News

The prominent American philosopher and political economist Francis Fukuyama has shared his vision on what role Central Asian countries play in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine, whether the world is facing a new conflict and what Kazakhstan can do to become more independent from neighboring countries. Even though Fukuyama predicted prosperity and peace for the entire world in his book The End of History and the Last Man, written after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he’s no longer sure of this prediction.

Fukuyama came to Kazakhstan as a mentor of the Leadership Academy for Development (LAD...

The coal company Shubarkol Komir, which is a subsidiary of the ERG Group controlled by moguls Patokh Chodiev and Alexander Mashkevich, told Kursiv the reason for their big deal with the Russian Sberbank in the middle of August. This deal caused an outcry in the media in Kazakhstan.

«This is not a new deal. This is a restructuring of loans we received earlier; the deal was approved by the regulators. It was carried out in full compliance with the sanction regimes and in accordance with permits/approvals from authorized regulators,» the press service of Shubarkol Komir reported.

The government of Kazakhstan is negotiating with stakeholders of ArcelorMittal about the company’s leaving the country. This information was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Yerulan Zhamaubayev in the corridors of the cabinet, the Vlast edition reported.

What happened? The finance minister told journalists that the political decision about ArcelorMittal leaving the country has already been made.

He refused to clarify whether the government is negotiating with Russian Severstal for the purchase of ArcelorMittal assets.

«You probably heard that the decision was made. Roman Sklyar (the first deputy prime minister) is the one...

Dividends for securities controlled by the government are expected at $414 million next year, which is $61 million less than the authorities expect to gain this year, according to the law on the state budget for 2024–2026.

The document prepared and published for public consideration by the Ministry of Finance says that all these figures were based on data received from authorized agencies, which control public securities. In 2025, the government is expecting dividend payouts of $409 million and $410 million in 2026.

In addition, the government is expecting to gain $22 million from its stakes in different public enterprises...

On August 21, shares of the international holding Freedom Holding Corp. set a new record on NASDAQ. According to the stock exchange data, the share price reached $99.50 at its peak.

When trading closed, the security was valued at $90.39. Thus, the price surge was 3.33% ($2.91) compared to the close of the previous session. So far, the price at $99.50 at its peak is the new record for Freedom Holding shares since it went public in 2019.

The holding shares already hit record rates in the middle of August. It happened against the background of the publication of an...

According to the press service of the president of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan and Vietnam have signed a visa-free regime agreement. As of now, Kazakhstani citizens will be able to stay in Vietnam for 30 days visa-free.

What happened? President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is now in Vietnam on an official visit. During the meeting representatives of the two countries signed a visa-free regime agreement.

What is the agreement about? From here on out Kazakhstani citizens can enter, leave and stay in Vietnam visa-free. The passport of such a citizen should be valid for not less than six months. Similar rules will be applied...

The government of Kazakhstan has suspended the force of the rule that requires quasi-state exporters to sell 30% of their export revenue. The new rule is going to last until January 1, 2025, according to the National Bank.

«Given that the foreign currency market is quite balanced and with the intention to expand the room for quasi-state companies in terms of better managment of their cash flows, the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has suspended the rule on mandatory sale of 30% of foreign currency revenue. The decision will be in force until January...

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC announced the restart of drilling at the Chinarevskoye oil field. The company has already allocated $26 million for the project.

«Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC, an independent oil and gas company engaging in the production, development and exploration of oil and gas in the Pre-Caspian Basin, announces that the Nostrum Board of Directors has approved a limited-scale drilling program for the Chinarevskoye field,» the London Stock Exchange (LSE) said on its website.

The company stopped drilling activities in the field in early 2020 as it entered into the process which...

The trading volume of the Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) stocks during the trading session on NASDAQ yesterday amounted to $111 million.

The closing price of the stock was $87.48 per share. The price grew by 25.24% ($17.63) that day. FRHC securities were traded at $90.40 at its peak, which has been the highest value of the company’s shares since its IPO on NASDAQ in 2019.

The volatility of FRHC shares was driven by the report by Hindenburg Research, well-known for their speculation with stocks, and those who followed their advice in an attempt to profit from the short selling of...

The share price of Freedom Holding Corp., represented in Kazakhstan by Freedom Bank and Freedom Broker, has risen on NASDAQ. This growth reached 16% at its peak, according to the exchange’s data.

At the time of publication, the holding shares were trading at $80.60, which means that the share price rose by $10.73 (15.3%) compared to the previous trading session. As a result, the share price assessment recovered to the level of August 14, one day before Hindenburg Research released its report on the holding.

In this document, Hindenburg accused Freedom Holding Corp. of violating anti-Russian sanctions and falsifying financial...

The attack on Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) shares, which has been going on for the past several days, can lead to a short squeeze for Hindenburg Research and those who followed the company’s advice and opened short positions, according to analysts from Kursiv Research.

A short squeeze is a situation on the stock market when stock prices grow rapidly due to a significant amount of short sellers rushing to cover their positions by buying the stock, driving its price even higher. Such demand and a price surge might be a result of positive news about a company, strong fundamentals, company...

The U.S. has imposed sanctions against three companies from Kazakhstan, Russia and Slovakia, which cooperated with North Korea, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control reported.

