Kazakh Invest, Kazakhstan’s national investment promotion agency, has addressed the recent decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country. In 2024, gross FDI inflows dropped by 28%, from $23.9 billion to $17.1 billion. Meanwhile, net FDI turned negative for the first time since records began in 2005, reaching -$2.55…
Global stock markets took a sharp dive following the U.S. announcement of new import tariffs targeting more than 180 countries. Kazakhstan’s stock exchange followed suit: on April 4, the KASE index dropped 2.7% to 5,522 points. Analysts surveyed by Kursiv.media warn the market may face continued pressure in the days…
Oil and uranium account for 73% of Kazakhstan’s exports to the U.S. This category of goods is likely to be exempt from new tariffs imposed on trade partners of the U.S. by President Donald Trump. The White House has already published a document listing goods free of new duties. The…
Kazakhstan’s National Fund has declined by 819.8 billion tenge (approximately $1.6 billion) since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Finance. In early January, the fund stood at nearly $65.8 billion, but by the end of March, it had dropped to about $64 billion at the current…
The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) of Kazakhstan has drafted several laws aimed at regulating investment funds. These drafts are available for public review at Legalacts.egov.kz. Currently, all joint-stock, mutual, venture, Islamic and real estate funds in Kazakhstan are regulated under the law on Investment…
In 2021, Freedom Bank launched its digital mortgage. Since then, the bank has issued 33,500 loans worth $1.2 billion to Kazakhstanis from various walks of life, Timur Turlov, the founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., reported at a government briefing. «Our product — digital mortgage — allows borrowers to…
Halyk Bank shares have reached a multi-year high on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), peaking at 304.88 tenge ($0.61). At the time of publication, the shares were trading at 299.43 tenge ($0.59) per share. This marks the highest level since February 2011, when Halyk Bank shares were traded on KASE…
Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has signed a government decree granting Altyn Group Qazaqstan, a subsidiary of the British A Gold Plc, a temporary lease on a 71.37-hectare plot within the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. The company plans to expand gold mining operations in the Abay region, where the…
Teniz Capital Brokerage LTD, a sister company of Teniz Capital Investment Banking registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), has acquired a 49% stake in the Tabys mobile investment application, as announced by the AIFC. The deal’s value remains undisclosed. According to Tabys representatives, the company does not plan…
Dozens of Kazakhstani investors who lost money through real estate investments on the Proportunity platform plan to file a lawsuit in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court against the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), AIFC’s independent regulator. The investors, who accuse AFSA of inaction and failing to protect their…
In 2024, Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s national airline, and its low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan generated $1.3 billion in revenue, a 12.4% increase year-on-year (YoY), according to the company’s statements posted on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) website. The growth was driven by passenger and cargo revenues, as well as an aircraft engine…
Orano, a French nuclear fuel company, and Navoiyuran, Uzbekistan’s state-owned uranium mining enterprise, have signed an agreement to advance the industrial development of the South Djengeldi uranium deposit, Orano announced in a statement. Under the deal, uranium production is expected to ramp up to 700 tons per year within the…
Kazakhstan’s fintech giant Kaspi.kz plans to acquire the Turkish subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. As reported by the media company, the negotiation process is underway, and no final decision has been made. Any potential deal must be approved by Turkish regulators.…
According to Viktoria Ten, vice president of the Association of Kazakhstan’s Developers (AZK), if the value-added tax (VAT) is raised from 12% to 16% and developers lose their VAT exemption, housing prices will increase by 14%. Speaking at the Krysha Novostroiki conference, the expert also discussed the so-called social infrastructure…
A possible acquisition of Jusan Bank by Vyacheslav Kim, a majority shareholder in Kaspi.kz and the richest person in Kazakhstan, may lead to synergy between the two financial institutions. It would also be an additional driver for Kazakhstan’s stock market, analysts from Freedom Broker believe. They made this assumption within…
A two-day meeting of Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) shareholders took place in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, from Feb. 25 to Feb. 26, where they discussed the Ukrainian drone attack on the facility. In the late hours of Feb. 17, a group of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attacked…
Companies from the U.S., the European Union and China can bid for rights to Kazakhstan’s rare earth and rare metal deposits at government-held auctions, according to the country’s Minister of Industry and Construction Kanat Sharlapaev. Competition among major global players for these critical materials — essential for renewable energy, electric…
In 2024, the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in Kazakhstan decreased by 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) to 12,569 machines. This decline is occurring while the cash-out share in the payment card transaction composition has stabilized. Kursiv Research is trying to figure out whether this is the end of ATMs as…
Almaty has adopted a new housing renovation program, marking the city’s third attempt in 13 years to curb the expansion of its dilapidated housing stock. The program, set to run until 2030, is expected to prioritize the interests of the city over those of developers. This third improvement plan, adopted…
The world’s largest cities are overcrowded, and there is no end in sight to their growth. This makes alternatives to traditional ground transportation increasingly necessary. One of them is air taxis. In fact, JPMorgan sees the air taxi market reaching $1.0 trillion by 2040, versus just over $3.5 billion in…
Shares of biotech micro cap Equillium soared 33% yesterday, Thursday, February 6, although some of the gains have been lost before the opening bell today. The company announced that its drug for ulcerative colitis, which it is testing together with Indian pharmaceutical giant Biocon, has shown results that are no…
Quotes on the small-cap telemedicine platform Teladoc Health surged almost 6% yesterday, Wednesday, February 5, before extending the gains in premarket trading today. The trigger was an announcement that the company had signed an agreement to acquire Catapult Health, which provides at-home diagnostic kits. The deal follows a challenging period…
Shares of Zedge, a micro-cap company that offers an emoji encyclopedia, ringtones, and wallpapers for mobile phones, surged almost 11% yesterday, Wednesday, February 5, after the company announced new restructuring steps aimed at saving up to $4 million annually. Details Yesterday, Zedge advanced almost 11% on the New York Stock…
Micro-cap space services provider Sidus Space soared more than 10% yesterday, Tuesday, February 4, after an announcement that the company’s third satellite had arrived at a California space facility for final preparations ahead of launch. The mission will be carried out in collaboration with SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, Sidus…
