News

Russia and China’s drive to ensure economic security amid global uncertainty could accelerate the launch of key energy projects in Kazakhstan.

The word «uncertainty» has quickly become one of the most frequently used terms in forecasts for 2025. It repeatedly appears in the recent Global Risks Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum. It’s also a central theme in UNCTAD’s December 2024 Global Trade Update and the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025 report, released earlier this month by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

In response to growing uncertainty, global powers are reverting to an old strategy...

The Russian retailer Fix Price has become the owner of a 100% stake in Best Price, an operational subsidiary of the retailer, and a 1% stake in Best Price Export. Previously, both stakes were controlled by Fix Price plc, a holding structure registered in Kazakhstan. According to analysts from the Russian broker BCS World of Investments, this structural change appear to be a technical preparation for redomiciling to Russia.

«Fix Price reported that it was reviewing a scenario for listing its Russian subsidiary on the Moscow Exchange (MoEx) and considering the exchange of receipts for the...

Kazakhstani sumo wrestler Yersin Baltagul, competing under the Japanese name Kinbozan Haruki, secured a silver medal at the Hatsu Basho 2025 tournament (New Year’s sumo tournament) held in Tokyo, according to Tachiai.org, a sumo-focused blog. The tournament’s winner was Mongolian sumo wrestler nicknamed Hoshoryu Tomokatsu.

Kinbozan from Kazakhstan, Mongolian wrestler Hoshoryu Tomokatsu and Japanese wrestler Oho Konosuke finished with the same number of victories, prompting an extra round to determine the champion.

The wrestlers drew lots to decide who would initiate the fight. In the first bout, Hoshoryu defeated Kazakhstani Kinbozan; in the final round, the Mongolian wrestler outperformed...

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov held an informal meeting at the Amirsoy ski resort in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. During the negotiations the two leaders have agreed to closely cooperate in developing joint projects related to recreational centers and resorts in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the Uzbek president reported.

After the meeting, Japarov highly commended the Amirsoy Resort.

«When I visited Amirsoy, it struck me. My colleague Shavkat Mirziyoyev has built this amazing ski resort from scratch. I am speechless. It is simply a great achievement...

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway company in Kazakhstan, has launched a satellite internet connection powered by British Eutelsat OneWeb on a train operating the Astana-Almaty route. According to the company’s press service, the project is currently in its pilot phase and is planned to expand across all 15 routes served by the Talgo high-speed trains.

It takes 17 hours to travel by train from Astana to Almaty, and now, one train in the KTZ’s fleet offers a stable internet connection to all 500 passengers throughout the journey. 

The quality of the internet allows passengers to make video calls...

The government is weighing acquiring shares in the capital of private power monopolies, according to Asan Darbayev, chair of Kazakhstan’s Committee on Regulation of Natural Monopolies and Protection of Competition and Consumer Rights.

«There are seven mechanisms available to finance the move. The main one is direct financing, which implies using the funds raised from domestic and international financial organizations. Other tools include syndicated financing and co-funding, bond issuance, publicly funded loans, bonds issued by private businesses and, if necessary, acquiring stakes in private monopolies,» Darbayev said during a briefing on the national project on the...

Tengizchevroil (TCO), a joint venture controlled by U.S.-based Chevron (50%), ExxonMobil (25%), KazMunayGas (20%) and the Russian oil company Lukoil (5%), has produced its first oil from the Future Growth Project at Kazakhstan’s largest oil field Tengiz, according to a release from TCO.

«TCO has reached a significant milestone at its Future Growth Project (FGP), by safely initiating production of crude oil at its new Third-Generation Plant (3GP) at the Tengiz oilfield. This milestone marks the beginning of a gradual ramp-up of 3GP production over the coming months, which is expected to expand Tengiz’s crude oil...

Binance Kazakhstan has presented a crypto market development outlook for 2025. In its review of 2024, the crypto exchange platform described Kazakhstan as «one of the largest crypto mining centers.» This happened after many crypto mining farms originally based in China migrated to Kazakhstan.

The global crypto market may experience “fundamental changes” this year, including advancements in spot ETFs (exchange-traded funds that enable cryptocurrency trading without the need for a digital wallet or direct fund possession), integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and asset tokenization. The company believes these measures will facilitate the creation of a sustainable and profitable ecosystem.

