News

As of March 9, 2022, one Russian ruble costs 4.16 Kazakhstan tenge. Since the beginning of the year, the Russian currency has lost 27.8% of its value. This is not a record though. Over the period from December 2014 to August 2015, the official exchange rate of the Russian ruble dropped from five tenge to 2.8-3.7 tenge per ruble. That decline was directly linked to the devaluation of the ruble and the intention of the National Bank of Kazakhstan to keep the parity between the two currencies.

Amid sharp devaluation of the ruble and quite a strong tenge, the real...

One of the anti-crisis measures Kazakhstan authorities may apply is increasing the base rate of the National Bank. This is a contradictory decision because in the short term this might be an obstacle for the regulator’s policy to keep inflation and exchange rate under control. Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) explains why the base rate increase might not be such a good idea at the moment.

– Mr. Turlov, how you would describe the current economic situation in Kazakhstan after western sanctions have been imposed on Russia?

– What we’ve seen today is Russia becoming more...

According to the press service of the prime minister of Kazakhstan, the commodity turnover between Kazakhstan and Turkey surged by 33% and reached $4.1 billion last year.

These financial results have been discussed today at the 12th meeting of the joint Kazakhstan-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation attended by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov of Kazakhstan and Vice President Fuat Oktay of Turkey.

Smailov noted that the partnership between Turkey and Kazakhstan is strategic. In 2021, Kazakhstan’s exports to Turkey surged by 39% and reached $3 billion while imports from Turkey increased by 20.5% to $1.1 billion.

Moreover, Turkish business is...

According to the Interfax news agency, the candidacy of the new Atyrau mayor Meyram Kalauyi has been supported by the president’s office.

«Today Makhambet Dosmukhambetov, the head of the Atyrau region has introduced the new mayor of the city of Atyrau Meyram Kalauyi to the public. The new mayor has been appointed in concurrence with the president’s office and local representative body,» the mayor’s office reported.

Before the appointment, Meyram Kalauyi was the first deputy head of the Atyrau regional branch of the Amanat party (formerly Nur Otan).

Over his career, Kalauyi worked as head of the regional department of...

The State Duma of Russia has adopted a draft law that imposes criminal punishment and huge fines for the proliferation of any information that can damage the Russian army’s image as well as for calls for sanctions against Russia, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

According to the draft law, if such misleading information causes serious damage, the punishment may be as tough as 15 years in prison.

The draft law describes three types of crime. First, the production or proliferation of deliberately misleading information about the Russian army will be punished by a fine of up to $13,470 or...

The shares of Halyk Bank, Kaspi and Kazatomprom, which are traded on the London Stock Exchange, continue to decline. This is the result of the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions and anti-Russian sanctions that indirectly hit Kazakhstan’s companies as well.  The decline started in February and is continuing in March.

However, after two days of constant decline GDR (equivalent to one common share) of Kaspi, a fintech group from Kazakhstan rose yesterday by 11.1% to $39. Over February the company’s shares dropped by 29.4% because of the Russian onslaught on Ukraine and following sanctions imposed on Russia.

At the time...

According to many reports on social media, Kazakhstan is allegedly sending military personnel to Ukraine. However, the defense ministry insists that this isn’t true.

Defense officials said that the potential peacekeeping activity of Kazakhstan’s troops in any military conflict abroad would require approval by the president and the parliament.

«Until this is done, the defense ministry has no authority to send our troops abroad. The Ministry of Defense hasn’t discussed this issue at all,» the official statement said.

At the same time, the defense ministry confirmed that it is going to hold exercises and move heavy machinery and personnel within...

While speaking with the new Prosecutor General via video call, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that it is incredibly important to get rid of medieval-age remnants such as torture and mistreatment of detainees, the president’s website reported.

The Office of the Prosecutor General has been ordered to prepare a plan on how to increase punishment for inhumane treatment of detainees and inmates.

