Coca-Cola Içecek Kazakhstan plans to build its fourth plant in Aktobe, western Kazakhstan, with construction set for 2026. The company is a subsidiary of Turkish beverage firm Coca-Cola Icecek. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture and the company signed an agreement for the project. Once operational, the facility is expected to create…
Kazakhstan experienced a dramatic reversal in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, shifting from a net inflow of $2.8 billion in the first quarter to a net outflow of $1.9 billion in the second quarter. Economist Ruslan Sultanov attributed the decline primarily to U.S. companies reinvesting profits into production rather…
Kazakh startup Call2action.ai, founded by entrepreneur Yersultan Jussakinov, has raised $500,000 in funding, mostly from U.S. investors, at a $6 million valuation, Digital Business reported. Call2action.ai describes itself as the first generative AI-powered platform designed to help companies hire employees faster and at lower cost. The system conducts automated interviews,…
Sixteen-year-old Almaty resident Narminakhon Imangalieva turns one of her city’s biggest problems — air pollution — into eco-friendly ink. Narminakhon was inspired after learning that Almaty was ranked the world’s most polluted city. While researching smog’s causes, she found that it contains black carbon particles. «I thought, why not make…
L’Oréal will acquire Kering’s luxury beauty portfolio for €4 billion, boosting its standing in high-end cosmetics and fragrances, according to Euronews. The deal grants L’Oréal a 50-year license for Kering’s leading fashion houses, including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and brings the niche fragrance brand Creed under L’Oréal’s ownership. Kering…
LVMH posted a 1% increase in third-quarter sales, buoyed by stronger spending in China and other Asian markets, excluding Japan. The world’s largest luxury group reported «noticeable» improvement in Asia, revealing positive overall results for the first time in 2025, according to Reuters. Quarterly revenue rose to $21.17 billion, beating…
Google plans to build a major artificial intelligence (AI) hub in southern India, marking its largest such project outside the U.S., CNBC reported. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian announced that the company will invest $15 billion in the project over the next five years. The new data center will help…
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to American-Israeli economic historian Joel Mokyr and economists Philippe Aghion of France and Peter Howitt of Canada. The three were honored for advancing the understanding…
The Dutch government has made what it describes as a rare move to step in at Nexperia, a China-owned semiconductor manufacturer based in the Netherlands. Officials say they acted because of risks to national and European economic security, according to the BBC. Following this decision, officials invoked the Goods Availability…
Kazakhstan is introducing a temporary permitting procedure for the import of slot machines, a measure aimed at combating illegal and problem gambling, the government’s press office reported. Under the new rules, only organizations holding a state gambling license will be allowed to import slot machines. Last summer, Kazakhstan tightened gambling…
Japan’s university admissions process includes an element that often surprises outsiders — the practice of charging «multiple enrollment fees,» a recent report on Eastasiaforum.org highlighted. At many private institutions, students who receive an acceptance offer must pay a nonrefundable enrollment fee, typically ranging from $1,360 to $2,040. This payment is…
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has secured a landmark deal with OpenAI to supply large-scale AI computing infrastructure, positioning AMD as a significant competitor in the highly lucrative artificial intelligence hardware market. The chipmaker states that this agreement could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue, according to a Bloomberg…
Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, has appointed an artificial intelligence system to its board of directors, giving it voting rights and decision-making authority. The neural network, known as SKAI (Samruk-Kazyna Artificial Intelligence), was formally introduced on Thursday at the Digital Bridge international forum in Astana, where it was presented to…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become the first person to surpass a net worth of $500 billion. His wealth briefly hit $500.1 billion Wednesday before edging down to just above $499 billion, according to the BBC. Musk’s wealth primarily rose from Tesla’s stock gains as he owns over 12% of…
AstraZeneca will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, while maintaining its UK headquarters, its main listing on the London Stock Exchange and its tax base, according to Euronews. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant stated that it will replace its current American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on Nasdaq with a…
The Kazakh startup Higgsfield AI has achieved unicorn status, surpassing a $1 billion valuation. Aleksandr Mashrabov, the company’s co-founder and former head of generative AI at Snap Inc., announced the milestone at Nazarbayev University, according to Digital Business. Higgsfield AI has generated more than $50 million in revenue, officially becoming…
Kazakhstan has authorized the industrial production of 218 hemp varieties originating from 20 countries, including Russia, the U.S., Canada and Ukraine. The country permits industrial cultivation of cannabis only for uses unrelated to producing or manufacturing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances. The approved list includes varieties categorized by country of…
NephroPlus, an Indian chain of dialysis clinics specializing in treating patients with kidney failure, plans to invest $10 million to $15 million in projects in Kazakhstan, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry. The agreement was reached during a meeting with Kazakhstan’s ambassador to India, Azamat Yeskarayev. NephroPlus aims to launch…
SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund will reduce its global workforce by nearly 20% as it shifts its focus to large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the U.S. With over 300 employees, the fund confirmed these layoffs as part of a broader restructuring, according to Reuters. This restructuring follows Vision Fund’s strongest…
India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has rejected allegations of stock manipulation and financial misconduct against the Adani Group, initially raised by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research in 2023, stating there is no evidence to support the claims, according to the BBC. SEBI stated that its investigation revealed no violations of…
In mid-August, Beijing hosted the 10th World Robot Conference, where Shenzhen-based UBtech showcased how humanoid robots can be applied in real-world industrial settings, according to Lianhe Zaobao. The company demonstrated robots that not only handle tasks like sorting, material transfer and quality checks, but can also swap out their own…
Gold prices surged to a new all-time high of $3,720 per ounce during trading on Sept. 16. Analysts caution, however, that despite the metal’s rapid rise, investors should weigh the risks before jumping in. The real value of goldIndependent financial analyst Aman Alimbayev noted that while gold has repeatedly set…
Pakistan-based Welt Konnect aims to establish a digital bank in Kazakhstan and participate in renewable energy and infrastructure projects, as revealed following a meeting between company executives and Kazakh Invest, the country’s investment promotion agency. The company also signaled interest in tourism, real estate, construction, and educational programs. Welt Konnect,…
Technology professional Akhmad Hanan is asking a critical question: Can China with its DeepSeek model bypass restrictions by innovating in software while building its own chip ecosystem? The country’s pioneering company in AI systems appears determined to prove it can. In late August, DeepSeek released version 3.1 of its large…
