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Forbes Kazakhstan has published its annual rating of the richest Kazakhstani businessmen. This year, the list includes 75 people with a combined fortune of $46.6 billion. This figure is equal to 17.65% of the country’s GDP. 

In the global list of the richest people the «national team» of Kazakhstani moguls would take 26th place right after American billionaire Charles Koch and his family, who made their fortune in oil trading and refinery. 

Even though the current rating of Kazakhstani rich people includes many of those who pop up on the list every year, ten newcomers were added, like Arsen Tomsky...

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has instructed his generals to conduct military exercises with tactical nuclear weapons. According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, these measures have been undertaken in response to «provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials toward Russia.»

«To ensure non-strategic nuclear forces are ready for combat, the general staff has started preparations for military exercises with rocket divisions of the Southern Military District, air force and navy. The exercises will be conducted shortly,» the ministry said in a statement.

In late February, President of France Emmanuel Macron suggested that Western countries...

In April, the National Fund of Kazakhstan shrank by an additional $1.1 billion from $64.9 billion to $64.4 billion, the Ministry of Finance’s data showed. 

Overall, the National Fund has shrunk by $1.0 billion since the beginning of the year when the fund had $65.5 billion in it. In January, it shrank by $299 million before increasing by $265 million in February and then shrinking again by $597 million in March.

Over the past four months, the National Fund received $3.9 billion, including $676 million in April. Almost all this money was tax payments from the oil industry. 

From January...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Zhaslan Madiyev, general manager of Binance Kazakhstan, as the new head of the Ministry of Digital Development, according to the Akorda. Ex-Digital Minister Bagdat Musin was removed from office on April 30. 

«The president has appointed Zhaslan Madiyev as the new minister of digital development, innovations and aerospace industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan,» the president’s press service said in a statement.

Madiyev was born on June 13, 1983. He graduated from the Kazakh National University named after al Farabi with a degree in Global Economics and International Finances. He also studied...

Central banks acquired 16 tons of gold in March. Kazakhstan was the third biggest gold buyer in the world outpacing Russia’s net buying by just one ton. The country has also become the leading gold buyer in Central Asia, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).

«Demand [from central banks] remained healthy: monthly gross purchases were steady at 40 tons month-on-month, partly offset by gross sales of 25 tons,» WGC said.

The agency’s survey also showed that major buyers were from emerging markets. For instance, the Central Bank of Turkey added the most gold during...

The Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan has recommended the country’s citizens avoid visiting the Russian Federation. This warning comes out against the backdrop of media reports about Russian authorities refusing to allow many Kyrgyz citizens to enter the country.

«The ministry is once again recommending its fellow citizens to temporarily abstain from vising Russia if there is no urgency until all additional security measures and increased border control are lifted,» the agency said in a statement. 

The MFA, however, noted that neither the ministry nor its consulates haven’t received information about Russia not allowing Kyrgyzstani citizens...

Acquiring property is one of the three most popular investment strategies for Kazakhstanis. The vast majority of them would prefer to buy an apartment in one of the country’s big cities to lease it to tenants for a 25% interest rate per annum at least, according to a survey by United Research Technologies Group (URTG). 

Almost one in three (27.4%) out of 1,600 respondents in Kazakhstan interviewed by URTG this spring consider investments in real estate as the most reliable way to save their money. However, only 41.1% of them have savings for such an investment. Furthermore, only one in...

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Taliban movement have agreed to build a logistical center in West Afghanistan, Reuters reported. The Talibs hope they benefit from this hub if Russia exports its oil to South Asia, in particular to Pakistan. 

According to Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan Nooruddin Azizi, the parties will prepare an official agreement within two months. He also said that this logistical hub will be able to accept up to one million tons of oil at the initial stage.

«The logistical center will be established in the Herat province. It will connect North and South...

The Senate, the upper house of the Kazakhstani parliament, has extended a contract between Russia and Kazakhstan on the transit of Russian oil to China through the territory of Kazakhstan. Over the period from 2024 to 2033, the country is expected to earn $1.7 billion.

