News

The management of BNK Commercial Bank, a new financial institution in Kazakhstan’s banking sector, has announced its plans to focus on developing lending products and working with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

This strategy is outlined in a roadmap presented by bank executives during an official ceremony marking the transformation of BNK Finance Kazakhstan, a microfinance organization (MFO), into a commercial bank.

In the first stage, set for this year, the bank will concentrate on transferring assets from the former MFO to the new bank, establishing a deposit-oriented base and implementing risk management standards.

In the second stage, planned for...

Paralympic athletes have received the keys to their new gifted flats in a residential complex built on the site of demolished dilapidated housing.

According to the press service of the Akmola region administration, two 45-apartment blocks were constructed as part of the region’s housing stock renovation program.

«This is not just about comfortable apartments, but a token of appreciation from the Akmola region for their valor, commitment to their goals and devotion to the homeland,» said Marat Akhmetzhanov, the region’s governor.

Two-time Paralympic champion powerlifter David Degtyarev and sport shooter Yerkin Gabbasov, a silver medalist...

In Astana, an unidentified individual attempted to sell a wolf cub for $776.

According to the Astana Police Department, law enforcement officials discovered an advertisement for the sale of a wild animal during routine social media monitoring. To catch the offender – in violation of laws prohibiting the sale and private ownership of wild animals, the police posed as potential buyers and apprehended the suspect during the transaction.

«The wolf cub was seized and placed in temporary custody at the state wildlife nursery in Astana. An administrative case has been opened against the seller, who was...

Long hailed as a symbol of good health, apples are once again earning scientific praise for their nutritional value. According to a BBC report, apples are rich in fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants, supporting heart health, digestion and immune function. Studies increasingly show that eating apples regularly can help lower cholesterol, improve gut health and reduce inflammation.

However, few people know that the story of the modern apple begins in Kazakhstan. The Sievers apple (Malus sieversii), a wild ancestor of today’s domesticated varieties, grows naturally in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains near Almaty. This rare species is...

Kyrgyzstan is set to complete the second stage of construction of its ambitious Ala-Too Resort mountain ski complex by the end of 2025. The resort is expected to host 850,000 tourists annually.

According to Kg.mir24.tv, the Kyrgyz administration has transferred 3,916 hectares in the Issyk-Kul region to the Ala-Too Resort enterprise, where the largest mountain ski resort complex in Central Asia will be built.

The project encompasses three key resort zones: Jyrgalan (1,624.7 hectares), Ak-Bulak (945.9 hectares) and Boz-Uchuk (1,345 hectares). Along the way, authorities plan to build essential infrastructure, including kindergartens, social facilities and utility networks in neighboring villages.

Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s state-owned nuclear company, has released a response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security regarding an ongoing investigation into the national security risks posed by imports of processed critical minerals and their derivatives. The investigation, announced in April, sought public comments by May 16, 2025.

The probe’s scope

The probe is aimed at assessing whether the U.S. is vulnerable to what the department described as «predatory economic, pricing, and market manipulation strategies» by countries that process and export critical minerals to the U.S. While not officially stated, the investigation appears to have...

The volume of new car exports from Kazakhstan to Russia has dropped sharply. In the first five months of 2025, nearly 3.5 times fewer passenger cars were sold to the neighboring country than during the same period last year, according to Sergey Tselikov, co-founder and director of the Russian agency Autostat.

Car deliveries from Kazakhstan to Russia have been steadily declining. From January to May 2025, only 2,400 new passenger cars were exported, representing a 73% decrease compared to the same period in 2024 (8,800 units).

The export of used cars shows a similar trend. Since the beginning of...

The Almaty mountains are preparing to host several tourist attraction facilities at once. Kursiv Lifestyle reveals what awaits the city’s locals and guests.

Construction of the spectacular Arman-köpir footbridge on the outskirts of the metropolis is nearing completion. The bridge will be 77 meters long and will lead to a future sports club for school students called Myn Bala.

According to the plan, the new complex will operate year-round, offering opportunities for active recreation, athletic training and open-air educational programs.