«The president has ordered the Office of the Prosecutor General to investigate carefully the January events. He has highlighted that respect for the rights of citizens is a crucial necessity. President Tokayev wants the Office of the Prosecutor General...

A political council of Georgian Dream, the ruling party in Georgia, is going to officially ask the European Union to provide Georgia with EU candidate status. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is aware of the initiative and has no objections, DW reported.

«The government of Georgia is preparing an official application that will be given to the EU very soon. We ask the EU bodies to take urgent actions to review our application and give Georgia that status,» said Irakli Kobakhidze, head of the party.

He also said that the application is filed because of the current political context and new...

The Armenian parliament has elected Vahagn Khachaturyan, current minister of the high-tech industry, as the new president of the country, the TASS news agency reported.

«The candidacy of Vahagn Khachaturyan received 71 votes; therefore, he’s been elected the new president of Armenia,» said Hakob Arshakyan, acting speaker of the parliament.

According to the Constitution of Armenia, at least 3/5 of the 107 deputies must vote for a candidate to make him a new president.

In August 2021, Khachaturyan was appointed minister of the high-tech industry.

The foreign ministry is monitoring the situation regarding the potential effects that anti-Russia sanctions may have on Kazakhstan businesses involved in international cargo shipping.

According to Kanat Kopbayev, the founder of Kusto Group, goods from Kazakhstan face obstacles while being shipped through international and European seaports. The ministry also said that it is aware of the situation.

«Our embassies and consulates have talked with the administration of all key ports in Europe: Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Muuga, Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja, etc. As far as we know there are no limitations for cargo shippers from Kazakhstan,» the ministry said.

However, delays in the...

On March 1, the Department of Emergency of the Atyrau region received a call from Nasar Solutions, a contractor of Tengizchevronoil; the company reported the fire accident in Tengiz, the rotating camp 90 kilometers from the town of Kulsary.

According to local officials, highly flammable liquid wastes accidentally ignited. As a result, the fire engulfed about 2,800 square meters of the site where 20 containers with waste had stayed. The fire has destroyed one lifting device. Fortunately, the fire was knocked out with no casualties. Authorities have launched an investigation into the reason for the blaze.

To tackle the blaze...

The country’s foreign ministry is awaiting an explanation from the ambassador after a member of the U.K. parliament has challenged the British government to impose sanctions against Kazakhstan, said Sputnik.kz.

«It was a statement of the British parliament’s deputy. Today we have summoned the British ambassador to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We want him to explain what is going on. We are expecting that she will comment on this,» said Shakhrat Nuryshev, the vice foreign minister of Kazakhstan.

This reaction has followed a statement by Margaret Hodge, a member of the British parliament who suggested imposing sanctions against «kleptocrats...

According to Berik Uali, official spokesperson of the president, Almaty authorities are going to demolish the official residence of Kazakhstan’s president on Nazarbayev Street.

«In accordance with the decision of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev his official residence in Almaty, which has been burnt during the January events, will be demolished. The city’s administration is going to build a public garden on the location,» he wrote on Facebook.

On January 4-5, 2022, people took to the streets in Almaty. The protests turned violent and the government declared a state of emergency. The authorities had turned off the internet and announced the counter-terrorist...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has given full support to the idea of the party’s renaming. The initiative has been announced today by Erlan Koshanov, speaker of the Kazakhstan parliament’s lower chamber Mazhilis, during an urgent meeting of the party.

As Koshanov noted, Nur-Otan has found itself amid tectonic political changes in the country. Therefore, it needs a transformation of its core nature and name.

“Our people and land are the heritage our ancestors gave us. We have to pass it over to the next generations. We have to cherish the unity of the people, the friendship between different ethnic groups...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan said that the ruling party Amanat [formerly Nur Otan] doesn’t pay any attention to the preparation of the next generation of political managers, according to the Interfax news agency.

«In the current reality, politicians must talk to people of all professions and youth, those who represent our nation. We have no social elevators for talented young professionals even though there are a lot of such people in the country,» said the president, who leads the party.