In December 2013, the governments of Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement regulating oil transit to China. From 2014 to 2023, Russia exported 7 million tons of oil to China via this route.

In February 2023, Russian Rosneft and Chinese CNPC signed an agreement on the export of 100 million tons of Russian oil to...

According to the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), it has added GDK Baimskaya to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN) list. This means that no U.S. residents can cooperate with the company, while all its banking accounts in the U.S. should be blocked.  

GDK Baimskaya is controlled by Trianon Limited, a private company registered at the Astana International Financial Center and belonging to Vladimir Kim (890th place in the global Forbes list with a fortune of $3.6 billion or 1st place with $4.6 billion, according to Forbes Kazakhstan) and Oleg Novachuk (ranked 13th in the local rating with a fortune...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed General Prosecutor Berik Assylov to continue the search for assets illegally withdrawn from Kazakhstan and reclaim them, according to the Akorda.

During a meeting with Tokayev on April 30, Assylov told the president that the General Prosecutor’s Office has been using artificial intelligence to reclaim illegally withdrawn assets and search for criminals.

For instance, the agency is testing a smart analytical platform for searching and tracking illegally withdrawn assets. In addition, law enforcement officials detained 605 people who were on the wanted list. All of this happened with the help of different tools, including information systems.

In 2023, the gross regional product in Almaty grew by 10%, reaching $56.1 billion, a record-high number over the past ten years, according to the city’s administration. As a result, the city’s share in the national GDP has risen to 20.6%.

The rapid economic development of Almaty has let the city downgrade the unemployment rate from 5% in 2022 to 4.8% in 2023. Small and medium-sized businesses provide jobs to 949,000 people (90%). In 2023, these businesses issued products worth $47.3 billion, which is a 15.8% increase over 2022.

Last year, the number of active businesses reached 340,000 (+16.2%). Since...

According to the press service of Kazakhstan’s cabinet, Kazakhstan will cooperate with Afghanistan to explore its soil for useful minerals. The two countries have already agreed to establish a joint technical committee to implement a set of geological projects in Afghanistan.

«At the initial stage, the Afghani side is expected to give over its maps of all promising natural deposits and corresponding scientific data to Kazakhstan,» the press service said in a statement.

A wide range of issues related to geological exploration and production of useful minerals was discussed by Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan...

According to Deputy Chairman of the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) Ulan Raisov, the task of proving that illegal money withdrawal was an intentional move is a very hard task as law enforcement agencies have only 15 days to check on a suspicious transaction and get a conclusion from the National Bank and the State Revenue Committee.

As the official noted, the country is countering the illegal withdrawal of assets through internal compliance in banks, a special division that analyzes financial operations. If specialists in these divisions think that a transaction is suspicious, they report it directly to the FMA.

Kazakhstanis will gain access to internet services from OneWeb this year, according to the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry.

«OneWeb is working on a gateway for its non-Geo communication network at the Kokterek Center of Space Communication. The service is expected to be ready for commercial use this year,» the ministry said in a statement.

Kazakhstan considers OneWeb an effective solution for eliminating digital inequality as the country plans to connect 328 remote villages to the internet.

The Digital Ministry and OneWeb signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021. Under this arrangement, the...

According to Minister of Industry and Construction Kanat Sharlapayev, the metallurgical industry in Kazakhstan rose by 4.3% in the first quarter of 2024. The ministry is now expecting that companies such as Qarmet, KSP Steel, Shymkent Temir, Ferrum Vtor, Kazferrostal and Forever Flourishing (Middle Asia) Pty LTD will support the industry’s further growth.

The combined amount of products produced by steel companies is expected to grow from 3.9 million tons to 4 million tons, flat-rolled products from 2.5 million to 2.6 million tons and cast iron from 2.9 million to 3 million (by Qarmet).

The agency predicts an increase in...

According to Reuters, Russia has warned Kazakhstan about a possible suspension of its oil transit to Germany. The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan has dismissed this information.

