News

Kazakhstan’s authorities will send annual SMS alerts to citizens about the risks and penalties associated with religious extremism, according to a draft decree by the Ministry of Digital Development published on the Legalacts.egov.kz portal. The draft is open for public discussion until Dec. 13.

The text messages will remind recipients of penalties outlined in the Administrative Code for offenses such as:

The latest PMI® data by Freedom Holding Corp. and S&P Global indicated a renewed rise in new business received at Kazakh service providers in November, thereby overturning the fall experienced in the month prior. Similarly, a fresh rise in activity was also observed in the latest survey period.

Meanwhile, cost pressures remained subdued, enabling firms to pursue more competitive pricing strategies. Average output charges for Kazakh services increased at the slowest pace since December 2020.

The headline figure is the Business Activity Index. This is calculated from a single question that asks for changes in the volume of business...

A new cotton fiber manufacturing factory has been established in the Maktaaral district of the Turkestan region. The facility is expected to export its products to China, Turkey, Europe, Tajikistan, Iran and Kyrgyzstan. It is set to undertake major projects worth approximately $133.5 million through 2030.

The factory’s capacity is 80,000 tons of cotton fiber per year. According to initial plans, the facility is set to process up to 600 tons of raw cotton per day. Since the start of the cotton harvesting campaign, the factory has already processed 41,000 tons. It is expected that the plant will produce around...

Kazakhstan has decided to seriously engage in preserving Lake Balkhash, near which the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is planned. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources has already signed an agreement with France, which is expected to allocate a €1.35 million grant for studying the lake. France has also pledged to conduct extensive research on the lake basin and develop a preservation plan for the body of water.

«The Ministry of Water Resources, the French Development Agency and the French Geological Survey have signed a trilateral cooperation agreement… The document includes a €1.35 million grant...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration has proposed imposing a $60-per-ton export duty on additional types of oil products to boost budget revenues, according to a draft order published on the Legalacts.egov.kz portal. The draft is open for public comments until Dec. 13.

«To replenish the budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Finance has proposed establishing export customs duties on approximately 320 commodity items. Following this proposal, we have approved the establishment of export duties on hydrocarbon mixtures to identify additional budgetary revenue sources,» the Ministry of Trade stated.

The ministry aims...

Between January and November 2024, Kazakhstan’s oil refineries processed 16.7 million tons of oil, marking a 3.6% increase year-on-year (YoY), according to the Ministry of Energy.

During this period, oil product output also increased:

The ministry reported that oil refineries nationwide are operating smoothly nationwide, ensuring uninterrupted shipments and consistently replenishing fuel and lubricant stocks.

KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil company, reported a 5.2% decline in oil refining during the period from January...

Between January and November 2024, Russia increased its pipeline gas exports to Europe to 29.3 billion cubic meters (bcm), a 15% rise year-on-year (YoY), according to data from Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas giant, and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).

During the same period in 2023, Russia’s pipeline gas deliveries to Europe totaled approximately 25.5 bcm. By the end of 2023, total pipeline gas exports to Europe stood at around 28.15 bcm.

Meanwhile, the cost of January futures at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands rose by 1.514%, reaching €48.535 per megawatt-hour (MWh). Gas...

Kazakhstani authorities have announced the completion of exploration work at Kuyrektykol, a significant rare earth metals deposit in the Karaganda region. According to Minister of Industry and Construction Kanat Sharlapayev, the deposit is estimated to contain around 800,000 tons of minerals, with projected resources potentially reaching 935,400 tons of rare earth metals, including cerium and lanthanides.

The minister also noted that within the framework of the state geological survey, exploration is underway at 12 additional sites with potential deposits of rare earth metals.

Examination of Kuyrektykol began in 2022 over a territory of 64.2 square kilometers. The exploration identified four...

Kazakhstan wants to produce shale oil in the Kyzylorda and the Ulytau regions, as reported by LS, a Kazakhstani media outlet, citing the Ministry of Energy. Preliminary estimates suggest that these oil reserves may contain 56.4 million tons of oil.

