News

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revised its forecast for the economic growth in Central Asia to be more positive. In 2022 the GDP of five Central Asian states is going to increase by 4.3% and by a further 4.8% in 2023, according to the Regional Economic Prospects review.

In this document, the bank highlighted that almost all Central Asian economies demonstrate quite high levels of resilience to the rising geopolitical tensions.  

The EBRD increased its forecast for Uzbekistan by 1.5%. It is expected that this and next year Uzbekistan’s GDP will reach 5.5% and 6.5% respectively...

According to analysts from the OLX company, the number of search queries using the word “apartment” has sharply increased accross the country’s Northern regions.

For instance, this rate increased by 40% in Astana, 25% in Pavlodar, 50% in Aktobe and 80% in Petropavlovsk. The interest in renting apartments rose twofold in Almaty and Uralsk, 2.5fold in Ust-Kamenogorsk, and threefold in Kostanay.

At the same time, not all apartment owners are rushing to take advantage of this growing demand. The number of “for lease” ads increased in towns such as Uralsk and Kostanay (by 40%), and Petropavlovsk and Aktobe (30%). However...

Kazakhstan is going to borrow €345.7 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This money will be allocated toward the development of the private sector and the sustainable rebounding of the national economy. The lower house of the parliament Mazhilis has already begun examining the draft law on ratification of the agreement between Kazakhstan and the international entity.

«We are going to borrow €345.7 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We need this money to cover the budget deficit and stabilize the social and economic situation in the country,» said Marat Kusainov, head of the...

Kaznet, Kazakhstan’s segment of the World Wide Web, has been suffering from massive cyber attacks for the past several days, according to the State Technical Service of Kazakhstan.

The main targets for the attacks are public agencies and Kaznet infrastructure. As a result of deliberate hostile efforts, the country’s internet may be unstable.

«The State Technical Service believes that these ongoing cyber-attacks are linked to all those events that are happening in our country and the world,» the agency said in a statement.

On September 24, Kazakhtelecom reported a massive DDOS attack on several Kazakhstani websites. All these attacks were...

According to Kazakhstan’s legislation, the country should extradite those Russians who are wanted by their authorities due to criminal charges. Mobilization in Russia can’t be used as a legal justification for that move though, said Kazakhstan’s Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov.

«The question is not about mobilization; I am not talking about that. I am talking about criminal charges when somebody is accused of wrongdoing and has been put on the international wanted list. When Russian military drafting centers are looking for someone, this is not a solid base for extradition,» he said at the media briefing.

The official also noted...

Two self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (the international community, including Kazakhstan, doesn’t recognize either), as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, have reported so-called referendums about joining Russia. According to Aibek Smadiyarov, official spokesperson of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country continues to stand for the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.

«Our president often spoke about the topic, including the speeches in the U.N. He always highlighted the importance of compliance with the international law which is the Charter of the United Nations. The charter says that all member states of...

Over the first seven months this year, Kazakhstan’s exports to Italy grew twofold ($8.7 billion) over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of Kazakhstan.

At the same time, the country increased its imports from Italy. Throughout the affected period the rate rose by 9.7%.

The general turnover between Kazakhstan and Italy over the period under review reached $9.2 billion, the ministry said.

However, the potential for mutual trade isn’t deployed fully, according to Marat Karabayev, a vice minister of industry and infrastructural development of Kazakhstan, who discussed all these issues with the...

Four Kazakhstani commercial banks have confirmed to the Kursiv edition that they still accept Mir cards for payments or cash-out transactions. However, no bank issues this type of payment card in Kazakhstan.

On September 19, two of five Turkish commercial banks that worked with the Russian national payment system Mir said that they stopped accepting these cards. According to media reports, the reason these two Turkish banks decided not to cooperate with Mir is the risk of secondary sanctions. For instance, Financial Times reported that the U.S. government had pushed Turkish banks to persuade them to stop working with the...

The number of Russian companies in Kazakhstan has grown by 35%. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan reported the same trend.

The point of attraction

The number of Russian businesses in Kazakhstan has been increasing by 500-800 entities per month since March 2022. In August, Kazakhstani authorities reported a peak of 1,100 Russian companies relocated that month. As of September 2022, there were 15,400 companies with Russian capital in Kazakhstan. This number is 4,000 companies higher than January 2022.

Russian companies represent almost all economic sectors except construction and finances. The data shows that Russian businesses are choosing trade, consulting and...

On September 21, Kazakhstan’s President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev signed an edict that set early presidential elections on November 20, according to the president’s press service.

According to Tokayev, the snap elections will allow the country to reset the entire political system of the country.

«This will allow us to focus on finding effective solutions for long-term tasks to achieve sustainable economic growth and improve the welfare and quality of life of our citizens. In my last national address, I announced a set of vast social and economic measures that must be realized soon,» he said.

The president noted that he is...

On September 19-21, 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev traveled to New York, where he had multiple speeches, met various people and signed different agreements. Let’s take a closer look at those achievements.  

Right after Tokayev’s arrival in New York, he took part in the breakfast business meetings with executives of global financial institutes, including Citi, Goldman Sachs, NASDAQ, Auerbach Grayson & Company LLP, Franklin Templeton, Brightlight Capital, AllianceBernstein, Jefferies Financial Group, Luxor Capital Group, Paine Schwartz Partners LLC, New Silk Road Forum, Robotti & Company Advisors, TPG Capital and Grupo Los Grobo.

These meetings become an excellent platform for Tokayev to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans for partial military mobilization during his televised address.

According to Putin, the government is going to recruit only those who had served in the army and are considered reservists.

«Authorized agencies will officially inform all those people. We are going to deploy any option we have to protect our country and its people,» he said.

