high investment income. The total international reserves now stand at a record-breaking $52.3 billion.
The assets of the National Fund amounted to $58.8 billion, with a 7.6% yield on the fund's currency portfolio. A substantial chunk of these resources has been channeled towards funding crucial infrastructure projects, with 238 billion tenge (US$467.8 million) set aside for such initiatives in 2024 alone.
Pension assets managed by the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund witnessed a 25.9% increase, reaching 22.4 trillion tenge (US$44 billion). Investment income from these assets doubled the 2023 figure, amounting to 3.4 trillion tenge (US$6.7 billion), and the yield on pension assets reached a substantial 17.8%.
Embracing the digital age, the National Bank is developing Kazakhstan's digital financial infrastructure. The bank's payment systems now process approximately 90% of non-cash transactions in the country. Pilot projects are underway on the digital tenge platform to monitor public fund usage, and a new interbank transfer system using phone numbers and QR codes has been implemented.
The National Bank is also working on creating a legal framework for regulating the digital financial assets market. Projects focused on tokenization of financial and real assets, like precious metals and accounts receivable (factoring), are in progress to enhance investment opportunities, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Stablecoins backed by tenge are being considered as a secure medium of exchange for digital asset transactions.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has underscored several key priorities for the future: curbing inflation, increasing reserves, boosting public trust in the financial system, and continuing the development of digital infrastructure. The establishment of a comprehensive legal framework for digital financial assets is also on the agenda.
Insights: Kazakhstan is vigorously advancing its digital financial sector by fostering fintech growth, launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), improving payment systems, and creating a regulatory framework for digital financial assets. This includes tokenization of financial and real assets to expand investment opportunities and the exploration of stablecoins backed by the tenge for secure digital transactions. The government is also considering opening crypto banks to control digital money flows and boost state revenue.
- In the realm of business and technology, Kazakhstan's National Bank is actively developing its digital financial infrastructure, with a focus on increasing digital transactions, creating a framework for digital financial assets, and even considering the establishment of crypto banks.
- The advancements in Kazakhstan's finance sector, driven by technology, are not confined to digital payments alone. The government is also exploring the tokenization of financial and real assets, such as precious metals and accounts receivable, to enhance investment opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