In addition, a 912-square-meter multifunctional gym is being built near the bridge, along with 12 compact residential modules to provide...

According to Inessa Galaktionova, CEO of MTS, one of the largest telecommunication operators in Russia, the company’s subsidiary Irtea is planning to enter the Kazakhstani market.

Irtea is a telecom vendor that also develops software and manufactures carrier-class LTE and 5G base stations in Russia. The company was established in 2021. Initially known as MTS Electronics, it was 100% owned by MTS. Currently, the mobile operator holds a 50% stake in the company, while the other half is owned by the investment fund Advanced Technologies.

As Galaktionova noted, MTS is actively encouraging the international expansion of its business units. For...

Porn websites are soon to be banned in Kyrgyzstan. The country’s parliament has passed a corresponding law in the second and third readings, as reported by 24.kg.

The document introduces a ban on spreading content featuring pornographic elements on the internet.

According to the law, website owners must delete such content within 24 hours after receiving a request from a competent authority. If ignored, access to the website may be restricted for up to two months. During this period, the creation of new websites or pages featuring similar content is also prohibited.

If the law is enacted, the cabinet...

The recent installation of Astana’s light rail transit (LRT) trains has drawn widespread attention both online and in person, as residents of Kazakhstan’s capital city unwittingly echoed a scene from a legendary Soviet-era painting by Kazakh artist Abylkhan Kasteyev (1904-1973).

The long-awaited LRT trains arrived in Astana and were placed on the tracks near Abu Dhabi Plaza on June 12. Both trains are now positioned and awaiting their first technical launch, scheduled for September 2025.

The installation drew a crowd. Passersby stopped to film videos and watch the process with their children. After the successful placement of the...

BNK Finance Kazakhstan, a Kazakhstani microfinance organization owned by South Korean holding BNK Capital, has received a banking license from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM). The newly established bank has been named BNK Commercial Bank.

The official ceremony for awarding the banking license was attended by ARDFM Chair Madina Abylkassymova, Consul General of the Republic of Korea Ha Tae-youk and Chair of the Board of BNK Capital Kim Song-Joo.

According to Kim Song-hyun, chair of the board of BNK Commercial Bank, the new bank will focus on providing products and services to small and...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has invested more than $7 billion in Kazakhstan’s economy over the past 20 years. Furthermore, the bank has over $1 billion in additional projects in its portfolio that are yet to be implemented in the country. This was revealed during a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and ADB’s Vice President for Market Solutions Bhargav Dasgupta, as reported by the country’s cabinet.

Established in 1966, ADB has implemented 31 projects over the past two decades and plans to complete at least nine more, including the reconstruction of roads connecting Aktobe and Kandyagash, and Kyzylorda...

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has announced plans to reform the country’s space industry. Special attention was given to strengthening national sovereignty in the field, including the reduction of land leased by Russia at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

He highlighted that Russia effectively uses only three of the 10 available launch pads at Baikonur, with the rest remaining idle. In turn, Kazakhstan plans to withdraw thousands of square meters from the portion of Baikonur Cosmodrome leased by Russia.

«The withdrawal of a 1,747-square-kilometer area from the rented territory, which will later house a special economic zone, is...

Between January and May 2025, Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field produced 15.9 million tons of crude oil, according to KazMunayGas (KMG), the national oil and gas company. Output at the country’s largest oil and gas field is now projected to reach 35.7 million tons by the end of the year, an upward revision from an earlier forecast of 34.8 million tons. Tengiz produced 27.8 million tons in 2024.

KMG CEO Askhat Khassenov recently met with Clay Neff, president of Chevron International Exploration and Production, to discuss bilateral cooperation. Topics included the implementation of large-scale oil and gas projects, industrial safety and...

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree approving changes to the structure of the presidential administration, as reported by UzDaily.uz.

The document effectively introduces a new position within the administration — «head of the presidential administration.» Under the edict, the president’s eldest daughter, Saida Mirziyoyeva, has been appointed to this post.

Prior to this, she had been serving as assistant to the president since November 2022, overseeing the communications and information policy sector within the executive office of the administration.

Mirziyoyeva studied economics at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent. She also obtained a master’s...

Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is set to allocate $20 million to gallium production, as reported by Reuters. This metal is vital for electronics and radar systems.

Gallium is on the critical materials lists of the U.S. and the European Union. The company, which has never produced the resource before, aims to become the world’s second-largest producer behind China. ERG plans to produce gallium from the bauxite ore processed at its facilities to make alumina.

«ERG plans to become a significant player in the global market for gallium, starting production in 2026 to supply OECD...

In early 2024, Kazakhstan adopted a decree upgrading the village of Zhetygen in the Almaty region to a city of regional significance and renamed it Alatau, meaning «Bright Mountains.» The newly designated city has since become Kazakhstan’s flagship urban development project, with China’s Shenzhen allegedly serving as a model.

Officials plan to transform Alatau into an export-oriented trade and logistics hub. It will be included in a special economic zone (SEZ), with more than 170 projects valued at approximately $24 billion. These initiatives are expected to create 110,000 new jobs and, once fully operational, contribute an estimated...

According to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the decline in oil prices — sparked by rising global economic tensions — will negatively affect Kazakhstan’s economy. By contrast, countries such as Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan could benefit from trade wars due to rising prices for non-ferrous and precious metals.

The EDB currently forecasts that the average price of Brent crude will reach $67 per barrel this year, then fall to $63 over the next two years, as reported by Kommersant.ru. This decline will negatively impact the economies of Kazakhstan and Russia, the region’s key energy exporters. In 2025, the export...

On June 23, Editor-in-Chief Tatyana Trubacheva of the Kursiv.media website and former Editor-in-Chief Tatyana Nikolaeva of the Kursiv business weekly received the European Newspaper Award for the Cover and Cover Story Nationwide Newspaper category (Issue No. 1034, May 16, 2024) at the ceremony in Vienna, Austria.

The cover story is about an underground empire built by a kingpin from Kyrgyzstan. The illustration features a bald man wearing a suit jacket and a crown, gazing at a city with mountains in the background. This is a reference to the notorious boss of the Kyrgyz mafia Kamchybek Asanbek (Kamchy Kolbayev).

Tatyana Trubacheva...

Jay W. Roth, the owner of the entertainment and hospitality company Venu Holding, which operates concert venues and restaurants in Colorado, visited Kazakhstan to meet with local investors during the first-ever non-deal roadshow in Kazakhstan for an American company, organized by Freedom Broker.

Roth, whose company is valued at $538.6 million, came to Kazakhstan to meet investors in Almaty and Astana. He also gave an interview to Vadim Merkulov, the director of the analytical department at Freedom Finance, in which he discussed how his business operates.

According to Roth, the holding is currently implementing a series of projects worth...

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has discussed a $62.6 million project aimed at expanding pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan with Jerzy Starak, a representative of the Netherlands-based Polpharma Group.

The two sides discussed the progress of the Chimpharm factory expansion in Shymkent, Kazakhstan’s largest pharmaceutical company and part of the Polpharma Group, including the construction of new laboratories and production buildings.

The enterprise’s production capacity is expected to increase by 2 billion items of medicine annually, to be released under the SANTO Member of Polpharma Group trademark. The expansion is also expected to create 300 new jobs.

Local production will focus...

The Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, the country’s central Islamic authority, has warned against using ChatGPT to seek answers to religious questions, according to the Gazeta.uz news outlet.

Controversial counselor

«ChatGPT can benefit people in some areas,» the board said in a statement. «But it is not capable of providing proper answers to religious questions, as it is a product created by human beings.»

The board raised concerns that the chatbot may occasionally offer presumptive or inaccurate answers, sometimes citing religious texts or Arabic phrases that cannot be found in the referenced sources.

«The quotes...

According to Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has become a tool that foreign companies use to evade taxes, turning it into something like an offshore zone within the country. The official made this claim during a discussion of the new Tax Code in the Senate, the upper house of the country’s parliament, as the government proposes banning the simultaneous use of two preferential regimes: the AIFC and the Entrepreneurial Code. If a company wants to receive benefits under an investment agreement, it should not be a resident of the AIFC, the ministry...