Kazakhstan reforms law

News has emerged of changes made by Kazakhstan’s parliament late last year to increase supervision of the country’s insurance industry. The new set of regulations strictly defines the role of foreign firms in the market and restricts the participation of foreign capital in the market. Non-resident insurers and reinsurers will not be allowed to establish their branches in Kazakhstan. And the equity participation of a non-resident of Kazakhstan is restricted to 25% for general insurers and 50% for life insurers. The law also stipulates at least one-third of the members of a company’s board that has foreign participation must be Kazakhstani citizens. In a country desperate to keep the money it does have, the government has set realistic regulations governing the outflow of capital given the size of the market. Companies will be allowed to reinsure up to 85% of their book with foreign reinsurers.