News

Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s leading fintech company, said it has completed the purchase of 6 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) from Baring Fintech Venture Funds. Tencent is among the buyers.

Following the transaction, Tencent has become one of Kaspi.kz’s largest shareholders, according to company disclosures.

New investors and deal advisers

In addition to Tencent, new shareholders include investment firm Spice Expeditions, as well as the endowments of Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wisconsin Foundation (WISIMCO). Morgan Stanley served as financial adviser on the transaction.

Business overview and expansion

Kaspi.kz operates a «super app» that...

Tajikistan is interested in importing Kazakh grain, flour and sunflower oil, said Nurmahmad Akhmadzoda, director of the Agency for State Material Reserves of Tajikistan. The Ministry of Agriculture quoted him following a meeting with the leadership of Kazakhstan’s Food Contract Corporation (FCC), a state-owned company that regulates the grain market.

Proposal for local infrastructure investment

Akhmadzoda also suggested that Kazakhstan consider building milling facilities and grain elevators in Tajikistan. He invited representatives of the FCC to visit Dushanbe to review existing grain storage infrastructure and explore potential participation in new elevator and processing facility projects.

Import needs and...

A submerged city with streets, buildings and even a cemetery has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul.

Archaeologists and divers explored a site near the village of Toru-Aygyr and identified several areas with preserved walls, beams and pottery. According to the researchers, these are not random finds but evidence of a fully developed settlement.

The city lies at a depth of one to four meters. Despite this, traces of the people who lived there before the area was submerged remain beneath a layer of sand.

Underwater, researchers found the remains of brick buildings, ovens, animal bones and...

The birth rate in Kazakhstan continues to decline. In 2025, approximately 335,000 children were born in the country, which is 8% to 10% fewer than the previous year. This is the lowest figure in the past 11 years.

According to Nurzhamal Iminova, an expert at the Qazaq Expert Club, the average age at childbearing has risen to 29.9 years, while women have their first child at an average age of 25.3 years.

«This is a global trend: women are increasingly choosing education, careers and financial security, postponing childbearing,» Iminova explained.

However, career considerations are not...

Australia and Japan have signed agreements to deliver the first three Japanese-designed warships as part of a $6.5 billion defense deal, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

The vessels, based on the Mogami-class frigate design, will be built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, with delivery of the first ship expected within three years. Australia plans to construct an additional eight frigates at a shipyard in Western Australia.

The signing ceremony was attended by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles aboard the JS Kumano, a Mogami-class frigate of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, docked near Melbourne.

A humanoid robot completed a half-marathon in Beijing faster than the current human world record, highlighting recent advances in China’s robotics technology, The Associated Press reported.

The robot, developed by Honor, a Chinese consumer electronics company, finished the 21-kilometer race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town), where the event took place. This was faster than the human record set by Jacob Kiplimo, who ran the distance in about 57 minutes in March.

The performance marked a major improvement from the previous year, when the winning robot completed the race in...

An unusual item — a life jacket from the legendary Titanic — was sold at auction in the U.K. An unknown buyer paid $906,000 for it, The Associated Press reported.

The price was twice what experts had expected.

Whose jacket was it?

This jacket was worn by Laura Mabel Francatelli. She was the secretary of a famous fashion designer and was traveling first class. Francatelli was one of the few who survived that fateful night in 1912. She was on Boat No. 1, which had only 12 survivors, although there was enough room for 40.

The jacket’s main...

In March 2025, Kazakhstani banks reported a combined profit of $432.5 million, while the sector’s total profit for the first quarter reached $1.2 billion. Monthly profit fell by 5.8% year-on-year, while cumulative profit for the entire first quarter declined by 12%, according to the National Bank.

The decline in profit can be partially explained by higher corporate income tax payments, as the rate for banks rose to 25%. As a result, tax payments increased by 28.7% to $114.7 million. In the first quarter, banks paid $314.5 million in taxes, a 22% increase compared with the previous year.

