Foreign digital companies have paid 118.4 billion tenge (approximately $225.5 million) to Kazakhstan’s budget since the value-added tax (VAT) was introduced for international digital companies operating in the country in 2022. According to Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee, this year the amount reached 48.6 billion tenge ($92.5 million). How much did…
Saudi Arabia is leveraging its low-cost energy and Aramco’s investment drive to become a global leader in artificial intelligence, positioning itself as a future international hub for AI, CNBC reported, citing Aramco CEO Amin Nasser. According to Nasser, the Kingdom’s low-cost energy gives it an edge in AI data infrastructure:…
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla’s largest investors, said it will vote against Elon Musk’s new compensation package, which could be worth up to $1 trillion over a decade, according to the Associated Press. The fund, which manages Norway’s Government Pension Fund and holds about 1.16% of Tesla’s…
The client base of Freedom Broker continues to grow. As of Oct. 1, 2025, the company had 310,500 active accounts, which is 80,600 more than a year earlier. The growth in new accounts from January to September amounted to 23.6%, and the total number of securities transactions reached 27.2 million.…
Australia will offer households at least three hours of free solar electricity each day starting in 2026, even for those without rooftop panels. The Solar Sharer program will help households use excess daytime energy more effectively and ease pressure on the national grid, Reuters reported. The scheme will launch in…
Kazakhstan is in talks with ExxonMobil Corp. to develop an untapped portion of the Kashagan oil field, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Currently, production is underway only in the eastern part of Kashagan, while the western sections and nearby fields remain undeveloped. According to Bloomberg’s sources, who…
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…
The Freedom Holding Corp. Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI® (Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM) remained below the 50.0 no-change mark in October, dropping to 48.3 from 49.2 in September. The headline index has now signaled a worsening of operating conditions in each of the past five months. October saw a renewed reduction in new…
Kazakhstan can raise oil production in December to 1.569 million barrels per day, up from the November cap of 1.563 million. Eight OPEC+ nations made this decision on Nov. 2. The total oil production increment for December was agreed at 137,000 barrels per day. Therefore, a 7,000-barrel-per-day increase is allocated…
Miryildiz Mining, a Turkish company, aims to launch gold and copper production in Kazakhstan in late 2026, according to Regional Director Emrah Erdem. At the Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable on Oct. 31, Erdem said the potential for copper mining in eastern Kazakhstan is strong, with the company focusing its efforts…
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…
Using AI tools such as ChatGPT to look up «how to be environmentally sustainable» might actually be working against that goal, according to politics writer Lex McMenamin. That’s because ChatGPT and other large language models carry an environmental cost. Training and operating these systems require massive computing power, and the…
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…
The world’s first underwater data center powered by wind / Image generated by a neural network, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova China has completed the world’s first underwater data center powered entirely by wind energy, New Atlas reported. The 24-megawatt facility in Shanghai sets a new benchmark for green computing infrastructure.…
Head of the Kazakh Agency for Atomic Energy (AAE) Almassadam Satkaliyev said on the sidelines of Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s official visit to Astana that discussions on the export of Kazakhstan’s uranium to Finland’s nuclear power plants are underway, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. Satkaliyev emphasized that Kazakhstan had previously offered supplies and…
A new report by the Basel Action Network finds that large amounts of electronic waste from the U.S. are ending up in Southeast Asia, where many countries lack the infrastructure to handle hazardous materials safely and have never wanted to become dump sites for wealthier nations, the Associated Press reported.…
SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, may join the Dunga oil and gas project in Kazakhstan, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told Interfax-Kazakhstan. Akkenzhenov said commercial negotiations are underway with KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, which holds a 60% stake in the project. The Dunga oil and…
The Trump administration is negotiating for the American company Cove Capital to gain access to one of the world’s largest undiscovered tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, Bloomberg reported. The metal is used by the Pentagon to produce ammunition, shells and other weapons. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has helped arrange negotiations…
Freedom Holding Corp. is preparing to introduce a new feature that will allow travelers in Kazakhstan to view the carbon footprint of their flights. During the Kursiv ESG Conference 2025 in Almaty on Oct. 21, Baglana Mussina, the company’s chief sustainable development officer, announced that the feature will be available…
Chinese toy company Pop Mart saw sales soar after launching mini Labubu dolls in August. Driven by strong international performance, the company’s global revenue rose about 250% year-on-year in the third quarter. In the U.S., sales soared more than 1,200%, while European revenue surged by over 700%, according to the…
Kazakhstan outpaces many developed countries in generosity, reports Ranking.kz. The Charities Aid Foundation notes that Kazakhstani residents donate an average of 1.2% of their income to charity. This achievement places the country 30th worldwide — ahead of the U.S., Japan and Russia. This achievement is highlighted in the World Giving…
On Oct. 21, South Korea’s carmaker Kia opened its second complete knock-down assembly plant in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay, aiming to strengthen its position in Central Asia, Yonhap reported. The official ceremony of the plant opening was attended by Kia President Song Ho-sung, Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, senior government…
The U.S. and Australia have signed a critical minerals partnership designed to reduce U.S. reliance on China and boost investments in the Australian mining sector, according to Reuters. Under the agreement, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, each nation will invest $1 billion over…
