News

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) wants insurance companies to ensure that the confidential data of their customers is safe. The corresponding draft regulation will be available on legalacts.egov.kz for public consideration until May 28.

If the new regulation is adopted, the agency will oblige insurance companies to follow banks and microfinance organizations and embrace the same security measures.

For instance, any registration in a mobile or web application should be conducted with the help of biometric authentication. The same procedure must be applied during the password change, while two-stage authentication is expected to be...

According to Senator Ali Bektayev, high recycling fees that farmers have to pay while purchasing new agricultural machinery have made them reluctant to upgrade their machinery. They prefer using their outdated and worn-out tractors and combines. On the other hand, farmers can’t afford Kazakhstani-made machinery as local producers heavily rely on expensive foreign details. 

«As of 2024, a recycling fee for a tractor varies from $835 to $16,680 and from $3,606 to $18,708 for a combine. These are significant sums for farmers. As a result, many farms stopped buying new machinery and switched to dismantling old vehicles for...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Aset Irgaliyev, the former assistant to the president for economic affairs, as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the WTO and International Economic Organizations.

By the president’s same edict, Zhanar Aitzhan, who held this position before, was dismissed. 

Irgaliyev had worked in the president’s administration since September last year. Over his career, he also worked in Samruk Kazyna’s board of directors, the state economic commission under the president of Kazakhstan, the board of directors of the Baiterek holding and the Supreme Council for Reforms under the president. Since December 2023, he’s served as deputy head...

Over the period from January to April 2024, the volume of maritime shipment via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or the Middle Corridor) grew by 15%. The transit of container cargo from China to Europe has risen by 3.4 times, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Furthermore, the agency also reported an increase in motor freight transportation via the port of Kuryk and containers via the Aktau Port. This year the Ministry of Transport plans to deepen the bottom of the port of Kuryk to make it suitable for massive ships. The main work on the project is expected...

There are three refineries in Kazakhstan (in Atyrau, Pavlodar and Shymkent). According to some media outlets, Russian Lukoil is interested in acquiring the Atyrau refinery, while another Russian giant Gazprom is thinking about purchasing the oil processing plant in Pavlodar. In an interview with Inbusiness.kz, Chair of the Antimonopoly Agency of Kazakhstan Marat Omarov commented on the issue.

«We analyzed how our refineries work and have come to the conclusion that private investors can play a crucial role in the refinery’s business when they have a stake in it. I am not talking about the control...

The Kazakhstan Association of Oil-Gas and Energy Sector Organizations (Kazenergy) has proposed that large companies, including those from the oil and gas industry, supply their electricity surplus to the national grid system at cost price.

«Tengizchevroil (TCO) and NCOC have provided the national grid operator KEGOG with their reserve power capacity on several occasions over the past few years. As you probably know, under the product sharing agreements big subsoil users can sell electricity neither to customers nor third-party organizations. Kazenergy is suggesting large companies consider if it is possible to supply their reserve power capacity to the national grid...

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the country’s cabinet to boost commodity turnover with China from $40 billion last year to $100 billion. He made this statement during his meeting with Vice Premier of the State Council of China Liu Guozhong, who has come to Kazakhstan on an official visit. According to President Tokayev, boosting commodity turnover by 2.5 times is «quite achievable.» He hasn’t revealed any timelines for this task, though.

«I am very pleased to say that the comprehensive strategic partnership and eternal friendship between Kazakhstan and China has been rapidly developing with...

According to Samruk Kazyna Chair Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of the KazMunayGas (KMG) national oil company Magzum Mirzagaliyev has resigned from office.

The company also reported that the company is currently headed by Askhat Khasenov, a former vice energy minister who will remain KMG’s acting CEO until the shareholders’ general meeting.

The head of the holding thanked Mirzagaliyev for his work as the head of the oil company.

Mirzagaliyev was appointed the chair of the company by Samruk Kazyna’s board in April 2022. He’s been in charge of the oil company for more than two years.