Since the beginning...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology said a court in Astana has upheld a 2.4 trillion tenge environmental fine imposed on a consortium of major international oil companies. The entities, which are part of the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), are continuing to appeal the ruling, Bloomberg reported.

Supreme Court rejects appeal

The ministry told Bloomberg that the Supreme Court rejected an appeal involving 2.356 trillion tenge (approximately $5 billion) in fines levied against NCOC, the operator of the Kashagan oil field. The penalty stems from the alleged storage of excessive amounts of sulfur at the...

A batch of baby food produced by HiPP has been recalled in Austria after rat poison was found in one of the jars, authorities said. The case is under investigation, according to Deutsche Welle.

What was recalled

Police said the affected products were 190-gram jars of carrot and potato puree sold through the SPAR network. The items have been pulled from more than 1,000 stores.

Authorities in the Austrian region of Burgenland reported that suspicious jars were also identified in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Laboratory testing confirmed the presence of rat poison in at least one sample.

Social media users in Kazakhstan are reacting to a disturbing case involving a resident of Semey, who posted a video showing the body of a kitten and claimed the animal died after being accidentally washed in a washing machine.

Read also: How social stressors trigger a surge in animal cruelty.

According to the woman’s account, a small child in the household allegedly placed the kitten inside the washing machine drum. She said she did not notice the animal and ran a full wash cycle lasting about an hour.

She also claimed that the...

The Trump Organization is planning a major development project in Tbilisi — a 70-story skyscraper branded as Trump Tower, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people involved in the project.

Project details

The proposed tower is expected to become the tallest building in the Georgian capital. Plans call for a mixed-use complex featuring residential apartments, retail space and hotel facilities.

The project will be designed by international architecture firm Gensler. On the Georgian side, the development consortium includes Archi Group and Biograpi Living, along with New York-based Sapir Organization, a longtime partner of the Trump family.

A Chinese mining company has established a new subsidiary in Kazakhstan with a registered capital of $150 million at the Astana International Financial Centre, according to a report by Finmentor.

The company, Beijing Huaxia Jianlong Mining Science & Technology Co., Ltd., registered its local entity under the name Tianlong Mining Kazakhstan Co., Ltd.

About the company

Founded in 2003, Huaxia Jianlong is involved in the exploration, production, processing and sale of mineral resources. It operates across several regions of China and holds mining rights to key metals, including iron, copper, lead, zinc and molybdenum.

In 2020, the company...

New restrictions will be in place for pilgrims traveling to Mecca ahead of the annual Hajj, according to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan.

Temporary limits on Umrah permits

Authorities said the measures are intended to ensure safety and maintain order during the pilgrimage season.

From April 18 to May 31, the issuance of Umrah permits via the Nusuk platform will be temporarily suspended.

Entry restrictions to Mecca

Starting April 18, entry to and residence in Mecca will be prohibited for holders of all visa types except special Hajj visas. Officials warned that...

Global tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google may be considering Kazakhstan as a location for data centers, amid rising geopolitical risks in other regions.

Shifting focus after Middle East disruptions

Speaking at the Kursiv Ecosystems Forum on April 17, Vladislav Minkevich, head of the AKASHI Data Center project in Astana, said recent attacks on infrastructure in the Middle East have prompted companies to reassess location strategies.

He claimed that several data centers in the region had been destroyed, including facilities linked to Amazon, highlighting the vulnerability of such assets. As a result, companies are...

Elena Rybakina delivered a dominant performance to defeat Karolína Muchová in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, winning 7-5, 6-1.

In addition to the title and prize money, the Kazakhstani player also received a new Porsche 911 Carrera S, a tradition of the tournament.

Match turns after tight first set

The opening set was closely contested, with both players exchanging breaks. After the score reached 5-5, however, Rybakina took control and closed out the set.

Her performance echoed her semifinal win over Mirra Andreeva, where she also surged late after an even start.

Second-set dominance

Rybakina...

A troubling pattern is emerging in Kazakhstan’s academic community: Researchers linked to ethical violations are still receiving state honors, leadership roles and even international recognition, according to a recent report by the T-invariant outlet.