Binance...

Kyrgyzstan wants to eliminate the infamous traffic jams in Bishkek once and for all by moving the capital to another city. On Jan. 22, MP Bakytbek Maripov proposed this bold decision. As he explained to his fellow MPs during a parliament meeting, this move is necessary to free Bishkek, the current capital city of Kyrgyzstan, from heavy smog and terrible traffic.

He recalled the Asman project («asman» means «sky» in Kyrgyz), which is estimated at approximately $10 billion. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov spoke about the city of the future in 2021 right after he entered office. Two years later...

Kazakhstan’s electric vehicle (EV) market is experiencing rapid growth, with the number of EVs increasing by more than 60%, according to the Bureau of National Statistics.

As of Dec. 1, 2024, the total number of registered electric vehicles in the country, including cars, trucks and buses, reached 12,587, compared to 7,680 just a year earlier.

Passenger cars saw the most significant growth, rising from 7,383 to 12,119 units. The country also registered 338 electric trucks and 130 electric buses.

Almaty is leading in terms of the number of electric cars, boasting 7,309 registered units. The capital, Astana, follows with...

Kazakhstani ed-tech startup CodiPlay has secured $9 million in Series A funding. The investors include Christian Eichner, prominent business angel and senior executive vice president for strategy at Qatar National Bank, and the Global Capital investment fund, according to the company’s press release.

The funding will enable CodiPlay to expand into the markets of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Over the next two years, the company aims to integrate 3,000 schools from these countries into its ecosystem.

«We are grateful for the support provided by investors. Their backing has enabled us to grow rapidly and successfully...

The Atyrau airport in Kazakhstan has introduced an Open Skies regime, which is expected to increase competition among airlines and potentially lower ticket prices for residents of the region, the Ak Zhaik newspaper reported.

Kairat Nurtayev, deputy akim (governor) of the Atyrau region, said the regime will have a positive impact on the airport’s development and the regional economy. Subsequently, the number of domestic and international flights is expected to increase, including new direct routes to Western Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The construction of a 16,500-square-meter terminal facility is scheduled for this year. The project envisions equipping the...

A court in Satpayev, a city in Kazakhstan’s Ulytau region, has sentenced a Kazakhstani citizen to four years and six months in prison for participating in the war between Russia and Ukraine as a fighter for the Wagner private military company (PMC), according to the court’s press office.

Case materials reveal that in the fall of 2022, while in Zhezkazgan, the administrative center of the Ulytau region, the convict decided to join Wagner PMC. In November, he crossed the Kazakhstan border near Petropavlovsk and traveled to a training camp in Russia’s Krasnodar region, where he signed a contract. He was...

During the Prada show organized within Milan Men’s Fashion Week, a 19-year-old model from Kazakhstan, Ali Daniyarov, walked the catwalk.  

While The New York Times discusses the tight pants comeback on Prada’s runway, Instagram fashion fans are admiring Ali Daniyarov, a 19-year-old fashion model from Almaty. The Kazakhstani model walked the catwalk wearing a brown jacket and leather pants. His image was complemented by a tender-blue shirt, cowboy boots tucked into pants and a bag — one of the most up-to-date coloristic and texture combinations of this year.

However, this is not Ali’s first time on a major fashion...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance wants to place government stocks (GS) worth approximately $13.20 billion on the stock market. This is a 32.7% increase over the 2023 plan (approximately $9.94 billion) and a 23.2% increase over the funds raised in 2024 (approximately $10.71 billion), according to the agency’s website.

According to the plan, the ministry is going to conduct 55 emissions, part of which will be an additional placement within those previously delivered. The maturity terms of the GSs range between one and 15 years. Remarkably, for stock with a 10-year maturity, it is planned to raise about $956 million. Once...

Baring Funds sold nearly 963,000 shares of the fintech company Kaspi.kz in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to an extract from the register of shareholders of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) as of January 1, 2025.

It is unclear how much Baring Funds earned from selling its shares in Kaspi.kz. However, in Q4 of last year, the stock value ranged between 50,700 tenge ($96.97) and 58,000 tenge ($110.93). This suggests that Baring Funds may have earned between $93.3 million and $106.8 million.

