Samruk-Kazyna

Nurlan Zhakupov serves as Chief Executive Officer, reporting to a Board of Directors chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. The Government of Kazakhstan is the sole shareholder. Major strategic shifts, such as the AI joint venture with Presight and the KTZ IPO, require presidential-level approval.

Samruk-Kazyna operates as a hybrid state holding company and sovereign fund. It directly owns and controls operating enterprises — airlines, railways, energy producers — rather than primarily managing a financial portfolio of listed securities. This makes it more akin to Singapore's Temasek than to a pure financial investor like Norway's GPFG. Strategic direction is tightly coupled with industrial policy, with the Prime Minister chairing the board and the President receiving direct briefings on major projects.

The fund actively pursues joint ventures and bilateral investment projects with foreign partners. Known co-investors include Presight for AI and digital transformation initiatives, and Oman Investment Authority for bilateral projects. It also participates in cross-border logistics assets through entities like the Xi'an Transportation and Logistics Terminal in China, typically alongside Chinese state partners.

The current administration emphasizes renewable energy and artificial intelligence. In 2026, the fund has broken ground on two 1 GW wind farms in Zhambyl and Pavlodar regions, the latter with battery storage. It has also reported 62 active AI projects, with an expansion target set for 2030. Traditional sectors — oil, gas, uranium, gold, rail, and aviation — remain the fund's revenue base.

Samruk-Kazyna operates two foundations: the Kazakhstan Khalkyna Public Foundation and Samruk-Kazyna Trust. These are legally separate from the fund's commercial investment activities and focus on social welfare and community development within Kazakhstan.

Deal flow originates primarily from the government's industrial policy agenda and bilateral state relationships. For example, the Mirny and Pavlodar wind projects align with national energy transition targets, while the AI partnership with Presight emerged from state-level cooperation with the UAE. Portfolio companies also generate organic investment opportunities, such as Kazakhstan Temir Zholy's rail network expansion.

A triple-listing IPO for Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national railway operator, is planned for 2026. This would represent one of the fund's most significant liquidity events and a barometer for Kazakhstan's state-asset privatization program.