Kazakhstan is accelerating its shift from the role of a transit hub between Asia and Europe toward becoming a regional high-tech center. The results of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to China showed that cooperation between the two countries is increasingly moving toward artificial intelligence, cloud services, digital finance, and industrial manufacturing. According to data from the business publication IntelliNews, during talks in Shanghai the parties signed more than 70 commercial agreements worth a total of about $15 billion, spanning a wide range of industries — from transport to high-tech manufacturing.
A prominent role in these processes is played by Timur Turlov’s Freedom Holding Corp., which is building partnerships with major Chinese technology companies and creating digital infrastructure for deploying their solutions across Central Asia. The holding combines financial services with the development of its own technology platforms, which allows it to adapt foreign products to the requirements of the local market.
Economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and China continues to grow. According to official data, trade turnover between the two countries reached a record $49 billion last year, while total Chinese investment in Kazakhstan’s economy exceeded $30 billion. Today, about 8,500 enterprises with Chinese capital participation operate in the country, reports IntelliNews. Alongside industrial projects, digital infrastructure, logistics, and equipment manufacturing for the new economy are also developing.
Just a few years ago, cooperation was built mainly around raw-material projects and transport routes. Today the focus has shifted to computing capacity, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, electric-vehicle battery production, and digital services. Kazakhstan seeks not only to serve international transit but also to develop its own technological base capable of becoming a platform for exporting modern solutions.
Freedom Holding Corp. plays an important role in this new model. During his visit to China, the holding’s founder Timur Turlov held meetings with the leadership of Alibaba Cloud, Ant Group, Tencent, Baidu, and Geely. Following the talks, the parties agreed to develop cooperation in cross-border payments, cloud technologies, autonomous transport, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, and digital solutions for the agricultural sector. According to the entrepreneur, China has made a technological leap in recent years, and many innovations have already become part of everyday life, so this cooperation opens opportunities to introduce similar services in Kazakhstan.
One of the most notable projects will be the integration of the Alipay and WeChat Pay payment systems with Freedom Bank’s infrastructure. After launch, users will be able to pay for purchases in China and on Chinese online platforms directly in tenge through the Freedom SuperApp, while Chinese tourists will be able to use their familiar payment services in Kazakhstan through the bank’s terminal network.
Another area concerns the development of cloud technologies. Freedom Holding Corp. and Alibaba Cloud intend to cooperate on the basis of the Akashi Data Center currently under construction in Astana. The project involves developing cloud infrastructure, training engineering specialists, and creating digital services aimed at the Central Asian market. In addition, China Mobile International is considering this data center as a site for hosting cloud solutions and computing capacity.
The holding is also involved in creating an artificial intelligence center worth up to $2 billion. The project envisions the use of NVIDIA architecture and a computing complex with a capacity of about 100 MW. Kazakhstan is expected to provide the infrastructure, power supply, and training of specialists, while international partners will supply the equipment and technological solutions, and Freedom Holding Corp. will handle financial, telecommunications, and digital integration.
The Freedom SuperApp occupies a central place in the company’s ecosystem, combining banking services, investments, insurance, payments, ticket purchases, travel services, and e-commerce. As of the end of March 2026, the app had 5.67 million users, while the entire ecosystem served more than 14 million clients, including 5.03 million users of banking services and 858,000 brokerage clients. The integration of Chinese technologies could expand the platform’s functionality through the development of international payments, transport services, cloud computing, and electric-vehicle infrastructure.
The company views Kazakhstan as a platform for further scaling its digital model. In Europe, Freedom Holding Corp. is developing the Freedom24 investment platform, whose client base has exceeded 600,000 people. In the summer of 2026, the holding filed an application for a banking license in France and announced plans to invest €500 million in creating a digital bank. At the same time, the company continues to expand its presence in Turkey, where it has agreed to acquire 99.32% of Turkish Bank’s shares and is developing its own investment business there.
Freedom Holding’s expansion also extends to the U.S. market. The company is registered in Nevada, its shares trade on Nasdaq under the ticker FRHC, and its U.S. operations are conducted through the broker Prime Executions, which is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The holding’s management has previously stated that it hopes to eventually offer American clients a full-fledged digital ecosystem.
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