Freedom Holding Corp. Strengthens Financial Ecosystem With $40 Million Recapitalization Of Kazakh Freedom Bank

Published on January 23, 2025, 5:01 am
FavoriteLoadingAdd to favorites 4 mins

To strengthen its financial ecosystem, Freedom Holding Corp., a Nasdaq-listed U.S.-based company, has significantly increased the capital of its subsidiary, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) announced the development at the end of 2024. Freedom Bank highlighted how the increase could further integrate the multinational holding company’s financial and non-financial offerings. The recapitalization amounted to 20 billion tenges (approximately $40 million), raising Freedom Bank’s total capital to 194 billion tenges (approximately $365 million).

 

A Unified Ecosystem for Financial and Lifestyle Services

Freedom Holding Corp., which has a market capitalization of more than $8 billion and operates in over 20 countries, sees Freedom Bank Kazakhstan as the key element of its ecosystem. “This measure will allow scaling digital products and developing the infrastructure of the Freedom ecosystem, the core of which is the bank,” KASE said, quoting the bank’s statement.

Freedom Holding has been building an integrated financial ecosystem in Kazakhstan, starting with the consolidation of brokerages, a bank and services such as online trading platforms. It has now expanded into online retail banking, insurance and even lifestyle services such as telecommunications, online grocery shopping, entertainment, media and travel booking. As of March 31, 2024, the total number of brokerage customers has grown to around 530,000, according to the financial statement.

The Role of the SuperApp

The ecosystem’s wide range of services can be accessed through the SuperApp – a one-stop platform to access the ecosystem’s wide range of services. The app, which is at the heart of the fintech ecosystem, integrates services from over 30 companies, including recent additions Arbuz.kz, Aviata.kz and Ticketon. Future additions such as Freedom Mobile and Freedom Telecom are also in the pipeline.

“We are implementing a seamless integration of the holding companies into the SuperApp,” said Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., noting that the bank plays a key role in this ecosystem.

Synergies and Innovation Drive Growth

The 6 million users of the Freedom Holding ecosystem benefit from a seamless flow of services and products, creating synergies between the financial and lifestyle components. The bank’s success has been recognized by S&P Global Ratings, among others. In December 2024, the bank’s rating was upgraded from ‘B’ to ‘B+’ with a stable outlook.

Innovation remains a key focus for Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, which aims to develop unique products, including online property and vehicle valuation services, and a unified loyalty program. The latter offers users cashback in the form of Freedom’s investment currency, ETNs (exchange-traded notes). These ETNs are tied to the value of Freedom Holding’s NASDAQ-listed stock, allowing users to accumulate shares in the company without actually buying shares. “The main value of the new currency is that clients can gain experience of investing in the financial market,” Timur Turlov explained. The management of Freedom Holding Corp. expects that the clients who will receive cashback in the form of the new currency will increase their interest in the stock market.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Freedom Holding has ambitious plans for 2025, including the launch of a SuperApp tailored for entrepreneurs, enhanced payment and transfer capabilities, and online commercial property valuations. Through these initiatives, the group aims to expand its reach while simplifying the user experience.

 

Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com

Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.