Putin also mentioned that he has ordered the Russian government and defense ministry to provide military personnel of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics with an official status equal to the Russian military. Kazakhstan and the vast majority...

According to the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, several executive managers of the Social Entrepreneur Corporation Saryarka and officials of the Karaganda city’s administration have been put into custody. All of them are accused of abuse of power.

According to anti-corruption officials, these managers may be part of a plot to provide public land for investment purposes without benefit to the government.

«We can’t disclose any further details as we do not want to break the criminal law,» said Kanat Suleimenov, head of the pretrial investigations department under the Anti-Corruption Agency.

However, as the Kursiv edition wrote earlier...

On September 15, 2022, KazMunayGas (KMG), the national oil and gas company in Kazakhstan spent $3.8 billion on Samruk Kazyna’s share in KMG Kashagan B.V., according to the KMG website.

In fact, the company has used its call option for repurchasing the shares under the agreement signed in 2015.

«This is the biggest deal for KazMunayGas over the past several years. The increase of the KMG’s share in the Kashagan project will allow the company to improve its performance in terms of consolidated production, EBITDA, net revenue and assets. At the same time, the company’s debt is also going to...

Samsung, a tech giant from South Korea, is weighing the idea of relocating its logistical hub in the CIS region to Kazakhstan, according to Bashtay Omerbek, head of the export promotion department under the Ministry of Trade and Integration.

Before the war in Ukraine, the company used to rely on Russia in the distribution of its smartphones and other devices across CIS counties. However, when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine, many well-known tech companies stopped supplying their products to Russia. The government of Russia responded by legalizing gray imports in the country.

«Now we are negotiating with Samsung about...

On September 6-8, 2022, Azerbaijan hosted the international defense exhibition ADEX-22 in Baku. Kazakhstan was one of many invited countries that had something to show, including a flying target and a combat drone called Shagala M. Both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been developed by Kazakhstan Engineering for military purposes. Another device is a non-military drone called Leyla that has been developed by Barys E&T. All three aerial vehicles were developed with no public funds.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development, the approximate price of Leyla is $210,000 (the price of military drones is unavailable).

«Military UAVs...

Today, on September 16, members of Mazhilis, the lower house of the national parliament, have voted for a new law that amends Kazakhstan’s constitution in terms of the duration of the presidential term. Once the president signs this document it will enter into force as law and all future presidents will serve one seven-year term.

According to Kanat Musin, minister of justice in Kazakhstan, the process of reviewing the draft law by the parliament was faster than usual on purpose. It was important to amend the constitution before the snap presidential election.

«Some deputies had fears that a presidential candidate...

On September 16, the joint meeting of the upper and lower houses of Kazakhstan’s parliament approved the draft law with a set of new amendments to the national constitution. Now it must be signed by the president to enter into force.

According to Minister of Justice Kanat Musin, who presented the draft law, the document has been developed by the ministry in order to meet the political initiatives of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as well as suggestions from members of the parliament.

The draft law is aimed at amending five articles of the constitution and adding the new one. One of...

Kazakhstan doesn’t plan on discussing the potential participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said Mukhtar Tleuberdi, foreign minister of Kazakhstan.

«No, this issue is not on our agenda. Yesterday, during an unscheduled meeting of the CSTO, the Armenian prime minister reported to heads of other member states about the situation on the border with Azerbaijan. We have taken this information into account but more objective data is needed because we are receiving different and even contradictory information from the region. That is why member state leaders decided that the CSTO secretary...

Hotel businesses reported big profits during the last tourist season in Kazakhstan. Over the past six months, they earned $143.3 million which is a 52% increase over the same period of 2021. This became possible because of a big flow of tourists this summer.

The segment of hotels, restaurants and cafe (HoReCa) earned about half of this sum in Almaty and Nur-Sultan ($73.2 million). The Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area of the Akmola region is ranked third and accounts for $13.3 million.

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, this year hotels have raised the price of accommodation by 13% on average...

Mankind needs a new global peace movement, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan during a speech at the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan. He also noted that the role of global leaders in this issue is crucial.

As Tokayev said, the main goal of the congress is to help mankind find «the way out of the current atmosphere of confrontation» in the world.

«This dialog is incredibly huge in its scale. It must help faith leaders to articulate their peace initiatives. This is necessary for stopping conflicts around the world. Faith leaders are widely...

According to Kanat Sharlapayev, CEO of the National Holding Baiterek, Bereke Bank might be sold to a foreign investor. The process of selling this bank, a former Sber Kazakhstan, may last up to 18 months.

The main task for the holding is to bring the bank back to normal work by lifting foreign sanctions. Then the bank will be sold, said Sharlapayev.

«I would personally prefer a foreign investor. This is necessary to strengthen competitiveness between actors in the financial market. Although, of course, I won’t be the only decision maker,» he said.

However, in order to achieve this goal...

Kazakhstan’s capital is going to be renamed once again. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has supported the renaming initiative, according to his official spokesperson Ruslan Zheldibay.

As the official noted, the president is aware of the initiative by several members of Parliament. In turn, MPs said that the initiative has been a result of their meetings with regular residents of the capital city.

At the same time, the spokesperson said that the president recognizes the historical role of Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev in «the strengthening of the modern state of Kazakhstan and its capital city.»

«That is why all other objects that have...

Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, is preparing itself for visiting participants of the World Religious Leaders Summit. As the result, the police of the capital city of Nur-Sultan have switched to heavy security.

According to the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, since September 13, the police have switched to heavy security in order to guarantee public order and road traffic safety as well as to prevent any attempts at breaking the law during the 7th Congress of World and Traditional Religion.

It is expected that hundreds of international guests will visit Kazakhstan during the event. City authorities are going...