News

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Zhang Qihai, CEO of the Chinese company Xinjiang Lihua – one of China’s top 55 agricultural companies, specializing in the full cycle of cotton processing – discussed the creation of a large cotton and textile complex in the Turan Special Economic Zone in the Turkestan region. The full-cycle project, valued at more than $396 million, is expected to be a key driver of economic growth in the region.

The project involves the launch of an agro-industrial hub with a closed production cycle—ranging from growing cotton on 50,000 hectares to manufacturing finished products such...

Nurlan Zhumagulov, head of the Energy Monitor public foundation, has suggested that Kazakhstan adopt the same nuclear power plant (NPP) construction model as Uzbekistan. He shared this view while commenting on a recent interview with Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, director of Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy Agency.

Zhumagulov noted that Uzbekistan plans to build a small modular reactor with a total capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) without holding a referendum. The reactor will be constructed by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, with turbines sourced from China and electronics procured from Europe.

«This is what is called an international consortium. A...

Victoria Oil & Gas, a British oil and gas company headquartered in London, has initiated legal proceedings against Kazakhstan. The oil company accuses the country of violating the Energy Charter Treaty, an international agreement that establishes a multilateral framework for cross-border cooperation in the energy industry. The claim has been registered with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), according to the organization’s website.

The standoff has been ongoing since 2021, when the company first threatened to file claims for hundreds of millions of dollars due to the cancellation of a contract to develop the Kemerkol field in...

Ukrainian telecom operator Kyivstar, owned by global telecommunications company Veon, has negotiated the purchase of Ukrainian ride-hailing and delivery platform Uklon ahead of its planned Nasdaq IPO. Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu said Uklon could expand into new markets, including Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Kyivstar will acquire a 97% stake in Uklon for $155.2 million. The ride-hailing service, which operates in 27 Ukrainian cities and expanded into Uzbekistan in 2023, also generates revenue through advertising placed on cars and within its app.

The acquisition of this non-core asset follows Kyivstar’s agreement to list on Nasdaq. The telecom operator has been preliminarily...

Bibigul Zheksenbai, a member of the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, proposed in her inquiry to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov that the export of native Kazakh Tazy breed dogs be banned, crossbreeding be penalized and the Tazy and Tobet Dogs Day be rescheduled to November.

Zheksenbai referred to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s statement on the necessity of additional measures to protect the purity of the Tazy and Tobet breeds and to prevent the uncontrolled export of these dogs.

She cited Japan as an example, where the export of traditional Japanese breeds, Akita Inu and Shiba Inu, is allowed only...

Dozens of Kazakhstani investors who lost money through real estate investments on the Proportunity platform plan to file a lawsuit in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) court against the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), AIFC’s independent regulator. The investors, who accuse AFSA of inaction and failing to protect their rights, intend to take legal action by the end of March. They recently published their appeal on the Finance.kz Telegram channel.

What is the dispute about?

Proportunity Management Company Limited (PMCL), a crowdfunding company licensed by the AIFC, entered the market in 2019. It offered Kazakhstanis a real estate investment...

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) and Banco Santander, Spain’s largest financial services group, have signed a framework agreement to attract up to €400 million (approximately $434 million) in financing for infrastructure and energy projects in Kazakhstan, involving international exporters. Notably, over the past year, DBK has already borrowed approximately $1.96 billion. The signing ceremony was held during the 8th Kazakhstan-Spain Business Council meeting in Madrid.

DBK has borrowed money from various international institutions over the past year. However, until the fall of 2024, Chinese banks were its primary lenders before it shifted to European institutions. In May 2023, DBK...

An unidentified aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan’s West Kazakhstan region on March 18 may be an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, according to military observer Amangeldi Kurmet. He also suggested that a white drone found in the region a month earlier could be a Russian Orlan-10.

On the afternoon of March 18, 2025, an unidentified drone crashed in the Taskala district of the West Kazakhstan region. Residents of Atameken, a village about 60 kilometers from the district center, took photos and videos of the black aircraft, which quickly spread on social media. The drone was approximately three meters long.

Kurmet analyzed photos...

