Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna plans to cut about 650 employees, according to the fund’s CEO Nurlan Zhakupov. The move follows criticism from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev over what he described as an excessive number of administrative staff in the capital. Layoffs to target administrative staff in Astana Zhakupov said the…
Brussels is increasingly concerned about a sharp rise in Kyrgyzstan’s imports of radio equipment and machine tools that are later shipped to Russia in violation of Western sanctions, according to the European Union’s Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan. Read also: Ukraine’s war drives Kazakhstan’s exports of laptops, bulldozers to Russia. Speaking…
Kazakhstan may begin supplying horse meat to Japan later this year, according to Zhanibek Kenzhebayev, chairman of the Turan Livestock Association and owner of a farm with 3,000 horses. «We plan to begin supplying horse meat to Japan, possibly in May or June 2026, if direct flights are available,» Kenzhebayev…
Kazakhstanis born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s — commonly known as Generation Z — already account for about a quarter of the country’s workforce. According to Arman Shokparov, an HR expert at Qazaq Expert Club, Gen Z workers made up just 13% of the workforce in 2018. Over the…
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy supports a proposal to abolish incentives for renewable energy development projects, Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yessimkhanov said. Shift from support to market parity Yessimkhanov said government incentives were justified during the early stages of renewable energy development but may no longer be necessary. By the end…
The United Kingdom has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list, adding 240 companies, seven individuals and 50 ships, including three entities linked to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom and two employees of its subsidiaries. Read also: Why Russia’s Rosatom is the undisputed pick for Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant. The updated sanctions…
Rompetrol Rafinare, a subsidiary of KMG International, will carry out scheduled maintenance at two refineries in Romania. To ensure all contracted deliveries are met on time, KMG International will rely on its oil reserves, according to a statement from KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil company and the parent company of…
Kazakhstan is awaiting an official position from participants in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (TAPI) regarding its potential involvement in the project, the country’s Ministry of Energy told Interfax-Kazakhstan. «As part of a preliminary exchange of views, an official letter expressing interest in exploring possible forms of Kazakhstan’s participation in the…
Turkish company Coca-Cola İçecek A.Ş. is set to begin construction of its fourth soft drink plant in Kazakhstan, worth roughly $84 million, in April. The facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027, according to the Aktobe regional administration. Coca-Cola İçecek Kazakhstan representative Veli Dinçel discussed the project’s implementation stages…
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had a profound and overlooked impact on American health. The study, recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), suggests that the restructuring of the U.S. economy following the 1994 agreement led to a measurable increase in mortality rates among the…
Many Western policymakers see tariffs and anti-subsidy actions as effective ways to chip away at China’s dominance in manufacturing. That assumption may offer political reassurance, but it misreads the foundations of China’s industrial strength, argues tech entrepreneur and writer Robin Rivaton. Industrial density over national champions According to Rivaton, China’s…
A new phase of the major pharmaceutical project Polpharma Santo, owned by Polish billionaire Jerzy Starak, is being launched in Shymkent. Phase one of the new facility is expected by the end of 2029, creating 300 jobs and totaling $79.5 million in investment. The government of Kazakhstan has already approved…
The flash eurozone manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 50.8 in February, up from 49.5 in January. This is the highest level since June 2022, Euronews reported, citing S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank. Furthermore, the broader composite PMI, which covers both manufacturing and services, rose to 51.9 from…
U.S.-based multinational Mars Inc. is set to construct a pet food factory in the future city of Alatau, Kazakhstan, with an investment of around $180 million. The relevant agreement was signed during a meeting between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the company’s CEO, Poul Weihrauch. The president praised the agreement’s conclusion,…
Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover in 2025 totaled $143.8 billion, up 1.3% from the previous year, according to data from the Bureau of National Statistics. Read also: Ukrainian drone attack on CPC could wipe $1.5 billion from Kazakhstan’s revenue. At the same time, the country’s exports fell 3.2% to $79 billion,…
The February decline in cryptocurrency prices should not alarm investors, as volatility remains a natural part of market cycles. Despite current fluctuations, the long-term performance of the world’s leading cryptocurrency remains striking: over the past six years, Bitcoin’s price has risen nearly sevenfold, according to Nurkhat Kushimov, head of Binance…
A controversy involving the fast-food chain Burger King in Kazakhstan has drawn widespread attention on social media, where users have posted criticism and negative reviews. What began as a private labor dispute has expanded into a broader discussion about inclusion, corporate culture and employee treatment. Social media post triggers public…
Kazakh company Severniy Katpar, a subsidiary of Tau-Ken Samruk (TKS), presented a mining project at a public hearing on Feb. 10 for development of the North Katpar deposit in the Shet district of the Karaganda region. According to the presentation, total revenue from the sale of tungsten trioxide, molybdenum, copper…
The future megacity of Alatau, which is being built between Almaty and Konayev, aims to become the main entertainment center in Central Asia. According to the Almaty region administration, one of the city’s four districts — the Green District — will be dedicated entirely to tourism. Under the design project,…
Otbasy Bank, a state-owned bank specializing in mortgages, may become a «special product lender,» radically changing its image and geographic presence. It is set to expand its product portfolio by adding Islamic finance and leasing, according to Timur Onzhanov, deputy CEO of Baiterek Holding. In an interview with Bloomberg, the…
In 2025, banks and exchange offices sold 40,799 gold bullion bars weighing a total of 1.1 tons to the public. Since the program was launched in 2017, a total of 263,479 bars weighing nine tons have been sold, the National Bank of Kazakhstan reported. The most popular size was the…
Documents related to the construction of Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant are in the final stages of approval, including financing arrangements. Alexey Borodavkin, Russia’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, announced the update in an interview with Russia 24. The agreement outlines the project’s organizational, legal and technical framework. A second set of…
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev criticized government agencies for irrational spending on digitalization during an expanded government meeting Feb. 10. The head of state called for the creation of a unified digital platform without requesting «huge sums of money» from the state budget. According to Tokayev, the lack of unified oversight…
Air Astana shareholders have approved a deal with Airbus to purchase 25 aircraft. Renewing its fleet will cost the airline at least 550 billion tenge ($1 billion). The decision, made at a special shareholders meeting, was announced on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange. Air Astana is expected to place a firm…
