News

South Korea’s Lotte Group is set to build Almaty’s first hotel under the Lotte brand and take part in the development of Alatau City. The company will also continue operating in Kazakhstan’s food and logistics sectors. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin discussed the projects, the Akorda press service reported.

Tokayev said that Lotte remains one of Kazakhstan’s long-standing partners and contributes to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The president also highlighted the company’s work in the food industry. Lotte is developing the Rakhat confectionery brand and modernizing production...

Kazakhstan is poised to enter the global space technology market. According to the government’s press service, the country could begin producing satellites and their components for export to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The project is being discussed with South Korea’s CONTEC Space Group, a major player in the country’s space industry. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev visited the company’s satellite assembly and testing complex in Seoul and met with CONTEC Chairman Lee Sung-hee.

The South Korean company is considering investing in Kazakhstan’s Ghalam project, which could involve not...

Kazakhtelecom, Kazakhstan’s largest telecommunications operator and part of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund, has disclosed changes in its shareholder structure for the first six months of 2026. The key development was an increase in Samruk-Kazyna’s stake from 79.2% to 89.5%. At the same time, a U.S. investment fund became a minority shareholder in the telecommunications operator, according to Kazakhtelecom’s semiannual financial statements.

Samruk-Kazyna increases its stake

At the current market price of 44,600 tenge ($100) per common share, the additional stake acquired by Samruk-Kazyna could be valued at 49.1 billion tenge ($110 million). The increase...

Kazakhstan is considering legislation that would formally define «trash streaming» and increase penalties for illegal acts broadcast during live streams. The proposal was put forward by Zharkynbek Amantai, a member of the Kurultai representing the Adilet party faction.

According to Amantai, some livestreamers deliberately provoke conflicts and scandals, insult people and stage dangerous pranks because such content attracts viewers and can generate income.

«Rude and provocative content attracts more views. In turn, views are converted into likes and donations, and sometimes even advertising revenue,» Amantai said. «Therefore, in certain cases...

It appears Dyson has a new contender for the title of ultimate bathroom gadget. After hair dryers, stylers and other beauty devices, the company has turned its attention to teeth with the Dyson CameraJet, an electric toothbrush with a built-in camera.

According to the company, the Dyson toothbrush not only cleans teeth but also automatically identifies the spaces between them and directs a stream of mouthwash into those areas.

A seemingly innocent video filmed on the streets of Astana turned into a major scandal and the immediate end of the careers of two female tourist police officers.

Egyptian travel blogger Haggagovic posted a video on social media showing him picking up a woman in a police uniform and spinning around with her while she was on duty.

The footage quickly went viral on Kaznet, sparking...

How people feel about their jobs may seem personal, but across millions of workers it becomes a crucial economic signal. A recent ranking by World Population Review highlights how emotional connection at work varies dramatically around the globe, often confounding traditional economic expectations. The data proves that national wealth and high salaries do not automatically guarantee high workplace satisfaction or employee motivation.

The standout performance of Uzbekistan

The most surprising result in the global workplace survey comes from Uzbekistan, where an extraordinary 46 percent of employees report being actively engaged at work. This figure is more...

Kazakhstan’s Tau-Ken Samruk national mining company earned 111.4 billion tenge (about $250 million) in profit in the first half of the year, more than double its profit a year earlier. Nearly half of that amount — 55.2 billion tenge — came from the sale of a 70% stake in the North Katpar tungsten project to U.S.-based Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC, according to economist Arman Batayev.

Control of the asset was transferred to the U.S. investor on May 4. The fixed price of the transaction was 38.1 billion tenge, but the accounting treatment resulted in a...

Kazakhstan’s top-ranked tennis player Alexander Bublik fell one position in the latest ATP rankings and now stands 17th. Separately, the national team’s coaching staff decided not to include him in the Davis Cup roster for the tie against Thailand.

Bublik’s performance at the 2026 U.S. Open cannot be described as successful: In the third round of the singles draw, the Kazakhstani lost to American Tommy Paul in five sets, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 3-6. As a result, Bublik failed to defend his points and fell to No. 17 in the rankings, despite recently being reaching the...

Park Sung-hoon, known for his role in the Netflix hit «Squid Game,» will visit Kazakhstan for the first time. The South Korean actor will be among the headliners of the Almaty Geek Games Expo 2026. Kursiv LifeStyle looks at the details.