Kazakhstan is set to expand trade with Hungary by 3.5 times from $200 million in 2024 to $700 million. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan aims to diversify its export structure across 95 items. This initiative was announced by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev during Kazakhstan’s trade and economic mission to Budapest. However, the official has not disclosed the exact timeline for the move.

«We intend to boost our exports up to $700 million in areas such as metallurgy, engineering, foodstuffs and construction products. Trade accelerates cooperation. Our countries embrace the principle of ‘jointly...

Kcell, a large mobile operator in Kazakhstan, which operates under the Kcell and Activ brands, has been included in the list of companies proposed for transfer into a competitive environment, according to a report by Kazakhstan’s Agency for Protection and Development of Competition (APDC) available on its official website.

The agency explained its decision to include Kcell in the privatization list, citing Kazakh national telecom operator Kazakhtelecom (which holds a 51% stake in Kcell) as having “power in the market” and dominating both the telecommunications sector and adjacent markets.

Moreover, the APDC believes that public ownership (since the government controls...

The Central Asia Fashion Spring 2025 international exhibition has concluded at the Atakent International Exhibition Centre in Almaty. Kursiv LifeStyle shares experts’ insights on the industry’s current state and future prospects.

The future of shopping centers

Considerable attention has been paid to the development of shopping centers. According to Dmitry Revin, chairman of the Kazakhstan Union of Retail Property Developers, future malls will evolve from points of sale into centers offering diverse leisure experiences.

“A future mall is not just a row of shopping stalls but rather a lifestyle hub, where people come not only to...

As of Feb. 25, 2025, Canadian money transfer service Leskar Payments has officially launched in Kazakhstan, according to the National Bank’s register of payment systems.

Currently, the register lists 16 active payment systems in the country. In 2024, four systems — Contact, Faster, Unistream and Ria Money Transfer — were removed from the register, making them no longer available in Kazakhstan.

Among the key payment systems in 2024 were:

Graphite Minerals, controlled by a Kazakhstani entrepreneur, plans to produce graphite at the Karagaily field in the Zhanasemey district of the Abay region. The company aims to produce at least 1.2 million tons of graphite per year over the next ten years, starting in 2026.

«Under the project, graphite will be extracted using an open-pit mining method… The technical specifications of the project indicate that the mine will have a capacity of 2.2 million tons of ore in the first year and 1.2 million tons in the following years,» the company said in a statement.

Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, earned $2.2 billion in net profit last year. This marks a 95% increase compared to 2023, when the company reported $1.1 billion in revenue, according to its financial statement.

More than a quarter of that sum — $598.6 million — came as net profit from obtaining control over the Kazakh-Russian Budenovskoye joint venture through Kazatomprom’s representatives in the venture’s supervisory council and the majority of votes. However, Kazatomprom’s 51% share in the joint venture remained unchanged.

The increase in uranium oxide prices contributed to strong financial results across many of Kazatomprom’s subsidiaries, which was...

Uzbekistan ranks third among Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations in military budget, surpassed only by Russia and Azerbaijan.

In 2024, Uzbekistan allocated $2.8 billion to defense, making it the highest defense spender in Central Asia, according to a recent report by Global Firepower (GFP), a leading annual defense ranking.

Kazakhstan ranked second in the region with $2 billion in military expenditures, followed by Turkmenistan at $1.1 billion. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan spent $446 million and $222 million, respectively.

Among CIS countries, Russia led with $126 billion in defense spending, followed by Azerbaijan with $5 billion. Uzbekistan ranked third.

Globally, the...

The trade volume between Kazakhstan and China reached $43.8 billion in 2024, as both countries work toward developing barrier-free trade. Beijing recently hosted the 12th meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Cooperation Committee.

Kazakhstan’s delegation, led by First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, held multiple negotiations with Chinese officials. The two sides signed agreements to deepen cooperation, including interdepartmental partnerships in water resource management and archival systems.

Key discussion points included facilitating trade, enhancing transport connectivity, boosting local production and advancing joint investment projects. Particular focus was placed on expanding ties in industry, agriculture, energy, transport and logistics.

During the visit, Kazakhstani...

