What Is the CIS Market — And Why It’s Still Relevant
The CIS region — short for Commonwealth of Independent States — refers to a group of post-Soviet countries that maintain close economic and political ties.
While often overlooked by global data providers, this region hosts some of the most actively traded and fundamentally interesting companies in Eurasia.
In this post, we’ll give a quick overview of the CIS market and introduce the three major exchanges powering equity and bond trading across the region.
Who’s in the CIS?
The CIS includes (but is not limited to):
🇷🇺 Russia
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
🇧🇾 Belarus
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
🇦🇲 Armenia
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
🇲🇩 Moldova (informal)
While Ukraine and Georgia are not CIS members, they are often analyzed together with the region due to shared historical and economic ties.
Why It Matters
The CIS region offers access to:
- Natural resource giants (energy, mining, agriculture)
- Emerging financials and banks
- Industrials and infrastructure
- High-dividend companies with stable cash flows
- Under-covered stocks with low analyst visibility but strong fundamentals
Many global APIs either ignore this region or offer incomplete data. That’s exactly why CIS Fundamentals exists.
Key Exchanges in the CIS
🇷🇺 Moscow Exchange (MOEX)
Russia’s largest exchange and the primary gateway to equities, bonds, FX, and derivatives. It’s home to companies like Gazprom, Sberbank, and Lukoil.
Focus: Public companies listed in Russia, often with high dividend yields and global exposure.
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE)
The main exchange of Kazakhstan, listing banks, mining firms, telecoms, and infrastructure holdings.
Focus: Frontier-market opportunities with exposure to Central Asian growth.
OTC & Regional Platforms
Several stocks and bonds in the region trade over-the-counter, especially for smaller companies or non-residents.
In some cases, cross-border listings also exist (e.g., London or Astana International Exchange), but domestic data remains essential for fundamentals.
Closing Thoughts
If your investment strategy touches on energy, emerging markets, deep value, or sovereign-diversified portfolios — the CIS is not optional. It’s under-analyzed, often misunderstood, and packed with alpha.
With the CIS Fundamentals API, you get structured financial data from MOEX, KASE, and OTC platforms — all in one place, in developer-friendly JSON.
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