News

The Russian bank VTB has transmitted a $1.8 billion debt in terms of two loans issued to KAZ Minerals to companies Finnaccord and City Invest 6, according to Kommersant, a Russian media outlet. It also noted that Finnaccord is owned by Oleg Novachuk, a co-owner of KAZ Minerals.

The transmission of the debt is directly related to the fact that VTB has been targeted with U.S. sanctions. KAZ Minerals is registered in the U.K. and can’t make any payments in the interest of the bank even if it is a payment on the loan. In this situation, there was a...

According to the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, Kazakhstan has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after it was hit by an earthquake. The cargo of medicine is expected to reach people in the devastated area today.

What did the ministry report? According to the agency, the country’s government decided to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan which has been suffering from a recent earthquake.

«The government has donated food, tents, clothes and bedclothes,» the ministry said in a statement.

In total, the humanitarian aid includes 1,659 tons of 13 types of different goods.

The Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan is contemplating issuing Eurobonds in the summer of 2024. As Finance Minister Yerulan Zhamaubayev told the Interfax news agency, the cabinet was going to do so this summer but later changed its mind.

«Concerning Eurobonds, we do not plan to issue them this year. Most likely, it will happen next year. The most suitable period for that is the end of summer,» he said on the sidelines of the cabinet.

During the Astana International Forum in June, Zhamaubayev said that Kazakhstan was contemplating issuing Eurobonds in the fall of...

The Kyrgyz parliament has ratified the agreement on establishing a joint regional system (JRS) of air defense with Russia, according to the press service of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan.

What happened? Members of the Supreme Council approved the agreement on the establishment of a joint air defense system with Russia.

«In order to meet obligations under the agreement Kyrgyzstan will allocate a land parcel of five hectares near the Russian base in the town of Kant. It will be available as long the agreement is valid,» the agreement says.

The context. Russia controls several...

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov hasn’t agreed with the report to the cabinet by Berik Sholpankulov, deputy head of the National Bank. He emphasized that the reduction in inflation was a result of coordinated anti-inflation work by the cabinet, not the National Bank as Sholpankulov said.

What did Sholpankulov report about? During the cabinet meeting, Sholpankulov talked about the results of the social and economic development of the country over the period from January to September 2023. While delivering his speech, he noted that the National Bank has lowered the base rate and tightened the monetary policy.

The growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Kazakhstan slowed down to 4.7% over the period from January to September compared to 4.9% from January to August, according to Alibek Kuantyrov, minister of the national economy of Kazakhstan.

«Over the period from January to September of this year, Kazakhstan’s GDP grew by 4.7% including growth in the real sector by 3.7% and 5.1% in the service sector,» he said during a cabinet meeting.

The construction, trade, information and communication sectors reported the highest rates of growth. Over the first nine months of this year...

The Russian chain of affordable shops Fix Price Group plans to redomicile from Cyprus to Kazakhstan. The company’s shareholders are going to discuss the issue on November 9, according to the company’s website.

«The company is going to change its location from the Republic of Cyprus to the Republic of Kazakhstan by registering as a legal entity at the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). The company will be excluded from the Cyprus register of business,» Fix Price Group said.

Once the company is redomiciled, it will adopt its new charter and board of directors, appoint...

According to Vedomosti, a Russian business newspaper, Russia is effectively driving out Kazakhstan from the Uzbekistani oil market.

«Over the period from January to June 2023, Kazakhstan exported 23,900 tons of oil and about 10,000 tons of gas condensate to Uzbekistan by railway. This was the lowest rate of oil export over the entire history on record (no details about the timeline available), according to a survey by Argus. The State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan confirms the negative dynamic of supply, although the figures aren’t necessarily the same. According to the agency, over...

Kazakhstan has expressed «deep concerns» about the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has already led to many casualties among civilians and called on the parties to de-escalate and begin political dialog, according to Aibek Smadiarov, official spokesperson of the country’s foreign ministry.

What did Smadiarov say? The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Kazakhstan is concerned about the situation in the Middle East and urged the parties of the conflict to seek a peaceful solution to the problem.

«Kazakhstan expresses deep concern over the serious aggravation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has...

Timur Turlov, CEO and majority shareholder of Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC), has commented on the situation with investigations into the holding’s activities by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported by CNBC. As he wrote on Instagram, the only goal of ill-wishers is to put together negative information, while their main weapon is «scandal narrative and blatant manipulation of facts.»

On Friday, October 6, CNBC reported that the SEC’s Boston regional office has been probing FRHC for months, citing «documents the outlet has seen and people familiar with the matter.»

As Turlov explained...

According to Health Minister Azhar Giniyat, several cases of Eris, a subvariant of the Omicron COVID-19 variant were reported in Kazakhstan.

Where have new Omicron subvariants been identified? As the minister said, coronavirus is mutating and circulating throughout Kazakhstan. The last genetic surveys showed that the new COVID-19 variant Eris emerged in the country.

«All variants of Omicron cause mild symptoms. So far, there are 35 people in hospitals. These are elderly with concurrent diseases,» Giniyat said.

Does the country possess enough vaccines? According to the health minister, Kazakhstan possesses enough PCR tests and vaccines...

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has lowered the base rate from 16.5% to 16%. This decision was made today during a meeting on monetary policy. At the same time, the regulator said that the base rate will likely remain the same until the end of this year.

«Due to the current decision and the balance of risks, there is not much room for further lowering of the base rate in 2023. We will be ready to consider further softening of monetary policy if annual inflation decreases to a single-digit figure,» the National Bank said in a...