What happened? The U.S. has imposed sanctions against the Kazakhstani company Defense Engineering, Russian Verus and Slovakian Versor S.R.O.

Why has the U.S. put these companies on the sanction list? The U.S. government is accusing these companies of illegal attempts to supply weaponry from North Korea to Russia.

What do we know about the top managers of these companies? Ashot Mkrtychev, owner or CEO of these companies, is a Slovakian national. He has been...

The new terminal in the Almaty International Airport is expected to start operating in the summer of 2024. It will serve international flights, while the old terminal will be focused on domestic air travel, the press service of the Almaty city administration reported. 

What happened? Almaty Mayor Yerbolat Dosayev and President of TAV Airports Holding Serkan Kaptan discussed the construction of the passenger terminal in the Almaty International Airport.

«As of today, the main work in the airport is 65% done. The tempo of the construction is speeding up. We are expecting the opening of the...

KEGOC, the national operator of the power grid in Kazakhstan, is expecting an increase in energy consumption in the country. This increase is going to reflect the overall development of the national economy, according to a presentation KEGOC made at the company’s Issuer Day.

KEGOC believes that energy consumption will reach 121 billion kilowatts per hour this year, which is a 7% increase over 113 billion kilowatts per hour in 2022. In 2024, the consumption is expected to reach 125 billion kilowatts per hour. By 2028, this rate is going to reach 142 billion kilowatts per hour. In other words...

According to the ecology department of the Atyrau region, Tengizchevroil received a $6 million fine for pollution.

What happened? The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Atyrau region reported that Tengizchevroil was exceeding emission standards, which caused pollution of the environment.

What measures have authorities undertaken? The ecology department filed a report on administrative violations of Kazakhstan’s Code on Administrative Offences, articles 328 and 337. As a result, the Zhylyoi district court ordered Tengizchevroil to pay a $6 million fine.​

In the Q4 of 2022, Chevron Corp. reported $6.353 billion of net profit, which is a 25.7% increase over the...

Kazakhstan is going to change its calculating method for the size of the export duties on oil. Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin has already approved the new methodology by his order.

So far, the size of duty on oil is calculated based on the average oil price in the global markets over the previous month. If the price is below $25 per barrel, the duty is not collected. For prices in the range of $25 to $30, a duty is $10 per ton. If the price is about $30 to $35, the...

According to the Ministry of Culture and Sport, this year Kazakhstan’s tourism generated more than $858 million in tax revenue, a record high for Kazakhstan.

How much money did the country’s budget receive from tourism this year? The country’s hotel industry earned $403.6 million, while the entire tourism sector hit the record and generated about $855 million in tax revenue.

How many foreign tourists have visited Kazakhstan? Last year, about one million foreign tourists visited the country.

What benefits do foreign tourists bring to Kazakhstan? Each foreign tourist creates at least two jobs in Kazakhstan. According to the National Bank...

Yesterday, on August 15, a company with Kazakh roots was attacked by the “bears” for the first time: Hindenburg Research published material on Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., the core of which is Kazakhstani assets – Freedom Finance, brokerage company and Freedom Finance Kazakhstan Bank.

Hindenburg Research doesn’t hide that it belongs to the “bears” that obtain profit when market value of an object of their attack goes down. This structure has experience, with varying degrees of success, of attacking other Nasdaq members such as Singularity Future Technology, HF Foods, the company of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and even Elon Musk...

Over the period from January to July 2023, the total amount of communications services provided in Kazakhstan grew by 8.5% compared to the same period last year and reached $1.5 billion, according to the Bureau of the National Statistics.

The amount of internet communication services grew by 17.6% on a year-on-year basis to $693 million, network services grew by 9.9% to $68,199, cable and satellite TV by 11.2% to $63,549, while other telecommunication services grew by 8.6% to $314,425. There are 2.9 million wired internet subscribers In Kazakhstan, a 4.9% increase over the period from January to July 2022.

However...

According to the Ministry of Energy, the country’s government is about to change the forecast of oil production downward due to problems with electricity supply in the Mangistau region.

«We are seeing that the oil output in the Mangistau region is declining due to problems with energy supply. As a result, this is going to affect the annual forecast of oil output in the country. It might be adjusted,» the ministry said.

The energy ministry has already decreased its annual forecast to 99.4% of the plan (90.5 million tons of oil). According to Shyngys Ilyasov...

During an urgent meeting, the Bank of Russia decided to raise the base rate by 3.5 percentage points to 12%, according to the regulator’s website.

«This decision was made in order to lower risks for price stability,» the regulator said in a statement.

The Bank of Russia reports high inflationary pressure. For instance, in August the price surge was 4.4% while the target level was 4%. The inflation has accelerated to 7.6% on an annual basis with an adjustment for seasonality.

«The sharp increase of domestic demand is increasing the inflationary...

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Civil Service has recommended law enforcement, military and civil officials not to go to casinos unless it’s necessary for the service.

What happened? If new legislation is adopted, Kazakhstani military officers, public servants and law enforcement officials will be obliged not to go to casinos. The draft document is available for public consideration on the legalacts.egov.kz website.

«Every time a representative of the government visits a casino, it draws justified criticism from the society and involves reputational risks for the state authority. Citizens impose high demands on officials and they should restrain from...

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...