Central Asian countries continue to expand their international reserves, with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan increasingly relying on gold as a key reserve asset. According to a recent review by Halyk Finance, Kazakhstan’s international reserves reached $67.8 billion in April, while Uzbekistan’s climbed to $70.9 billion. The main drivers of this…
According to Freedom Holding Corp.’s Form 10-K filing for fiscal year 2026, which ended March 31, 2026, the company’s revenue has increased more than 26-fold since its Nasdaq listing, reaching $2.19 billion. Furthermore, the company has doubled its net profit from $76.2 million in 2025 to $153.3 million in 2026.…
Kazakhstan could become a storage site for Iran’s uranium stockpiles if Washington and Tehran reach an agreement on a nuclear deal, the FT reported, citing Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Existing uranium bank Grossi noted that a facility for storing low-enriched uranium (LEU) already…
Freedom Holding Corp. is eliminating qualifying prefixes such as Bank, Broker and Insurance to consolidate its business lines under the unified Freedom brand, the company said in a statement. The transition to a single visual identity and communications framework will be gradual across the 21 countries where the company operates.…
Economic conditions for Kazakhstani manufacturers remained challenging in May 2026. The Freedom Holding Corp. Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI registered 49.0 in May, broadly in line with April’s reading of 48.9 and signaling a modest monthly deterioration in business conditions. The sector’s health has now weakened for five consecutive months. Production contracts…
Planned maintenance work at Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field could be postponed, according to industry sources cited by PetroCouncil.kz and the energy publication Upstream. The 35-day maintenance campaign, covering both offshore and onshore facilities, was scheduled to begin June 1. Shareholders reportedly weighing postponement According to Upstream’s sources, shareholders in…
Turkish mining company CoreX Holding plans to increase explored resources at the Manka gold deposit in East Kazakhstan from 195,000 ounces to more than 400,000 ounces of gold, according to the company’s annual report cited by qazba.kz. The company plans to begin mining operations at the deposit in 2026 and…
Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, reported net profit of 13.9 billion tenge (approximately $27.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, according to the company’s unaudited financial statements. The figure represents a 56% decline compared with the same period in 2025. Read also: Why KazMunayGas and Kazatomprom are Kazakhstan’s…
For Kazakhstan’s SME sector, the end of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 marked a period of adaptation not only to tight monetary conditions, but also to a series of fiscal and regulatory changes. On one hand, business activity was constrained by high borrowing costs as inflationary pressures persisted.…
On May 26, Freedom Holding Corp. CEO Timur Turlov addressed MBA students at Stanford University, where the Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB) dedicated an academic study to the corporate strategy of a Central Asian company for the first time. According to Professor Howard Rosen, who broke down the…
The U.S. stock market could deliver significantly weaker returns over the next 10 years, according to Aman Alimbayev, an economist and former analyst at the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). Read also: Kazakhstan launches its first S&P 500-style index funds. As an example, Alimbayev cited the distribution of 10-year U.S. stock…
Russia will provide Kazakhstan with an intergovernmental export loan to finance the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant. The total financing package is estimated at approximately $16.4 billion, including about $2 billion allocated for social infrastructure and safety systems. Kazakhstan and Russia signed agreements outlining the key principles…
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Atomic Energy said active construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant will begin in 2027. Read also: Kazakhstan’s nuclear chess: Why China’s CNNC ‘loses’ first NPP, but still wins big. Agency spokesman Shyngys Ilyassov said that during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing state visit, Kazakhstan and…
We’re accustomed to teaching financial literacy to children, but older adults need it just as much. For retirees, financial literacy is not only about saving money — it’s also about security. Without basic financial skills, seniors can become easy targets for scammers. Here’s how to help older relatives understand the…
The PPF Group, owned by Renáta Kellnerová, the richest woman in the Czech Republic, and her daughters, sold Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan and IT company HomeITTech for €436 million. However, in its 2025 financial statement, the group reported losses related to the transaction, according to the «Manual Economy» Telegram channel.…
Construction has begun on a copper backed by Chinese investment in Aktobe. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Eurasian Integrated Green Copper Plant, which will produce copper rod and cable products, took place in the Aktobe Special Economic Zone. The project is being carried out with support from the Aktobe region…
Kazakhstani businesses generally remain confident in their long-term resilience, with 62% of executives saying their companies are sustainable over the long term. The figure was nearly unchanged from last year, according to PwC Kazakhstan’s 14th annual CEO Survey 2026. That confidence, the survey noted, is driven by market diversification, strong…
Leading Kazakhstani nonalcoholic beverage producer RG Brands reported a net loss of 1.97 billion tenge (about $3.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, up 70% from the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter declined 39% to 24 billion tenge ($48 million). The company said the downturn…
Building a fourth large oil refinery in Kazakhstan with an annual processing capacity of 10 million tons could cost as much as $15 billion, including infrastructure expenses, according to Nurlan Zhumagulov, author of the Telegram channel Energy Monitor. Zhumagulov said the estimated price tag is comparable to the cost of…
Huating Biotechnology Co. Ltd. will open a cattle bone-processing plant in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region, producing peptone for pharmaceuticals, oil for aviation fuel and bone char for porcelain manufacturing. A correspondent for Kursiv.media visited the future production site and spoke with the head of the Chinese company, Zhao Xuedong, about the…
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…
