The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) is exploring financing options for building and opening a Lotte hotel in Almaty.
The bank has reported that the tourism project is now in the document-collection phase ahead of its initial review.
Project ownership
The project’s borrower is Sensata Invest. The company is jointly owned by Sensata Almaty and the private company Sensata Almaty Ltd.
Through a chain of affiliated entities, Sensata Almaty Ltd. is ultimately controlled by the private company Sensata Ltd., which is owned by Tasbolat Abdullin and Askar Duisenbayev.
About Lotte Hotels & Resorts
Lotte Hotels & Resorts is South Korea’s largest luxury hotel operator focusing on premium service and Korean hospitality. Founded in 1972, the company manages properties not only in South Korea but also in Vietnam, Japan, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and the U.S.
In Russia, the company operates five-star hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara and Vladivostok.
Notably, hotels, hostels and other tourist accommodations in Almaty generated less revenue in the first quarter of 2026 than they did a year earlier, marking the sector’s first year-over-year decline in five years, according to the First Credit Bureau.
Between January and March, revenue from tourist accommodations totaled 21.2 billion tenge (about $45 million), down 2.1% in nominal terms from the same period in 2025. After adjusting for inflation, the decline was steeper, at 12.5%.
The sector had posted annual growth for several consecutive years before the downturn. Revenue increased 39.1% in 2022 and surged 101.7% in 2023. Growth then moderated to 7.9% in 2024 and 10.9% in 2025 before turning negative in the first quarter of 2026.
