BISHKEK (24.kg) — The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF) acquired 7.5% of the shares of the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange CJSC on the secondary market and officially became its shareholder on 31 December 2020. This was announced at a meeting on the development of the stock exchange, which was chaired by the acting Prime Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Artem Novikov.

Artem Novikov explained:

The emergence of such an important player should draw the attention of potential investors to the securities market, which will serve as a catalyst for a serious strengthening of the investment component of the domestic stock market, especially as the National Bank has reduced the reserve requirements to cover potential losses of 50 to 5% on the securities of companies resident in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The Kyrgyz government and the RKDF plan to implement a number of measures in the future to promote the development of the country’s stock market. Initially, the main task will be the fund’s activity as an institutional investor, which will buy up to 15% of the volume of large bond issues.

As a result of the meeting, the State Service for Financial Market Regulation and Supervision has been tasked with preparing and submitting for approval in the near future a strategy for the development of the financial market and working on the issue of reducing the cost of services for the operation of companies on the stock exchange.