Business Activity Index in services grows for the third months in a row in Kazakhstan
The Freedom Holding Corp. PMI® produced by S&P Global signaled another month of marginal expansion in business activity across the Kazakh service sector in March. The rate stood at 50.3 last month, up slightly from 50.2 in February. Respondents linked the rise to the introduction of new services, improved weather conditions and new contract wins. The third consecutive monthly rise in Kazakh service sector activity was minimal overall.
According to Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of the Financial Analysis Department at Freedom Finance Global PLC (a 100% subsidiary of the Freedom Holding Corp.), the services sector in Kazakhstan continues to show high sensitivity to changing market conditions. At 50.3 points in March, the seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index showed a slight improvement over the month and remains close to the neutral line.
«Despite more pronounced growth in new business compared to February, there has been a reduction in new hiring for the first time in the past seven months. Inflationary pressure in the services sector eased, with a more noticeable slowdown in the growth of selling prices being recorded. Meanwhile, cost pressures remain sharp. Expectations for the near future reached a 12-month high, indicating an increase in optimism in the sector,» he said.
Freedom Holding Corp. also reported that service companies registered a stronger uptick in new business at the end of the first quarter, extending the current sequence of expansion to five months. Driving the latest modest increase in new orders were reports of successful marketing campaigns, a growing customer base and new tender wins. The stronger rise in new business was accompanied by a further improvement in the degree of confidence at service providers based in Kazakhstan.
Optimism was at its highest for a year during March, with firms anticipating a rise in activity over the coming 12 months. Sentiment was bolstered by expectations of continued improvement in demand trends, along with initiatives for advertising, launching new services, opening additional stores, attracting new clients and engaging in new tenders.
Freedom Holding Corp.’s Kazakhstan Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI®) is compiled by S&P Global using responses from purchasing managers at approximately 250 service industry companies. The headline figure is the Business Activity Index. This is calculated from a single question that asks for changes in the volume of business activity compared to the previous month. The index varies between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an increase and below 50 a decrease. The index is adjusted for seasonal variation.
