The Astana International Exchange (AIX) reported on October 9 that trading turnover for the first nine months of 2026 topped $1.9 billion, up more than 70% from $1.1 billion a year earlier. September was the busiest month in the exchange's history at $562 million (about KZT 250.2 billion), beating the previous record by $150 million.
AIX first published the September figure in its monthly update on October 5; the quarterly release added the year-to-date totals. Azerbaijan's Trend news agency carried the nine-month numbers on October 12.
A note on wording: the opening paragraph of the AIX release refers to "3Q2026" turnover above $1.9 billion, but its data section compares that figure with the same period of 2025 ($1.1 billion), and a single quarter cannot reach $1.9 billion when the record month was $562 million. We read it as a nine-month total.
The numbers
At the end of September the AIX Official List held 436 securities from 210 issuers. So far this year, 77 issuers have listed 126 instruments. Debt and equity raised on the exchange came to about $6 billion in nine months and $17.4 billion since launch.
AIX has 69 trading members, including brokers from Kazakhstan, China, Europe and the Middle East; four joined this year. Ten global custodians hold sub-accounts at the AIX Central Securities Depository, and more than 2.4 million retail investor accounts sit with the depository through member brokers.
Renminbi in focus
New debt listings in the third quarter came in four currencies: US dollars, tenge, UAE dirhams and renminbi. September brought three renminbi deals: two dim sum tranches from KazMunayGas (CNY 1.5 billion over five years and CNY 2 billion over ten), CNY 3.7 billion of dim sum bonds from the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, and the Finance Ministry's second sovereign panda bond of CNY 6.6 billion. We covered the terms of those issues in earlier reports.
Other currencies were busy too: a ninth tenge tranche from JPMorgan Chase Bank (KZT 9.51 billion), $500 million of coupon-bearing notes from Freedom Finance SPC, Jet Group's first dirham-denominated green bond tranche and a third tenge sukuk tranche from Gamma-T.
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Carbon credits arrive
On September 10 AIX began trading voluntary carbon credits verified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), describing itself as the first exchange in Central Asia with its own infrastructure for the purpose. London-based Valor Carbon is the first supplier, with trades handled by member Standard International Market. VCS is run by the non-profit Verra, and credits must be registered in its registry. AIX already lists I-REC renewable energy certificates.
The exchange also welcomed BHM Capital as the first UAE institution to connect as a market-making member, via the Tabadul platform, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange.
What it means for Chinese investors
AIX counts the AIFC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Silk Road Fund and Nasdaq among its shareholders, and Chinese brokers among its members. This year's run of renminbi listings suggests AIX is becoming one of the venues through which Kazakh issuers tap renminbi capital – worth a look for Chinese banks and brokers interested in underwriting and secondary-market roles.
Carbon credit and I-REC trading may interest Chinese investors in Kazakh wind and solar plants, offering a local channel to register and sell environmental attributes. Specific terms should be checked against AIX rules and the relevant regulators.
Record turnover measures overall market activity, not the performance of any single security. Before trading any instrument, investors should understand its listing rules, settlement currency and liquidity.
Sources:
AIFC / AIX, 9 October 2026: https://aifc.kz/news/aix-presents-its-results-for-3q2026/
AIX, September 2026 market update, 5 October 2026: https://www.aixkz.com/en/pages/news/view/total-traded-value-on-aix-in-september-reached-us562-mln-or-kzt-2502-bln
Trend, 12 October 2026: https://www.trend.az/casia/kazakhstan/4233866.html
KazMunayGas press release (KASE disclosure), 28 August 2026: https://kase.kz/files/emitters/KMGZ/kmgz_relizs_280826_1.pdf
Development Bank of Kazakhstan press release (KASE disclosure), 9 September 2026: https://kase.kz/files/emitters/BRKZ/brkz_relizs_090926_1.pdf