The share of crude oil in Kazakhstan’s exports fell to a historic low of 44.4% in the first quarter of 2026. Strong growth in the non-oil sector helped offset losses from hydrocarbons, as record prices for copper, silver and sulfur boosted export revenues. Analysts say current geopolitical tensions could further…
The number of remote workers in Kazakhstan declined in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from the Bureau of National Statistics (BNS), as most companies continued pushing employees back to the office. Read also: Why Kazakhstan’s major bank rejects remote work. Of Kazakhstan’s 9.39 million employed residents,…
The stock performance of Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, has recently raised concerns among investors as shares in the national company continue to decline. According to stock exchange data, Kazatomprom shares fell to 32,790 tenge (approx. $70) during the afternoon trading session at 12:12 p.m. on April 21. Shares…
Compared with the U.S., Canada and Europe, Kazakhstan remains among the countries with the lowest household debt burdens. Global household debt continues to rise, but Kazakhstan’s level remains relatively low by international standards. Read also: Kazakhstan’s external debt in 2025 and budget for 2026 visualized. According to data from the…
Pension annuities and corporate accident insurance dominated Kazakhstan’s life insurance market in the first quarter of 2026. In the non-life segment, demand for voluntary personal insurance policies declined amid cooling retail lending. Read also: Kazakh regulator greenlights insurance companies to establish marketplaces. Assets in Kazakhstan’s insurance sector increased by 121…
China is expanding its presence in Kazakhstan’s green energy sector, with Chinese companies involved in building a significant share of the solar and wind power plants scheduled to come online. Read also: China takes the lead in Kazakhstan’s renewable energy push. The share of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan’s total…
Financial analyst Andrey Chebotarev compared a proposal by Lyazzat Ibragimova, head of Otbasy Bank, the sole bank implementing housing construction savings system in Kazakhstan, to the policies of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a post on his Telegram channel. Criticism of housing tax proposal Chebotarev added Ibragimova to what he called his «Maduro…
The war involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran has prompted more countries to use the yuan in trade, including oil transactions, according to Madiyar Kenzhebulat, an economist at the BSR research group. These countries include Persian Gulf states that supply oil to China and purchase goods from Chinese manufacturers. Shift…
German automaker Mercedes-Benz Group may return to defense production amid shifting geopolitical conditions in Europe, CEO Ola Källenius said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He said that the world had become a more unpredictable place, and he thought it was clear that Europe needed to strengthen its…
U.S. authorities are reportedly moving toward dropping criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, following progress in a related civil case and discussions about his planned investments in the U.S., Reuters reported. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had accused Adani of involvement in a bribery scheme to secure…
Some professions will remain in demand despite the rapid advance of AI, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Labor and Social Protection Yerbol Tuyakbayev told journalists at a Senate briefing yesterday. According to Tuyakbayev, technical and skilled-trades jobs continue to be «timeless» professions in the country. «Certainly, it is very difficult to…
Georgia’s banking system expanded in 2025 with the addition of two new players from the microfinance sector. The total assets of the country’s second-tier banks exceeded 100% of GDP by the end of the year, while net profit reached a record 3.3 billion lari (about $1.2 billion). As Georgia’s largest…
The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its forecast for Kazakhstan’s economy in 2026. According to the IMF’s latest review, Kazakhstan’s nominal gross domestic product is expected to reach approximately $360 billion, which would rank the country 49th among the world’s largest economies. Read also: Kazakhstan’s richest people and their assets…
Kazakhstan’s gross international reserves reached $67.78 billion, up 3.62% since the beginning of 2026, according to preliminary data from the National Bank as of May 1. Monetary gold emerged as the main driver again. Its volume over the first months of 2026 increased by 11.55% to $52.69 billion. At the…
South Korea’s semiconductor giants are riding a powerful wave of demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI), pushing SK Hynix, a South Korean manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory, close to a historic valuation milestone of $1 trillion, Reuters reported. Investor enthusiasm has been fueled by surging…
SpaceX subsidiary Starlink, which already provides internet access in Kazakhstan through low-Earth-orbit satellites, will be required to register in the country and purchase internet traffic from local operators, according to Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and minister of AI and digital development. «Satellite internet service is supplementary to internet…
Kazakhstan, together with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, plans to move into the practical construction phase of the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant project, according to Jamshid Khodjaev, Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister. Read also: Kazakhstan to fund massive Kyrgyz dam for energy security. Khodjaev said the 1,860-megawatt Kambarata-1 HPP is expected to become the…
Kazakhstan’s banking statistics for March reflected a 3.8% strengthening of the tenge. The sector also benefited from increased liquidity driven by an inflow of corporate deposits, allowing banks to partially restore assets to levels seen at the beginning of 2026. The loan portfolio fully recovered, although growth continued to be…
Qazaq Electric Ltd. plans to develop a network of electric vehicle charging stations in Kazakhstan in collaboration with the S. M. Kirov Machine Building Plant and defense firm Aselsan Engineering. Company Director Renat Zheksembayev announced the plans in an interview with Kursiv.media. «We produce stations ranging from 22 kW to…
The 17.78% drop in gold prices since the start of the Iran conflict falls outside historical norms, according to analysts at Halyk Finance. In a recent report, they noted that the metal could gain as much as 30% over the next 12 months. Liquidity shock drives early decline The outbreak…
Kazakhstan’s public finances improved markedly in the first three months of 2026, with treasury revenues and expenditures executed almost in full. Notably, value-added tax (VAT) receipts surged 48.6% year over year, even though some payments were still taxed at the previous 12% rate (for fourth-quarter 2025 liabilities). In addition, authorities…
The explosion at the Kazzinc plant in Ust-Kamenogorsk on May 5, 2026, which killed two people, has again drawn attention to the company’s environmental and operational challenges. Kazakh analyst Rassul Rysmambetov, in comments to Kursiv.media, discussed the potential sale of Kazzinc to businessman Shakhmurat Mutalip (on photo) — and why,…
Kazakhstan’s service sector returned to solid growth in April, according to the latest Freedom Holding Corp. PMI, signaling a rebound in business activity at the start of the second quarter. Surge in new business drives growth The Freedom Holding Corp. PMI Business Activity Index rose to 53.9 in April, up…
In April, Kazakhstan’s manufacturing industry showed the first signs of stabilization. The latest data from the Freedom Holding Corp. Manufacturing PMI shows a slight improvement in market conditions. Despite the continued contraction in production, factories reported their first influx of new orders in four months. The PMI remains negative The…