Award and retraction collide

In November 2025, Kazakhstan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics publicly congratulated Prof. Artem Kozlovskiy on receiving the «Best Elsevier Reviewer» award, praising him and wishing him «creative success and new scientific achievements.»

At the same time, editors at Chemical Papers retracted a paper he co-authored, citing major falsification of experimental data. Kozlovskiy now has 34 retracted publications — the...

Classic super apps with «tiled» interfaces are becoming outdated, according to Timur Shalekenov, head of Yandex Qazaqstan.

He said the market is shifting toward voice assistants and AI-driven interfaces. Shalekenov made the remarks during a panel discussion at the Kursiv Ecosystems Forum 2026.

Shift toward AI-driven interaction

«I sincerely believe the entire internet will be reinvented in the near future,» Shalekenov said. «If we’re talking about a ‘tiled’ interface, that’s already in the past.»

Instead, he pointed to the rise of «live or near-live assistants» capable of performing tasks directly or delegating them...

Kazakhstan has been included among the world’s 20 leading countries in aviation safety. This was announced at the ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium (GISS 2026), where international experts described Kazakhstan’s aviation strategy as a model of partnership.

Chair of Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee Saltanat Tompiyeva presented figures that impressed ICAO’s top leadership: the aviation security compliance rate jumped from 62% to 95.7%, while the flight safety rating rose to 82% — well above both the global (69.3%) and European (76%) averages. Kazakhstan’s 2025 passenger traffic also exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 80%.

President of the ICAO Council Toshiyuki Onuma highlighted that...

Madonna makes a comeback — the singer has announced the release date of her new album “Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II” on Instagram.

This marks the continuation of Madonna’s iconic 2005 album “Confessions on a Dance Floor” and her first studio album in seven years since “Madame X.” It also marks her return to Warner Records for the first time in twenty years.

Madonna is again working with producer Stuart Price, who is behind the original album and such hits as “Hung Up” and “Sorry.”

Kazakhstan has seen an increase in the number of legal entities with foreign capital, rising 10% year over year to 65,952 companies, according to the Bureau of National Statistics.

Regional neighbors drive growth

The main drivers of this growth over the past year have not been Western countries, but Kazakhstan’s immediate neighbors — particularly Uzbekistan.

The number of companies with Uzbek capital surged 57.4% year over year, exceeding 9,600. The increase suggests that economic integration between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has reached a new level, with stronger logistics and trade ties.

According to Kazakh economist Ruslan Sultanov, the structure of foreign investment in Kazakhstan has shifted. By the end of 2025, the manufacturing sector attracted more investment than mining for the first time.

Gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached $20.4 billion, up 14.4% from $17.9 billion in 2024. The growth was driven primarily by non-resource sectors.

Investment in manufacturing rose to $4.4 billion, while mining attracted $3.4 billion. Investment in oil and gas production declined sharply to $0.6 billion, down from about $12.1 billion annually in 2018 and 2019.

In addition to manufacturing, investment increased in trade ($3.3 billion...

Apple may enter the segment of genuinely affordable personal computers. According to MyDrivers, the company plans to launch a new desktop model Mac Neo, which could be priced at around $299.

The device is expected to be a simplified version of the Mac mini, equipped with the A19 Pro chip, which is also anticipated to power the next generation of MacBook Neo. The standard configuration may have 12 gigabytes of RAM, which should be enough for routine tasks and work.

To reduce the price, Apple could replace conventional aluminum with plastic for...

On April 17, Freedom Holding Corp. announced the acquisition of ChessBase, one of the world’s oldest and largest providers of chess software, analytics and data.

The company aims to strengthen its market position by expanding AI use and integrating the platform into its digital ecosystem, with planned investments of around €5 million.

Ecosystem integration and team retention

According to Freedom Holding Corp. CEO Timur Turlov, ChessBase is a strong brand with a rich history.

«Our collaboration will not only strengthen the platform’s position among professional chess players but also open up new opportunities, as more...