Kazakhstan is going to ask Russia to exempt its domestically manufactured cars from the disposal fee, according to a report on the implementation of the Ministry of Industry and Construction’s development plan for the 2023-2027 period, covering the results of 2024, which is available on the agency’s official website. The Inbusiness.kz news portal was the first to notice the document.

«We propose considering the possibility of introducing quantitative quotas for Kazakhstan-manufactured cars — such as Kia — which would be exempt from the disposal fee obligation in Russia within the framework of industrial cooperation meetings,» the...

According to Yerlan Koshanov, the speaker of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ended the era of the super-presidential model of governance in the country. As a result, the transfer of power and capital from one person to government institutions has been completed.

Today, on March 19, Koshanov delivered a speech before MPs, summarizing the results of the political reforms undertaken in recent years.

«Fifty years is enough to change several generations of people, while an entire society transforms over a century. In other words, something that worked for decades...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy has published plans for implementing the country’s regional policy concept for 2025-2030 on the Legalacts.egov.kz portal. The concept highlights significant economic disparities between regions, ongoing migration from rural areas to cities and the potential risk of mass protests. Below is a summary of key points from the document.

The economy of discord: rich and poor regions

Kazakhstan’s economic growth is marked by stark regional inequality. The gap in gross regional product (GRP) per capita between the Atyrau and Turkestan regions stands at 10.7%. More than half of the country’s fixed assets are concentrated in just...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a task force to review USAID-funded projects and assess whether their stated goals align with actual outcomes, Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin said in response to a parliamentary inquiry.

In early February, MP Magerram Magerramov claimed that foreign sponsors, including USAID, were funding «women’s marches and lesbian parades» in downtown Almaty. He spoke out against what he termed the promotion of «alien ideology that corrupts young people» and called for an audit of USAID operations, as well as the drafting of a law to ensure the protection and mental and physical well-being of...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has removed Minister of Energy Almassadam Satkaliyev from office, as reported by the government’s press service. Satkaliyev will now head the newly established Nuclear Energy Agency.   

Satkaliyev had served as Energy Minister since April 2023, succeeding Bolat Akchulakov. In February, he was reappointed following the cabinet’s resignation.

In recent months, the Ministry of Energy has come under scrutiny multiple times due to Kazakhstan’s non-compliance with oil production quotas under the OPEC+ deal. Since last year, the country has been compensating for past overproduction. However, even after Astana voluntarily committed to additional production cuts, Kazakhstan still faced...

The cultural project titled “Nomad Spirit: Boundless Horizons” was chosen as one of the winners of the prestigious Best Experience Marketing Awards (BEMA). The exhibition, conducted by the Creative Innovation Institute, ranked second in the Best EXPO Event International category and third in the Best Festival International category.

The contest received 586 entries, with 200 applicants selected as winners. Projects were submitted from Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Georgia, Turkey and China.

The exhibition showcased Kazakhstan’s culture using modern creative industry tools. The event featured innovative ecological projects, a reimagined concept of the traditional Kazakh yurt and unique crafts made...

In January and February this year, the growth rate of capital investments was just 0.5%, compared to 7.9% during the same period last year. Despite a slight month-on-month acceleration (0.3 p.p.), the rate has declined in nearly all key sectors of the economy, according to Saltanat Igenbekova, an analyst at Halyk Finance. The construction sector reported the steepest decline in capital investment, down 50% compared to the same period in 2024.

Several sectors crucial to Kazakhstan’s economy also reported declines in capital investments, including mining (-26.6 %), agriculture (-49.4%), transportation (-9%) and manufacturing (-4%). As a result, the overall capital...

Kenzhebek Ismailov, a resident of Almaty, took a firm stand and filed a lawsuit against the city’s traffic police, arguing that he was illegally fined for a traffic violation. With the help of ChatGPT, he won the case, as he shared on his social media page on X.

«In December, I was issued an illegal fine. I paid it; it was about 5,800 tenge ($12) with a discount. After reviewing the video on the Qamqor.gov.kz website, I filed a complaint against the Almaty Police Department, but they rejected it. So, I sued them as a matter...