Over his career, Mirzagaliyev served...

According to Vice Minister of Industry and Construction Azamat Beispekov, Kazakhstan wants to launch industrial production of drones in conjunction with South Korea. He told this to The Korea Herald. 

«Everyone knows that South Korea is one of the global leaders in terms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). We want not only to acquire drones from you but cooperate with you and share knowledge and skills,» Beispekov said.

He believes Kazakhstan can become a UAV center in Central Asia if it expands its cooperation with South Korea. Drones have a wide range of applications and...

Zhongman Petroleum and Gas Group Corp. (ZPEC) said it is ready to drill two exploration wells in the Pribrezhnoe field in the Atyrau region 100 kilometers southwest of Kulsary. The company purchased the rights for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the field in July 2022, when Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy conducted an auction for the field. At the time, the Chinese company paid $3 million for the field, the starting price of which was $20,863. Some lots, like Shalva Severo Zapadnyi, for example, were bought at the starting price of $20,863. All in all, the government earned $47.9 million...

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has interviewed 3,400 enterprises from all over the country and found that competition is the key obstacle to doing business according to 31.4% of respondents.

Among other obstacles the respondents mentioned the overall condition of Kazakhstan’s economy (30.9%); the tax level (28.1%); a lack of qualified staff (26.3%); the search for customers (25.1%); complexity of obtaining licenses and permissions (16.6%); complexity of debit debt returning (14.9%) and access to financing (14.4%).

In similar surveys over the past years, the condition of the economy was always ahead of market competition in terms of the number of respondents’ replies...

Carlsberg Kazakhstan has lost the case related to the brand of Baltika in the court of appeals. In late January, the Russian court banned Carlsberg from using this label in Kazakhstan and five other CIS countries. In March, the Kazakhstani division of the Dutch company appealed to the St. Petersburg arbitration court. However, on May 14, the court of appeals decided to uphold the verdict of the lower court.

Carlsberg Group announced its plan to sell Baltika Brewery, its main Russian asset, in late June 2023. However, in July, President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed an edict demanding the Federal...

KazMunayGas (KMG), the national oil company in Kazakhstan, will allocate $154 million to redevelop the Uzen and Karamandybas oil fields in the Mangystau region, the company’s press services reported.

Once the rehabilitation project is completed, the fields’ output will gradually increase to 5.2-5.5 million tons a year. This year, the company plans to produce an additional 136,000 tons of oil, while its ultimate goal is to extract 19 million tons of oil from 2023 to 2036.

«In 2023, we invested $38.5 million in the project and $115.5 million this year. In 2024, we have to implement...

In 2023, First Heartland Securities bought 1.4 million shares of Jusan Bank worth $641,221 from minority shareholders, according to an audited financial statement for 2023. The report has been published on the KASE website.

As of December 31, 2023, the key shareholders of Jusan Bank were the following:

First Heartland Securities – 79.63% (78.73% as of the end of 2022);

Galimzhan Yessenov – 20.11% (no changes compared to 2022);

Other shareholders – 0.25% (previously 1.16%).

At the same time, First Heartland Securities itself is controlled by Galimzhan Yessenov. In the summer of 2023, he took over 97.98% of First Heartland...

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan has reached an arrangement with Uzbekistan about the supply of 922 million cubic meters of water to the southern regions of Kazakhstan. The water will be delivered by the Dostyk interstate canal during the 2024 irrigation season.  

These arrangements were reached during the 86th meeting of the Interstate Coordination Commission for Water Management combining Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, attended by Kazakhstan’s Water Resources Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov. 

«The minister has successfully negotiated the supply of 922 million cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan through the...

Aiaru Altynbek, a 13-year-old chess player from Kazakhstan, has won a gold medal at the FIDE World School Championship in Lima, Peru.

«Even though Aiaru secured the first place for herself ahead of the final game she continued to push and won. With a score of 8½, she played nine match games and outperformed her competitor by 1.5 points,» the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (Kazchess) said in a statement. 