He also noted that the Amanat party has to turn itself into a talent factory to prepare the next...

As the Kazakhstan Anti-Corruption Agency reported, several customs officials have been arrested. All of the detainees worked on the Nur Zholy customs post.

The arrests were conducted on February 28 after a sting operation by a combined team of officials from the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Office of the Prosecutor General. A law enforcement official who had pretended to be an entrepreneur was asked to pay $50,000 to make customs officials «close their eyes» on any possible violations. The authorities have arrested the head of the customs post, his deputy and another individual who worked in an authorized body and...

This year Kazakhstan is going to conscript 190 reserve officers for two-year service in the army, the Interfax news agency reported.

On February 24 the office of the prime minister published this order on the official website. The document must enter into force ten days after the initial publication.

«To conscript reserve officers, who are fit for service but haven’t done it, into the two-year service in the army as officers,» the rule said.

As the document says, this year the government wants 190 reserve officers, including 150 reserve officers of the army and 40 reserve officers of the border...

Traders are preparing for the situation on markets to worsened amid a huge flow of news from Eastern Europe. The Russian army continues to advance on the capital city of Kyiv while the U.S. and its allies are going to strengthen economic sanctions against the Kremlin.

The West vs Russia

The U.S., the U.K., Canada and the EU have agreed to cut several Russian banks from SWIFT, an international payment system for banks. They’ve also agreed to stop any transactions with the Bank of Russia and froze its gold and currency reserves of $620 billion. Any assets which...

According to the official website Akorda.kz, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed an edict replacing the former interior minister Erlan Turgumbayev with Marat Akhmetzhanov, who used to serve as the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency.

«In accordance with the decision of the president Erlan Turgumbayev has been appointed the counselor to the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan,» the official statement said.

Akhmetzhanov had worked as the head of the Anti-corruption agency since Spring 2021. Over the period from 2016 to 2021 he was the prosecutor general of the country.

Lieutenant General of the police Erlan Turgumbayev was born on August...

Dariga Nazarbayeva has announced her resignation from the position of the deputy of Mazhilis and thanked her voters, Zakon.kz reported.

«The January events have shown that there is no way for Kazakhstan to pursue thriving and further development without peace and unity in the country. Those events are a real tragedy for all our people,» she said.

According to Nazarbayeva, a rigorous and fair investigation into the events is needed. Those who are guilty must be punished while innocent people must be released.

«We all, the entire society have to learn our lesson from the dark January events and take...

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is going to provide Tajikistan with financial support to help the country improve its finance and energy sectors. The Kursiv edition has prepared a survey of significant economic and financial events in the Central Asian region. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have been named as countries with oppressive economies. The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar has surged in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan due to the Russian military operation against Ukraine. At the same time, Uzbekistan has lifted restrictions on the export of cement, clinker and glass.

International assistance

Asian Development Bank is going to grant Tajikistan...

Starting today, Air Astana has cancelled all flights to Kyiv at least until March 7, 2022, as Ukraine imposes a no-fly zone on the country, the company’s press service said.

The airline will allow its clients to re-book or return tickets people bought over the period from February 7 to March 7 free of charge until the end of March. 

All passengers were informed about the flight cancelation through SMS notification.

This cancellation followed the flight ban to Ukraine, which Kazakhstan’s Aviation Regulator has imposed for all Kazakhstan airlines due to the extremely high level of danger in the sky...

Kazakhstan’s peacekeepers might be sent to Ukraine if the United Nations decides to do so, according to Maulen Ashimbayev, chairman of the Senate, the upper chamber of Kazakhstan’s parliament.

As the official noted, diplomacy is still relevant for de-escalating the situation in Eastern Ukraine.

Along with Russia and Belarus, Kazakhstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization; however, the country isn’t going to participate in the Russian operation in Ukraine.

«Kazakhstan is ready to send its troops anywhere in the globe if the UN decides to do so,» he said.