The South Turgay basin at the Karagansay site, which spans across the two regions, has been designated as a primary area for shale oil production. According to the ministry, shale oil has significant commercial potential due to the strong global demand for hydrocarbons. Implementing such projects can strengthen Kazakhstan’s export potential, diversify its economy and enhance energy security.

Many of...

According to Minister of Industry and Construction Kanat Sharlapayev, Kazakhstan will be able to maintain its current copper production rate for only 40 more years with the existing reserves.

«The reserve-replacement ratio (RRR) for gold is 1.2, which means that the amount of newly explored reserves exceeds the current gold production rate. The RRR for copper, however, is 0.7. This means that the copper reserves on state books will be sufficient for only 40 years. At the same time, subsoil users have been actively exploring new prospective copper fields,» Sharlapayev noted.

The minister also highlighted...

Mutual sanctions between the U.S. and Russia on uranium supplies will likely increase demand for products from Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s national nuclear company. However, this shift will only occur if a company emerges to enrich Kazakhstan’s natural uranium and sell it to the U.S.

In 2024, the U.S. and Russia imposed sanctions on each other, disrupting the uranium market. In the spring, President Joe Biden signed a law banning imports of Russian uranium. By the fall, Russia retaliated with a ban on uranium exports to the U.S. Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium producer and second-largest holder of uranium reserves, has had...

Kazakhstan plans to introduce a royalty-based taxation system in the draft of its new Tax Code, replacing the current mineral extraction tax (MET), according to Kanat Sharlapaev, minister of industry and construction. The proposal was outlined during a recent government meeting.

The shift to royalties is a recommendation from the World Bank, aimed at attracting more investment to Kazakhstan’s mining industry. Kazakhstan still uses MET, although the most common international practice is to calculate taxes based on the value of extracted resources or a company’s revenue.

«The shift to a royalty-based system, calculated on the sale...

Kazakhstan is concerned about customs duties that are not distributed between Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member states and the reimbursements to subsoil users who signed their contracts before July 1, 2010. Currently, Kazakhstan is reimbursing them from its state budget. According to Ardak Tengebayev, a member of the Supreme Audit Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, EEU member states must do that together.

Entrance duties are mandatory payments for goods imported to the EEU. These payments are distributed among all member states of the union. Russia accounts for the lion’s share of these payments (85%), followed by Kazakhstan at...

Amanzhol Kellett, a 25-year-old Briton, biked over 10,000 kilometers to reconnect with his Kazakh family. His incredible five-month journey across continents is a testament to the power of discovering one’s roots.

Kursiv LifeStyle has the privilege of sharing his story, which began when our editor met Amanzhol at an art gallery in Almaty. He was attending a screening of Anuar Raibayev’s documentaries about life in Kazakh auls (villages).

A family history

Amanzhol’s mother is Kazakh and his father is English. Their story began in Almaty in the late 1990s, where they met while working at the same company.

Freedom Holding Corp. Kazakhstan’s Manufacturing PMI (S&P) reached 53.5 in November, marking the highest level since the start of the survey in 2019. A rapid rise in new orders and a strong increase in output have boosted the sector’s performance. However, Freedom Holding Corp. warns that the situation could deteriorate due to the significant weakness of the tenge against the US dollar and other factors.

«However, the situation is complicated by ongoing logistical issues, rising raw material and supply costs, and the significant depreciation of the national currency. The combination of these factors has likely...

Six patients in Kazakhstan taking part in testing of a cancer treatment drug developed by local scientists have experienced a slowdown in tumor growth, and one had the tumor shrink. Vice-President of the Kazakh National Academy of Sciences Dos Sarbassov revealed the results of the initial phases of the drug trial.  

«After the first drug intake, the conditions of 15 cancer patients stabilized, and the tumors of six of them stopped growing. Currently, the patients are receiving an increased dose of the drug, as health specialists have confirmed the absence of toxicity,» Sarbassov explained.