As a result, Baring Funds’ stake in Kaspi.kz declined by 0.48 percentage points to 23.3%. The company...

As of Jan. 1, 2024, the volume of Stage 3 loans (non-performing loans or NPLs, as classified by International Financial Reporting Standards) in 11 Kazakhstani banks increased by over $700 million, reaching more than $5 billion, up by 9.8%. This finding was highlighted in the 2024 Asset Quality Review (AQR 2024) report by the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM).

The scope of the AQR 2024 assessment expanded by 31.3%, totaling approximately $60 billion. Approximately one-third of all debt is attributed to unsecured consumer loans (roughly $19 billion). Other significant contributors include loan portfolios for large...

Mira Khalina, editor-in-chief of Kursiv.media, has been elected chairwoman of the expert council under Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) by a majority vote of the council members.

In her acceptance speech, Khalina described the expert council at ARDFM as «a positive initiative demonstrating effectiveness across all spheres.» She emphasized that council members aim to promote financial literacy among Kazakhstanis through joint efforts.

«It’s crucial to identify key areas of financial literacy development. As experts, we understand that previous information formats are no longer as effective as they once were. However...

Uzbekistan and Russia have signed a strategic partnership program in the military sphere for 2026 to 2030. The document was signed in the capital city of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, as Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived on an official visit.

The Russian delegation was received by the Uzbek defense minister, Major General Shukhrat Kholmukhammedov.

«The two sides have signed a cooperation plan between the defense ministries of Russia and Uzbekistan for 2025, along with a five-year strategic partnership program in the military sphere,» the press service of the Uzbek military office reported.

Following the reception, the...

The Binance Kazakhstan cryptocurrency exchange has announced the launch of crypto futures. The company emphasized that the expansion of its product line became possible after it obtained a full regulatory license from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in 2024.

Following multiple examinations and consultations, Kazakhstan’s regulatory bodies determined that Binance Kazakhstan meets all the compliance and management-related requirements, authorizing the exchange to trade futures on a regulated basis. 

«We are pleased to be able to offer crypto futures to our users and meet market demand for liquidity products. We want to take the opportunity...

The UN has recommended Kazakhstan to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. If Kazakhstan adheres to its terms, Russian President Vladimir Putin could potentially be arrested in Kazakhstan under an ICC warrant.

«The Human Rights Foundation, Human Rights Watch and the Joint Submission 4 (a group of Kazakhstani non-governmental organizations) recommended [Kazakhstan] to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,» the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in a recent report.

The Rome Statute serves as the ICC’s charter...

A consortium consisting of Hyundai Engineering and Sicim Kazakhstan may secure an EPC contract for the construction of a gas processing plant at the Karachaganak field within the next few days, according to Upstream Online.

«The government of Kazakhstan has given an ultimatum to the shareholders of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. (KPO), demanding a final decision on the construction of a natural gas processing plant by mid-June 2025. The government expects the plant to be built and commissioned by 2029. If KPO shareholders fail to make a decision by the deadline, the project will be...

Sanction clauses will be included in contracts for the construction of Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant (NPP) with a capacity of 2.4 gigawatts (GW), according to the Ministry of Energy’s response to an inquiry from Kursiv.media.

«As part of ongoing negotiations with companies bidding to construct the NPP in Kazakhstan, issues related to sanctions are being carefully analyzed and addressed. This is necessary to minimize potential risks that could impact the fulfillment of obligations related to the construction and financing of the project. Provisions and measures for managing such risks will be incorporated into the relevant...

Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan has suspended the issuance of debit cards to foreigners, as reported by the Russian business media outlet RBC. Similar restrictions have also been introduced by Kaspi Bank, which announced that the restrictions will be lifted on Feb. 3, 2025.

In response to Kursiv.media’s inquiry, Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan stated that the issuance of debit cards to foreign nationals will remain in effect until March 3, 2025, due to undergoing internal procedures.

As for Kaspi Bank, its debit cards issued before Jan. 19, 2025, will remain valid until their initial expiration date. After Feb. 3, 2025, foreigners...