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According to Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the Department for Economic Cooperations under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the so-called gas alliance between Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan raises interest among some other countries because of their intention to develop their gas export to China. This statement has caused questions in Turkmenistan, which is a big exporter of gas to China, said Myrat Archayev, deputy head of the State Concern Turkmengas.

What did the representative of Russia say?

On August 11, Dmitry Birichevsky said in an interview with the RIA NOVOSTI news agency that the gas alliance might be expanded as...

A complex of greenhouses with banana trees was built in the Turkestan region. Its total floor size is going to be more than 10 hectares. According to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, a variety of bananas in the greenhouse was intentionally created for Kazakhstan’s climate.

The greenhouse has a capacity of 1,000 tons of bananas per year. The first harvest is expected in six to eight months (in February or April 2024). The first stage of the project cost $4 million.

The complex of greenhouses was built by Turkish GenGroup Qazaqstan with the help of extra-strong materials. So far, the...

The exchange rate of dollars has broken the ceiling of 100 rubles on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), a very important mark from a psychological point of view, according to analysts and investors.

At the moment of this text publication, the U.S. dollar was traded for 100.87 rubles which is 1.44 rubles or 1.4% higher than the previous trading session on August 11.

As of August 11, the weighted average rate between the ruble and the tenge on the Kazakhstan Exchange (KASE) was 4.55, a 0.02 tenge (0.5%) decrease compared to the close on August 10.

The ruble’s exchange rate has...

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has commented on the opening of Microsoft’s multi-regional hub in Kazakhstan. According to the Russian official, the hub has been opened to serve the interests of the U.S. In particular, the hub is necessary to make the country «dependent on the IT industry full of tools that facilitate U.S. intelligence services,» the Russian TASS news agency reported.

What did Galuzin say in the interview with TASS?

«We have no doubt that the initiative of the multi-regional hub covering post-Soviet countries is, first of all, going to serve the interests of...

According to the Kazakh Invest national company, Alarko, one of the largest holdings in Turkey, is going to invest about $650 million in the agro-industrial complex of Kazakhstan over the next five years.

Alarko has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan. Under this arrangement, the company will build greenhouses on a territory of 500 hectares. The start of construction is scheduled for the end of this year, while the first facilities will enter into operation next year.

Representatives of Alarko are expected to visit the southern regions of Kazakhstan in order to choose...

According to Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of the Samruk Kazyna Fund, a gas turbine power plant (GTPP) for the needs of the Atyrau Oil Refinery (ANPZ) will be built at the expense of private investments.

«We are starting to build a power plant to ensure the energy independence of the Atyrau refinery. If we attract private investment, it will be faster,» Zhakupov wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The first news about the construction of a power plant for the Atyrau refinery appeared in June. The refinery’s head Murat Dosmuratov was the first to speak about the...

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov said that he regards the letter of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez as an attempt to put pressure on Kyrgyzstan and win over the country’s support. However, Kyrgyzstan will continue to remain neutral in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the president said in an interview with the Kabar news agency.

What did President Japarov say?

«As for the senator’s letter, I receive letters from many prominent politicians. I regard this letter as a common excuse to put pressure on Kyrgyzstan and win us over to their side. But we will not...

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has prepared and published a new draft regulation on easing requirements for foreign banks working in the financial market of Kazakhstan.

The main goal of the draft document is to change the 2012 decision of the National Bank, when all foreign majority stakeholders of Kazakhstani banks, as well as foreign banking holdings operating in Kazakhstan and foreign banks with subsidiaries and branch offices in Kazakhstan, were obliged to have long-term credit rating not lower than BBB according to S&P grading scale or its peers.

The ARDFM doesn’t apply this...

According to the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of Kazakhstan, the government has approved a road map for the development of electric car infrastructure.

Under the roadmap, authorities are going to create the infrastructure necessary for electric cars in all big cities throughout the country by 2029. The document will provide local authorities with standards and technical specifications for the design and construction of the infrastructure. It will also determine the amount and location of future charger stations. In addition, the road map will promote local production of EV charger stations.

«We are going to...

The British High Court approved the decision by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to seize property belonging to Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Islam Karimov, the first president of Uzbekistan.

What happened? The U.K. SFO has seized three luxury properties owned by Gulnara Karimova.

«We unpicked a complex financial trail, involving multiple offshore accounts and companies, to take control of these properties today,» said SFO Director Lisa Osofsky.

What was confiscated? The authorities seized two apartments in Belgravia and a mansion in Surrey, which were valued at $25 million.

What has the SFO found? According to...

In an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that he urged banks in the U.S. not to be afraid of the Russian grain and sanctions as the U.S. government fully supports the export of Russian grain.

French journalist Mikaël Ponge recalled that Blinken had recently accused Russia of blackmailing the Black Sea Grain Initiative as the country demanded several conditions for its further participation. For instance, Russia wanted the West to lift its sanctions on the export of agricultural machinery and spare parts, make the Russian Agricultural Bank part of SWIFT once...

According to Kauppalehti, a newspaper from Finland, the export of trucks to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from Finland has sharply grown over the past year.

What happened? The media outlet discovered that the export of trucks to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan has significantly grown over the past year. The vast majority of these trucks were used semi-trailers, the outlet reported.

Finland exported just seven hauler trucks to Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2022, and 67 trucks over the current year alone. Kyrgyzstan imported 33 hauler trucks from Finland this year, compared to just three trucks over the past 20 years. It’s still unclear...

Simatech Shipping & Forwarding LLC from the United Arab Emirates is going to facilitate deliveries of agricultural products from Kazakhstan to the Gulf nations, the Middle East, Pakistan, India and West Africa. According to the Ministry of Trade of Kazakhstan, exporters will be able to deliver their goods from Kazakhstan to the aforementioned regions in just two to three days via ports in Iran.