The acceptable maximum price for wheat from the new harvest for Kazakhstani farmers would be 31% higher than the current 80,000 to 85,000 tenge including VAT (approx. $156 to $166, at an exchange rate of USD1 = KZT511.22) per ton for third class wheat. Currently, the cost of such grain is about $125, said Yevgeny Karabanov, head of the Northern Grain group of companies and a spokesman for the Kazakh Grain Union, in an interview with ElDala.kz.

Market prices for wheat vary depending on quality. Currently, the cost of third class wheat with gluten up to 24% is $117 to...

Kazakhstan will not assist Russia in circumventing sanctions, although it does not support them. At the same time, the country does not intend to comply with certain economic restrictions if doing so would harm its industries, according to Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin. He noted that Kazakhstan’s position on this issue has long been clear.

«There are certain goods produced in our country that fall under the sanctions list. We will not impose restrictions on these goods because they support significant labor forces and, in some cases, entire single-industry towns where production enterprises are located. This...

BI Group is set to announce the launch of sales for its latest overseas project: apartments on Dubai Islands, an artificial archipelago in the UAE. A month and a half ago, the Kazakhstani developer began offering projects in the U.S.

«BI Group’s growth strategy spans 10 countries over 10 years,» Aidyn Rakhimbayev, founder and chairman of BI Group, shared his plans on Instagram.

By 2024, the company has implemented projects in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine. In early October, the developer announced several projects in the U.S. The UAE will be the seventh country where BI Group...

Kazakhstan’s National Bank has raised the base rate by a percentage point to 15.25% per annum. This resolution was made during the session held on Nov. 29 amid a recently observed dramatic weakening of the tenge.

The decision to raise the rate marks the first change after three consecutive sessions in which the base rate remained unchanged. Right before the bank’s meeting, most analysts had predicted the indicator would be kept at 14.25%. In particular, Halyk Finance pointed to the inflation boost against the backdrop of the allocation of an additional target transfer from the National Fund. 

Kazakhstan’s National Bank has been performing foreign exchange interventions since Nov. 16, selling more than $1 billion in its foreign currency and gold reserves, according to National Bank Chair Timur Suleimenov.

«From Nov. 15 to Nov. 16, Kazakhstan’s National Bank performed foreign exchange interventions worth $1 billion. We continued doing so until yesterday. Thus, foreign currency and gold reserves reduced from $44.5 billion to $43.5 billion,» Suleimenov said during a briefing on the base rate.

He added that he could not disclose the amount of interventions carried out over the past two days, as it...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom is ready to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan, yet he highlighted that it’s for the «client» to decide. 

«We paid significant attention to this matter during the negotiations yesterday, both in closed-door negotiations and extended talks. If Kazakhstan implements its projects in the nuclear power sphere, then, as any client, it has the right to choose the most reasonable technological solutions and financial schemes from its perspective. Kazakhstani colleagues are familiar with this activity; they are not starting from scratch. They...

Over two days — Nov. 27 to Nov. 28 — the exchange rate of the tenge fell by 4%. On Wednesday, it dropped to 500 against the dollar and nearly reached 520 on Thursday. Moreover, all of this occurred amidst high trade volumes — about $1 billion over two days.

In this situation, the regulator must make tough decisions that will shape Kazakhstan’s economy in the coming days and in the medium-term spanning from several months to a few years. First of all, this involves a decision about interventions in the foreign currency market. Secondly, on Nov. 29, the National...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labor has been working to close loopholes in the country’s migration legislation. From now on, local companies will only be allowed to employ one foreign executive or deputy without a work permit.

The ministry has also updated the list of foreign workers exempt from work permit requirements in Kazakhstan. The revised draft regulation is now available for public comment on the Legalacts.egov.kz portal.

The authors of the amendments argue that foreign nationals in Kazakhstan often establish fictitious companies to legalize migrant workers. These companies may have a single foreign director and numerous foreign deputies, who do not...