Felow Kazakhstani Iman Nabiyev (1,636, #8 in the ranking) has won a bronze medal in the age category under 9 years. Iman scored 7½ points like his...

Two-thirds of Kazakhstanis (69.2%) do not have personal savings, while 79% of respondents failed to save money last month, according to a survey by the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

In its survey, the regulator interviewed 1,500 adults in the cities of Astana, Almaty and Shymkent as well as regional centers throughout the country.

More than half of respondents said that their financial status hasn’t changed over the last month, while a third of interviewed people noted that their finances have worsened. At the same time, 35.4% of Kazakhstanis believe that their financial status will improve in the space of a...

KazMunayGas (KMG) and Bluewater Energy Services B.V. from the Netherlands have officially agreed to cooperate in the sphere of future projects related to single-point mooring (SPM), according to the press service of KMG.

«The document was signed by CEO of KMG Magzum Mirzagaliyev and Vice President of Bluewater Energy Services Michel Bonte. The agreement is aimed at facilitating efforts to expand Kazakhstani oil exports. Under the signed document, technical experts of Bluewater are going to share their international experience and teach Kazakhstani specialists to implement SPM projects in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea,» the company said in a statement.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discharged the 50-year-old former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi from military service and has appointed him the new Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.K.

«To discharge General Valerii Zaluzhnyi from military service due to his health condition with the right to wear military uniform… To appoint Valerii Zaluzhnyi Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom,» says the president’s edict published on the official website of the president of Ukraine.

This winter, the Ukrainian media reported that the medical commission found Zaluzhnyi’s health not good enough to continue his military service.

In March...

According to Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Almasadam Satkaliyev, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan want to export their green energy to Europe via Azerbaijan. The cost of the project will be revealed by the end of this year.

«We are talking about quite a big amount of investments. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can export 7 and 5 gigawatts, respectively. I mean, this is the entire wind potential of the Caspian Plain and the Aral Sea area. We are already preparing the feasibility study. This work is expected to be done by the end of this year. We will better understand...

Forbes Kazakhstan has published its annual rating of the richest Kazakhstani businessmen. This year, the list includes 75 people with a combined fortune of $46.6 billion. This figure is equal to 17.65% of the country’s GDP. 

In the global list of the richest people the «national team» of Kazakhstani moguls would take 26th place right after American billionaire Charles Koch and his family, who made their fortune in oil trading and refinery. 

Even though the current rating of Kazakhstani rich people includes many of those who pop up on the list every year, ten newcomers were added, like Arsen Tomsky...

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has instructed his generals to conduct military exercises with tactical nuclear weapons. According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, these measures have been undertaken in response to «provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials toward Russia.»

«To ensure non-strategic nuclear forces are ready for combat, the general staff has started preparations for military exercises with rocket divisions of the Southern Military District, air force and navy. The exercises will be conducted shortly,» the ministry said in a statement.

In late February, President of France Emmanuel Macron suggested that Western countries...

In April, the National Fund of Kazakhstan shrank by an additional $1.1 billion from $64.9 billion to $64.4 billion, the Ministry of Finance’s data showed. 

Overall, the National Fund has shrunk by $1.0 billion since the beginning of the year when the fund had $65.5 billion in it. In January, it shrank by $299 million before increasing by $265 million in February and then shrinking again by $597 million in March.

Over the past four months, the National Fund received $3.9 billion, including $676 million in April. Almost all this money was tax payments from the oil industry. 

From January...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Zhaslan Madiyev, general manager of Binance Kazakhstan, as the new head of the Ministry of Digital Development, according to the Akorda. Ex-Digital Minister Bagdat Musin was removed from office on April 30. 

«The president has appointed Zhaslan Madiyev as the new minister of digital development, innovations and aerospace industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan,» the president’s press service said in a statement.

Madiyev was born on June 13, 1983. He graduated from the Kazakh National University named after al Farabi with a degree in Global Economics and International Finances. He also studied...