The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has published its first regional aviation finance report — "Aviation Finance in Kazakhstan and Central Asia: Global Trends and the Role of the Astana International Financial Centre" — while also supporting Kazakh cargo carrier Jupiter Jet's first aircraft leasing transaction with a US-based lessor. The lessor's name, aircraft type and transaction value have not been disclosed.
The report examines financing models — operating leases, finance leases, capital market instruments — against established global aviation finance hubs including Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and the US.
"To strengthen Kazakhstan's position as a regional aviation finance hub, the AIFC is developing the 'soft' infrastructure required to build an aviation finance ecosystem," said Zhanbolat Kakishev, AIFC's Chief Product Officer. Assel Bagissova, Head of the AIFC's Aviation Finance Hub, added: "Aircraft leasing is a complex mechanism that requires alignment of commercial, legal and technical terms."
Kazakhstan's pitch rests on specific structural arguments: an English common law jurisdiction, more than 55 tax treaties, and participation in the Cape Town Convention on aircraft equipment guarantees. Per an earlier AIFC-linked report (March 2026), between 55% and 80% of the region's aircraft already operate under leasing arrangements — meaning the market AIFC is targeting is already structurally dependent on outside financing.
Former Air Astana CEO Peter Foster (who stepped down in March 2026 and now serves as Senior Advisor to the Board) had previously noted: "Kazakhstan leads Central Asian aviation, yet we face regional competition. We need a focused development strategy and sound investment decisions" — an acknowledgment, even from within the country, that leadership wasn't guaranteed by default.