The days when domestic banks routinely posted record profits are over. Today, they are essentially competing to see which institution has suffered the least in the new operating environment. Kursiv Research examined how the income and expense structures of individual second-tier banks have changed to determine which business models are…
Construction has begun on a new Coca-Cola beverage plant in Aktobe. The project is being implemented by the Turkish conglomerate Anadolu Group, which already operates three production facilities in Kazakhstan. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the future plant site, officially launching one of the region’s largest manufacturing investment projects.…
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) commented on reports of mass layoffs that had previously circulated publicly. One employee who contacted Kursiv.media’s editorial office said he had been told that he “didn’t have to come to work anymore.” Reports also claimed that the company planned to cut 20% of its workforce and leave…
Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin spoke about two route options Kazakhstan is developing to get access to Pakistan’s ports. Iran The first route runs through Iran; however, the railway infrastructure on the Zahedan-Pakistan section does not yet meet the required standards. As a…
One of China’s largest mining companies, Zijin Mining Group, has registered a new company, Tianshan Resources Co. Ltd., at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The development was reported by economist Arman Batayev on his Telegram channel, Finmentor.kz. The new entity was registered with an authorized capital of 5 million…
The average salary of oil and gas workers in Kazakhstan reached 1.8 million tenge ($3,600) in the first quarter of 2026, making the sector one of the country’s highest-paying industries. Among all sectors, only the tobacco industry reported a higher average salary, at nearly 2 million tenge, according to data…
The Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower house of Parliament, endorsed loan agreements with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The total amount of the loans, which will be used to cover budget expenditures, is about $964 million, according to the Mazhilis. The Mazhilis ratified a…
Kazakhstan is introducing a new artificial intelligence-based system to analyze the gasoline and diesel markets. The system will enable state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas to monitor the entire fuel supply chain — from refineries to gas stations — and forecast consumption, according to the KazService, an association of oilfield…
Kazakhstan has signed an agreement with Firebird Inc. to develop computing infrastructure projects involving NVIDIA technology. The government said the initiative, known as the Data Center Valley, is expected to attract $10 billion in investment. Read also: What you need to know about Kazakhstan’s new $16B AI strategy. The funding…
Kazakhstan plans to secure financing from the World Bank to restore the North Aral Sea and rehabilitate waterways in the Syr Darya River basin. According to Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, the projects, whose costs have already been disclosed by the government, will require nearly 80 billion tenge ($163 million).…
In its macroeconomic forecast for 2026-2028, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said it expects the average exchange rate this year to be 490 tenge per U.S. dollar. According to the forecast, the rate could reach 500 tenge per dollar by year-end. Read also: How the Iran conflict will drive the…
Ulba-TVS, a producer of fuel assemblies (FAs) used as final nuclear fuel for Chinese nuclear power plants (NPPs), reported a profit of 11.83 billion tenge ($22 million) in 2025, compared with a loss of 16.06 billion tenge in 2024, according to the company’s financial statements. Revenue and profitability improve Gross…
Kazakhstan and the U.S. are discussing new areas of cooperation. Possible options include opening a permanent representative office of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in the country. These and many other issues were discussed by DFC CEO Ben Black during his meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. As the…
According to the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK), after several years of strong growth, the auto-lending market is slowing. In its Q1 car loan survey, the AFK reported that demand for car loans fell 11% year-on-year (YoY), to 1.2 million applications, amid stricter lending conditions, tighter regulation and a…
Deliveries from sex shops have emerged as the fastest-growing business segment for Glovo in Kazakhstan, according to Ruslan Gamayev, the company’s general manager in the country. Read also: Toys ‘are’ us: Kazakh journalist featured on the Guardian cover for sex toy advocacy. Speaking at the New Vision Forum 2026, Gamzaev…
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance expects to generate about 50 billion tenge (about $100 million) in additional budget revenue by legalizing and licensing the hookah industry, Finance Minister Madi Takiyev said on the sidelines of a recent parliamentary session. His comments came as the government signaled support for easing plans for…
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov held a meeting on the implementation of a gas processing plant project at the Kashagan oil field with an annual capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas. He said the project has already entered the implementation phase, according to the Ministry of Energy.…
Kazakhstani banks are changing their funding structure. Deposits from Kazakhstani residents now account for 80% of funding, while foreign borrowing has reached $10 billion. According to Madina Abylkassymova, head of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), banks have written off stressed assets totaling $14.3 billion,…
Kazakhstan plans to significantly tighten restrictions on the sale of medicines through online platforms. Prescription drugs — including widely used antibiotics — could be completely banned from sale on marketplaces, according to Bauyrzhan Jussipov, chairman of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Control Committee. Read also: World’s top painkiller paracetamol becomes best-selling…
Construction has commenced on a massive “Data Center Valley” cluster near Ekibastuz, a project intended to establish the nation as a premier Eurasian digital hub, according to a report in Kazpravda. The ambitious initiative aims to attract global hyperscalers and will eventually house 10 modern data centers with a total…
In May, Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC completed the acquisition of a 70% stake in Severny Katpar LLC, a Kazakh mining company previously under the umbrella of Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund. The asset includes development rights to the North Katpar field, one of the world’s largest tungsten deposits. A…
Kazakhstan has unveiled a sweeping national roadmap to transform itself into a premier digital hub by 2029, placing artificial intelligence at the center of its economic and social development. The “Digital Qazaqstan” initiative seeks to transition the nation from a service-based digital model to a “platform state” where AI drives…
South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering has announced that it has secured a contract to build the Karachaganak Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in Kazakhstan. The news was first reported by Nurlan Zhumagulov, owner of the Energy Monitor Telegram channel; it was also confirmed by Hyundai Engineering in a post on its LinkedIn…
Kazakhstan’s National Bank does not support the idea of raising taxes on people who own multiple apartments, arguing that the government should focus on taxing profits from real estate sales rather than imposing additional taxes on property ownership, according to the bank’s Governor Timur Suleimenov. Speaking at a briefing following…
