Dana Tokmurzina speaks at China Conference: Central Asia 2026
Astana hosted China Conference: Central Asia 2026, organised by the South China Morning Post. Dana Tokmurzina, Managing Partner of Fortune Partners, joined the panel "The Digital Silk Road's last mile — How can service ecosystems unlock Central Asia's digital future?"
The region's digital hardware is arriving fast: a fibre-optic cable is being laid under the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan has switched on the region's first supercomputer, Chinese cloud companies have made Astana a regional base, and China–Central Asia trade has crossed US$100 billion for the first time. But cables and computing power cannot settle a commercial dispute, clear goods through customs or move money across borders. It was this quieter infrastructure that the panel set out to discuss.
Dana shared a practical framework for protecting investments. Once a business decision has been taken, the first step is legal analysis — the routes into and out of the market: equity stakes, loans, branches, joint ventures. Next comes tax analysis, assessing the available regimes: investment contracts, special economic zones, Astana Hub and the AIFC. Dispute resolution is worked through separately — arbitration or the courts. These were the questions discussed with entrepreneurs from Hong Kong.
Dana was joined on the panel by Olzhas Satiyev, Founder and CEO of TSARKA, and Daniyar Zhumagulov, Director of the Office of International Relations and Investments at Astana Hub. The session was moderated by Jess Ma, Reporter at the South China Morning Post.
The discussion highlighted how sought-after Kazakhstani IT specialists have become on the global market, and the opportunities opening up in the country in cybersecurity and startup development.
