Kazakhstan’s Int’l Reserves Hit $104.7 Billion as National Bank Reports 2024 Gains

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s international reserves have reached $104.7 billion, a figure that represents a solid buffer of stability amid ongoing global economic challenges. Timur Suleimenov, chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, shared these figures during his recent presentation of the 2024 performance report and 2025 plans to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

One of the key achievements noted by Suleimenov was the reduction of inflation, which slowed from 9.8% in 2023 to 8.6% in 2024. This progress is a result of strategic measures aimed at stabilizing the national economy, he wrote on his Facebook page on May 14.

Kazakhstan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves rose by 27.5%, reaching $45.8 billion. This increase is attributed to gold transactions and high investment income. As a result, the total volume of Kazakhstan’s international reserves now stands at a record $52.3 billion.

The assets of the National Fund totaled $58.8 billion. The yield on the fund’s currency portfolio was 7.6%. A significant portion of the National Fund’s resources has been directed toward financing key infrastructure projects, with 238 billion tenge (US$467.8 million) allocated for such initiatives in 2024 alone.

The report highlighted the growth of pension assets managed by the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund, which increased by 25.9% to reach 22.4 trillion tenge (US$44 billion). Investment income from these assets amounted to 3.4 trillion tenge (US$6.7 billion), doubling the 2023 figure, and the yield on pension assets reached 17.8%.

According to Suleimenov, the National Bank remains committed to the development of Kazakhstan’s digital financial infrastructure.

“The bank’s payment systems now process approximately 90% of non-cash transactions in the country. In a bid to increase transparency and streamline financial processes, pilot projects are being launched on the digital tenge platform to track public fund usage. A new interbank transfer system utilizing phone numbers and QR codes has been implemented, and all banks have begun connecting to the platform,” he wrote.

The National Bank is also working on creating a legal framework for regulating the digital financial assets market. This includes projects focused on the tokenization of financial and real assets, such as precious metals and accounts receivable (factoring), which aim to expand access to investment opportunities and working capital, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Stablecoins backed by tenge are also being explored as a secure medium of exchange for digital asset transactions.

Tokayev emphasized several key priorities for the coming years: curbing inflation, increasing reserves, reinforcing public trust in the financial system, and continuing the development of digital infrastructure. He also instructed the establishment of a comprehensive legal framework for digital financial assets.

Link : https://astanatimes.com/2025/05/kazakhstans-intl-reserves-hit-104-7-billion-as-national-bank-reports-2024-gains/