Kaspi.kz JSC Sponsored ADR RegS (KSPI) Risk Analysis

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our common shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, owners and holders of ADSs irrevocably waive the right to a jury trial for any claim that they may have against us or the depositary arising from or relating to our common shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. However, ADS holders will not be deemed, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, to have waived our or the depositary's compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. In fact, ADS holders cannot waive our or the depositary's compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. If we or the depositary opposed a demand for jury trial relying on jury trial waiver mentioned above, it is up to the court to determine whether such waiver was enforceable considering the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. If this jury trial waiver provision is prohibited by applicable law, an action could nevertheless proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a jury trial waiver under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by a federal court or by the United States Supreme Court. Nonetheless, we believe that a jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, or by a federal or state court in the City of New York. In determining whether to enforce a jury trial waiver provision, New York courts will consider whether the visibility of the jury trial waiver provision within the agreement is sufficiently prominent such that a party has knowingly waived any right to trial by jury. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. In addition, New York courts will not enforce a jury trial waiver provision in order to bar a viable setoff or counterclaim sounding in fraud or one which is based upon a creditor's negligence in failing to liquidate collateral upon a guarantor's demand, or in the case of an intentional tort claim, none of which we believe are applicable in the case of the deposit agreement or the ADSs. If you or any other owners and holders of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary relating to the matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other owner or holder may not have the right to a jury trial regarding such claims, which may limit and discourage lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may have different outcomes compared to that of a jury trial, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action. Nevertheless, if the jury trial waiver provision is not enforced, to the extent a court action proceeds, it would proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any owner or holder of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

We are incorporated in Kazakhstan and conduct substantially all of our operations in Kazakhstan. All of our executive officers and members of our board of directors reside outside the United States. Substantially all of our assets and the assets of our executive officers and members of our board of directors are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for investors to effect service of process upon us within the United States or other jurisdictions, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. Additionally, it may be difficult to assert U.S. securities law claims in actions originally instituted outside of the United States. Foreign courts may refuse to hear a U.S. securities law claim because foreign courts may not be the most appropriate forums in which to bring such a claim. Even if a foreign court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that the law of the jurisdiction in which the foreign court resides, and not U.S. law, is applicable to the claim. Further, if U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process, and certain matters of procedure would still be governed by the law of the jurisdiction in which the foreign court resides. In particular, investors should be aware that there is uncertainty as to whether the Kazakhstan courts would recognize and enforce judgments of the U.S. courts obtained against us, our major shareholders or our directors or management predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States or entertain original actions brought in the Kazakhstan courts against us, our major shareholders or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. There is no treaty between the United States and Kazakhstan providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in civil and commercial matters. While Kazakhstan law provides for enforcement of foreign court awards on the basis of reciprocity, there is no guidance or practice on this matter, and it is currently uncertain whether Kazakhstan courts will enforce decisions from foreign courts on such basis. The procedures applied by the relevant Kazakhstan officials may not be entirely consistent with the procedural legislation or court rules. This could delay enforcement procedures in Kazakhstan, particularly if enforcement is sought to be made in courts outside the principal commercial centers such as Almaty and Astana. As a result of the difficulty associated with enforcing a judgment against us, you may not be able to collect any damages awarded by either a U.S. or foreign court. In addition, there are doubts as to whether a Kazakhstan court would impose civil liability on us, our directors and officers in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Kazakhstan against us or such directors and officers, respectively.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of your ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary think it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law, government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason. In addition, ADS holders may not be able to cancel their ADSs and withdraw common shares when they owe money for fees, taxes and similar charges or if the depositary has temporarily closed its books for cancellation of ADSs, which it is permitted to do in certain circumstances as provided in the deposit agreement.

The trading market for the ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us, our business or our industry. We may have limited research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock, the price of the ADSs will likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of the ADSs could decrease, which could cause the price of the ADSs or trading volume to decline. Additionally, the market price for our ADSs has been in the past, and may be in the future, materially and adversely affected by allegations made in reports issued by short sellers regarding our business model, our management and our financial accounting.

Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs or issuance of additional common shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales or issuances could occur, could adversely affect the price of the ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional shares. In the future, we may also issue additional common shares, ADSs or debt securities with conversion rights if we need to raise capital in connection with a capital raise or acquisition. The number of common shares issued in connection with a capital raise or acquisition could constitute a material portion of the then-outstanding common shares. An issuance of additional common shares, ADSs or debt securities with conversion rights could potentially reduce the market price of the ADSs. In addition, if we raise additional funds through the sale of equity securities, these transactions may dilute the value of the outstanding ADSs (see "Item 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors-Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry-We may need to raise additional funds to finance our future capital needs, and we may not be able to raise additional funds on terms acceptable to us, or at all").