The government of Kazakhstan and Abu Dhabi Ports, the parenting company for Simatech Shipping and Forwarding, intends to establish a joint venture to facilitate the delivery of Kazakhstan goods through seaports in Iran. The Kazakhstani ministry...

Arkady Volozh, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Russian IT giant Yandex no longer mentions Russia in his biography and highlights that he was born in Kazakhstan. He left the company in 2022 when the West targeted him with its anti-Russian sanctions.

What happened? The official website of Arkady Volozh no longer mentions Russia, a country where his core business was located. According to the biography of the co-founder of Yandex, he is an Israeli tech entrepreneur who was born in Kazakhstan.

«Arkady Volozh is a Kazakhstan-born, Israeli tech entrepreneur, computer scientist, investor, and philanthropist. Since...

Over the first six months of 2023, Tengizchevroil increased oil output by 4.2%, from 14.3 million tons of oil to 14.9 million tons, according to the company’s records.

This result is just slightly lower than the record-high output Tengizchevroil reported in 2019 (15 million tons). Currently, the oil company runs two large oil fields, Tengiz Field and Korolev Field, with combined explored reserves of 3.3. billion tons of oil (the total recoverable reserves are 1.4 billion tons).

The company managed to boost its oil output despite temporary problems with oil production at Tengiz in February of this year. At that...

The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) conducted a nuclear safety training course in Kazakhstan, the U.S. Embassy to Kazakhstan reported.

What happened? DTRA’s Global Nuclear Security (GNS) Program partnered with Kazakhstan’s National Guard to conduct a Nuclear Security Guard Force Qualifications training course from July 17-25, 2023 at the Anti-Crisis Training Center (ACTC) in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan.

«The training course included the development and delivery of repeatable exercises and drills to assess unit-level nuclear security guard force competencies and marks an important step in the Kazakhstan National Guard’s intent to create additional nuclear security specialization...

The armed forces of Ukraine attempted to attack a Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. This place is not very far from the offshore mooring run by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

According to the defense ministry, two unmanned surface vehicles were used as tools for the attack. Both were destroyed by the combat ships guarding the base in the sea, Russian officials said.

For instance, Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar Kray, said that no damages or casualties were reported. However, some locals reported huge explosions in the area of Novorossiysk and the Myskhako...

As the State Assets Management Agency (SAMA) reported, it has chosen companies that can be responsible for organizing People’s IPO.

All underwriters for the upcoming People’s IPO in Uzbekistan have been chosen after a rigorous selection process. Among the winners are Freedom Finance and five consortiums. The first one consists of Dalal Standard, Winvestment Consult and KRESTON. The second consortium includes Kapital-Depozit, Satori IB Group and Satori Capital. The third includes companies such as Alkes Research, Bluestone Financial Group Inc and Kapitalbank. The fourth consortium consists of Abrau Capital and Premier Capital Sweden, and the last one includes Portfolio Investments...

The Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan has offered Afghanistan to open its trade promotion office in Kazakhstan and more actively use the potential of the Kazakhstani trade house in Herat, according to the Central Communication Service.

What happened? Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan Haji Nooruddin Azizi discussed what the two countries can do to expand their cooperation.

What are the two countries going to do to expand trade?

– Utilizing an alternative transportation route via Turkmenistan. Currently, Kazakhstani grain and flour go to...

Kazakhstan has agreed to extradite Russian citizen Nikita Kislitsyn, head of the network security business in the international company F.A.C.C.T., back to Russia. A similar request by the U.S. was rejected by the country’s authorities, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

What countries wanted Kislitsyn? According to Artem Oganov, the senior council of the Russian Consulate General in Almaty, Kislitsyn was detained by Kazakhstani officials after a Russian court issued a request for his extradition.

The diplomat noted that Kazakhstan decided to extradite Kislitsyn to Russia rather than to the U.S.

The context. As the two countries wanted the Kazakhstani...

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, in the second quarter of 2023, the current account deficit of Kazakhstan (a rate that represents negative net sales abroad) reached $2.7 billion.

Analysts from Halyk Finance say that the current gap between cash inflow and outflow is the largest since 2020. The rate has been growing since the fourth quarter of last year. National Bank experts believe that the gap has been driven by the increase in imports of goods and services. This rate reached 22% in Q2, while the country’s exports declined by 7%.

Among key factors that have contributed to...

The government of Kazakhstan is going to establish a new company to manage recovered public assets under the law on illegally withdrawn assets.

What happened? The Ministry of Finance has published a draft resolution on the establishment of a Limited Liability Partnership, which will be tasked with managing returned assets. The document will be available for public consideration until August 14, 2023.

What name is the government going to give to the new company? Authorities are planning to call the new company the Recovered Asset Managing Company, LLP. The government will have a 100% stake in the entity. For instance...

The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan wants to introduce a ban on vaping (e-cigarettes). If this initiative is approved, the buying and selling of e-cigarettes will be illegal in Kazakhstan.

What happened? On the sidelines of the government, journalists asked Minister of Finance Yerulan Zhamaubaev what he thinks about the proposal to ban e-cigarettes.

«I think this is the right decision. The Ministry of Health does not have all the information about the potential risks of vaping, and we just don’t know what kind of consequences we are going to face in the future. Even children...

Chris Murphy, the junior U.S. senator for Connecticut and member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has proposed that the U.S. government remove any barriers for trade with Kazakhstan.

What happened? Senator Chris Murphy is speaking in support of granting Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan the status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR). He made this proposal in an article he published in The Diplomat. Murphy believes that Russia and China have exerted enormous influence on Central Asian states, while the U.S. has stayed on the sidelines for too long because of the Jackson-Vanik amendment adopted in 1974. This...