The business activity index (BAI) has declined for three months in a row in Kazakhstan. Over the period from June to September of 2023 the index dropped by 2.1 points from 51.1 to 49, according to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

The BAI is an indicator that characterizes the state of the economy in the real sector and allows you to explore the dynamics of economic trends as well as critical and turning points of the business cycle. In September, the exchange asked representatives of 519 big, small and medium-sized businesses from all sectors of the economy. When BAI is...

According to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) will be increased to 80 million tons of oil per year by 2024.

«Since 2001, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium has exported more than 860 million tons of Kazakhstani oil. During this period, the capacity of the CPC has increased 2.5 times and reached 67 million tons a year. We are going to boost this rate to 80 million tons by 2024,» he said during a ceremony for the 30th anniversary of the presence of Shell in Kazakhstan.

As Tokayev noted, the country...

According to Almasadam Satkaliyev, minister of energy of Kazakhstan, refineries in Turkmenistan and China are going to obtain licenses from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in order to be able to supply oil products to the EEU member states, including Kazakhstan.

«As far as I know, some refineries are eager to be certified under EAEU standards. Currently, among those potential suppliers are refineries from Turkmenistan and China. This process is still going on, though,» he said at a press conference.

As the official noted, any foreign refinery that wants to enter the EEU market should...

According to Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the government of Kazakhstan is going to establish a new fund to support the domestic defense industry.

Why is a new fund needed? Alikhan Smailov said that as a country, Kazakhstan needs a robust industrial skeleton, citing the address to the nation President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered in September. That is why the government will establish a new defense industry fund to support local producers by the end of this year.

What did President Tokayev say in his address? In early September, Tokayev said that creating defense production of a full cycle locally is «the...

According to Kanat Sharlapayev, minister of industry and construction of Kazakhstan, the change of investor of ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT) isn’t a mandatory obligation for the company if it wants to continue operating in Kazakhstan after the tragedy at the Kazakhstanskaya mine.

What does the ministry want from AMT? If the investor wants to work in Kazakhstan further, the company must obey the laws of the country, Sharlapayev underlined. He also said that the company is going to face the consequences of the official investigation into the deaths of five miners.

«Any change of an investor should...

Polymetal that redomiciled from the island of Jersey to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) has been put on the AIX index called Qazaq Index (QI).

According to the exchange, Polymetal’s stock was added to the index on October 2. This means that currently the index includes the following stocks: Kaspi (15%), Halyk Bank (15%), Kazatomprom (15%), KazMunayGaz (15%), Polymetal (15%), Kcell (6.84%), Kazakhtelecom (6.47%), Central Asia Metal (4.76%), KazTransOil (4.58%) and Bank CenterCredit (2.36%).

In August, the AIX reported 160 transactions for $65,799 with shares of Bank CenterCredit, 570 transactions for $347,531 with shares of Halyk Bank, 235 transactions...

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the price surge slowed down by 11.8% in September in Kazakhstan.

In August, the agency reported inflation of 13.1%. In September, this rate was 0.6% month on month, compared to 0.7% in August. In other words, the monthly price surge slowed down after increasing from 0.5% in June to 0.6% in July and 0.7% in August.

Food prices surged by 11.4% in September (12.4% in August), nonfood products reported a 12.1% increase (13.5% in August), and services by 11.9% (13.9% in August).

In terms of specific products cabbage (+74.3% year-on-year), rice (41.3%), grapes...

According to U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum, although the U.S. is interested in simplifying the visa process for citizens of Kazakhstan, the country doesn’t plan to change the existing rules and legislation in this sphere. The official made this statement during a roundtable with the media in Astana.

What did the ambassador say? As Rosenblum highlighted Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where citizens can obtain a non-immigrant visa valid for up to 10 years. However, the U.S. government should follow a set of rules and laws designed to prevent visa abuse, he added.

During the meeting of business circles of Kazakhstan and Germany President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan said that his government is interested in establishing new companies that can produce goods under the formula «Made in Kazakhstan with German quality.»

What did Tokayev say? Kazakhstan’s president expressed his admiration for the German approach to doing business based on the principles of determination, precision and responsibility.

«Kazakhstan is ready to become a reliable partner in the sphere of natural resources and critical raw materials needed by the German and European industries,» he said.

According to the president, global...

As the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan reported, it has received a letter from the Russian Ministry of Energy with a draft of an amended intergovernmental agreement on the parallel operation of the two countries’ unified energy systems (UES).

«The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation has sent a draft agreement between the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the government of the Russian Federation on measures to ensure parallel operation of the unified energy systems of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation with amendments and additions through the diplomatic channel,» the...

According to Transneft, the company has signed an agreement with KazTransOil on the transit of Kazakh oil through Russia next year.

«After negotiations between Transneft and KazTransOil the two companies have signed an updated memorandum on cooperation and an agreement on rendering services on transportation of Kazakh oil by transit through Russia in 2024,» the company said in a statement.

The negotiations were part of an official visit to Kazakhstan by a delegation of top executives from Transneft. During this visit, the company’s CEO Nikolay Tokarev met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. They discussed a range...

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported that the state budget received $423 million of tax revenues from tourism activities over the first six months of this year.

Data comparison. According to the agency, over the first half of this year, the sphere of tourism brought 10.4% higher tax revenue than the same period last year ($319 million).

Tax revenue was at a record high of $640 million for the entire year of 2022.

What was going on in this industry before the pandemic? According to Moldir Abdualieva, the official representative of the ministry, the current tax revenue from tourism...