Our corporate affairs are governed by our charter and by the laws governing joint-stock companies incorporated in Kazakhstan. The rights of our shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our board of directors under Kazakhstan law and our charter are different than under the laws of some U.S. states. For example, the existing holders of common shares in Kazakhstan joint-stock companies generally have a pre-emptive right to acquire newly placed common shares (including newly issued shares or shares previously repurchased by a joint-stock company) or other securities convertible into common shares. Our board of directors has the right to approve the placement of our common shares without the pre-emptive rights procedure if, for example, the common shares are provided to our employees as an incentive award. In addition, our charter includes other provisions that differ from provisions typically included in the governing documents of most companies organized in the United States. For example, extraordinary general meetings of shareholders may be convened by either our board of directors or any shareholder or group of shareholders representing not less than 10% of our common shares. As a result of these and other differences, our shareholders may have rights different to those generally available to shareholders of companies organized under U.S. state laws, and our board of directors may find it more difficult to approve certain actions.

Mr. Vyacheslav Kim, Mr. Mikheil Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited together beneficially own 66.5% of our outstanding share capital. Accordingly, these shareholders have significant influence over our strategy, management, policies and affairs and over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of members of our board of directors, amendment of our charter, issuance of additional common shares and approval of certain actions requiring the approval of a majority of our shareholders, such as dividends and significant corporate transactions. While we believe that such influence has been, and will continue to be, important in the development, pursuit and implementation of our strategy, management, policies and affairs, there can be no assurance that the interests or views of Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited in relation to the development of our business will coincide with those of other shareholders and ADS holders. Since these shareholders collectively own a majority of our common shares, this will give them control, if they were to act jointly, over us and the ability of ADS holders to influence our conduct will be limited. Potential conflicts may arise if Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited choose not to approve matters which would otherwise be in the interests of the remaining shareholders. Any divergence of interests of Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited and ADS holders may adversely affect the market price of the ADSs. Furthermore, from time to time, the press and other non-traditional media may report on or speculate about a wide variety of matters relating to us, including Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited and their respective businesses, investments or affiliated persons. In addition, Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited or their investments in our or other businesses, which are extensive and varied, may have been from time to time, and may in the future be, subject to legal claims, accusations, proceedings or investigations, which may generate adverse press coverage with respect to our business, even if we are not directly involved in such matter. As a result, any reports in the media and other public statements regarding the activities of Mr. Kim, Mr. Lomtadze, Fintech Partners Limited and Asia Equity Partners Limited, irrespective of whether such statements have any basis in fact, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could have an impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with "foreign private issuer" status. As long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including: - the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;- the sections of the Exchange Act requiring liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;- the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specific information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events; and - Regulation Fair Disclosure, or Regulation FD, which regulates selective disclosures of material information by issuers. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, we have the option to follow certain Kazakhstan corporate governance practices rather than those of Nasdaq, provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the home country practices we are following. For example, the Nasdaq corporate governance rules require listed companies to have, among other things, a majority of independent board members. As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to, and we will, follow home country practice in lieu of the above requirement. As long as we rely on the foreign private issuer exemption to this Nasdaq corporate governance standard, a majority of the directors on our board of directors are not required to be independent directors. Therefore, our board of directors' approach to governance may be different from that of a board of directors consisting of a majority of independent directors, and, as a result, our management oversight may be more limited than if we were subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. For more information, see "Item 16G. Corporate Governance." Accordingly, ADS holders may not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies and all of the corporate governance standards, and the ability of our independent directors to influence our business policies and affairs may be reduced.

To raise funding in the future, we may grant our shareholders rights to purchase additional common shares. Rights of that kind may not be made available to ADS holders. Under the deposit agreement, we are not required to make rights of that kind available to ADS holders. Further, we are not allowed to make rights of that kind available to holders in the United States unless we register the rights and the common shares to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or unless an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available. We are not required to register additional common shares for sale in the Unites States, and an exemption from the registration requirement may not be available. In cases where the pre-emptive rights are made available to ADS holders, you will not be able to exercise the pre-emptive rights directly (but only by instructing the depositary as the registered holder of our common shares) as only holders of our common shares and not of the ADSs have such rights in Kazakhstan. There is no assurance that we will elect to make the pre-emptive rights offering available to ADS holders, or in the case of U.S. holders, that an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act would be available to enable such U.S. holders to exercise such pre-emptive rights and, if such exemption were available, that we would take the steps necessary to enable U.S. holders of the ADSs to rely on it. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise your pre-emptive rights on future issuances of common shares, and, as a result, your percentage ownership interest in us would be diluted. Furthermore, rights offerings are difficult to implement effectively under the current U.S. securities laws, and our ability to raise capital in the future may be compromised if we need to do so through a rights offering in the United States.