On April 25, the Reuters news agency reported from its sources that Transneft, the Russian pipeline company, notified Kazakhstani authorities about its intention to suspend Kazakhstani oil transit to Germany starting from June due to delays in payment by PERN, the national pipeline company in Poland. 

«KazTransOil and KazMunayGas are nervous,» said one of the news agency’s sources familiar with the matter.

However, the Ministry of Energy of...

The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan in conjunction with QazaqGaz, the national gas company in Kazakhstan, has prepared a forecast balance of gas until 2030. According to this plan, gas production this year is expected to reach 60.5 billion cubic meters of gas, which is a 2.4% increase over last year (59.1 billion cubic meters), according to the Ministry of Energy.

In 2023, the Tengiz oil and gas field produced 16 billion cubic meters of gas (27.1%), Karachaganak – 22 billion cubic meters (37.3%), Kashagan – 11.8 billion cubic meters (20%) and other gas fields – 8.8 billion cubic meters...

In the first quarter of 2024, Kazakhstanis bought 18,900 gold bars of 816 kilograms in weight, twice as much as the same period last year (9,500 bars of 255 kilograms in weight).

The record price surge for gold over the past several months is one of the key drivers of the demand for gold bars. Today, one gram of gold costs 33,200 tenge ($75.03), compared to 30,300 tenge ($68.48) in January.

However, the current price isn’t the highest. On April 18, for instance, one gram of gold cost 34,500 tenge ($77.97), a 14% increase since the beginning of the year...

According to Air Astana, Managing Director of FlyArystan Adrian Hamilton-Manns has decided to leave the company and return to South Africa to spend more time with his family.

To ensure executive staff changes are smooth, Hamilton-Manns will stay in FlyArystan until the end of May. Meanwhile, Richard Ledger is going to serve as the acting head of the airline.

From 2009 to 2017, Ledger served as Sales Director at Air Astana; from 2017 to 2022, he was the vice president for marketing and sales at the company. As Air Astana reported, Ledger’s expertise helped the company boost its revenue by...

The U.K. and Kazakhstan have signed a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement. This happened during a meeting between Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the U.K. David Cameron, who visited Kazakhstan as part of his trip to Central Asia.

The U.K. is the biggest trading and investment partner of Kazakhstan, the Kazinform news agency reported, citing Nurtleu.

«Today, we have signed a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement between Kazakhstan and the U.K., bringing our relations to a new level. I do not doubt that this historically important...

Kazakhstan is going to cut as much public expenditures as possible to save money for dealing with the massive floods. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has already promised to introduce a cost-saving regime for public expenditures, reassuring those affected by the floods that authorities will reimburse all the damage.

Tokayev spoke on the topic during the 33rd session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan called «Unity. Creation. Progress.» As the president reported, the restoration of residential houses and infrastructure in areas affected by the floods has already begun.

«Prominent entrepreneurs and public figures have also supported...

The Astana International Exchange (AIX) has joined the Tabadul hub for interbourse trading between AIX and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) that created the hub. Thanks to these arrangements, Kazakhstani investors will be able to buy stocks from Arab countries and vice versa. Freedom Finance Global has been chosen broker for Tabadul.

ADX launched Tabadul in July 2022 as the first digital service designed to facilitate mutual access to the market in the region. Bahrain Bourse and Muscat Securities Market from Oman have already cooperated with the digital hub, while BHM Capital from Dubai has become a trading member...

The South Korean automobile giant plans to launch production of auto parts in Kazakhstan. The idea of establishing such a production has been discussed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kia Motors CEO Song Ho-Sung during their meeting in Astana.

«Mr. Song Ho-Sung told the president what the company is doing to improve its supply chains. For instance, the car company has signed a memorandum of intent with Seyong EHWA (a global auto part supplier for Kia), which is going to launch auto part manufacturing in Kazakhstan,» the president’s press service reported in a statement.

In August 2023, Kia transferred part...