Astana, 30 October. The ITS international trading platform, which operates in the Astana International Financial Centre, is launching securities trading at weekends from 31 October — a first for Kazakhstan — from 10:00 to 24:00 Astana time, the platform said.
On weekdays the ITS session lasts almost 18 hours, from 10:00 to 03:45 the next day, to cover US exchange hours. Saturday and Sunday trading will let retail investors react to weekend news without waiting for Monday. The platform did not specify which securities will be available at weekends or how settlement will work.
What it means: A Kazakh platform for foreign shares is moving to almost continuous trading, following the example of crypto exchanges and some brokers that offer round-the-clock trading.
Who benefits: Retail investors gain the ability to trade at a convenient time. Brokers gain more turnover and commissions. The risk is low weekend liquidity, when the main world exchanges are closed, and wide gaps between bid and ask prices.
Background: ITS was founded by SPB Exchange, Freedom Kazakhstan and the AIFC development fund. After sanctions against SPB Exchange, trading on ITS was suspended in November 2023, and in June 2024 the platform moved to its own trading and depository-clearing infrastructure in the AIFC.