The geek festival, which brings together cinema, gaming and cosplay, was founded in 2022 and will take place in Almaty from Sept. 26 to 27 at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace.

Kazakhstan has launched the KZTg stablecoin on Telegram. The first issuance of the token took place at the Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026 in Almaty, independent financial analyst Andrey Chebotarev reported.

According to him, the TG Coin project is positioned as the first stablecoin denominated in a national currency operating on Telegram in Central Asia, as well as the first non-U.S.-dollar stablecoin on the TON network.

KZTg is pegged 1:1 to the tenge. Users can top up their accounts with a bank card or bank transfer at a rate of 1 tenge = 1 KZTg and...

South Korea’s Kyungdong Pharmaceutical plans to set up drug production in Kazakhstan.

As part of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to South Korea, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyungdong Pharmaceutical.

The memorandum provides for the transfer of advanced medical technologies, contract manufacturing of medicines and the phased launch of a joint venture to produce medicines in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova held talks with Kyungdong Pharmaceutical CEO Kim Kyung-hoon.

The parties discussed prospects for establishing drug production in Kazakhstan, technology transfer, contract manufacturing and the joint implementation of investment projects.

Kyungdong Pharmaceutical is a...

As artificial intelligence (AI) advances, researchers are expressing growing concern. Two former Anthropic employees issued public statements warning that the human race could be approaching extinction. Moreover, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned about potential risks from the rapid development of AI, calling for it to «slow down,» the BBC reported.

In his latest essay, he raised two main concerns: AI’s ability to self-improve and even build the next generation of AI, and the difficulty of controlling these systems if they do things they weren’t asked to do. In addition to the risk of losing control of AI systems...

Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina has officially risen to No. 1 in the updated WTA rankings, becoming the 30th world No. 1 in the Open Era.

Twenty-nine players had previously reached the top of the rankings in the Open Era, which began in 1968, when professionals and amateurs were allowed to compete in the same tournaments. Rybakina replaced Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka at the top to become the 30th player to reach No. 1.

The coronation took place in the 2026 U.S. Open final. Rybakina won the match 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in 2 hours and 21 minutes...

Chinese marketplaces have become the fastest-growing segment of Kazakhstan’s e-commerce market, with purchase volumes on popular platforms Temu and 1688.com increasing more than tenfold in recent years.

At the Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026 in Almaty, Mastercard presented a study of Kazakhstan’s e-commerce market. According to the payments company, e-commerce in Kazakhstan has grown rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2023, the market has expanded from 3 trillion tenge to 5 trillion tenge (about $11 billion).

The strongest growth, however, has come from cross-border rather than domestic e-commerce. While local platforms such as Kaspi.kz and Russian...

Kazakhstan and Ethiopia will explore the possibility of establishing a hub for supplying Ethiopian tea, coffee and flowers to Kazakhstan and other markets. The agreement was reached by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, according to Akorda.

The two sides plan to send delegations to learn more about each other’s trade, economic and investment potential. The meeting also focused on expanding political dialogue and strengthening business ties.

Strengthening ties with Ethiopia

Tokayev said Kazakhstan is interested in strengthening...

Members of the Kurultai, Kazakhstan’s recently inaugurated unicameral parliament, will be prohibited from discussing the prime minister’s report or asking questions about it. The provision is outlined in draft regulations presented to parliament on Sept. 10.

Questions to the prime minister are prohibited

According to the document, the prime minister will present a report to deputies on the work of the cabinet and its major decisions. However, following the presentation, parliament will only adopt a resolution accepting the report for consideration, without allowing debate or questions.

Government responsibilities to the Kurultai

MPs will have the right...

From malatang and fermentation to kazy, Aral fish and tea as an ingredient, the region’s gastronomy is increasingly striving less to invent new products and more to reimagine familiar ones through modern techniques.

Tatler Kazakhstan has identified the leading Asian and Central Asian food trends of 2026.

Malatang and the rise of customization

One of the most notable Asian food trends of 2026 is malatang, a Chinese soup with a distinct mala flavor in which diners choose their own ingredients. The trend has long since expanded beyond China and is now increasingly visible in Japan as well.

Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to purchase two hotels to accommodate IT specialists from countries whose citizens face difficulties obtaining visas to the U.S. and European Union, according to Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of the fund.

«We are implementing a project called NetworkSchool. We will open a network school in Kazakhstan and purchase premises — two hotels — so that IT specialists from different countries can be based there. We plan to attract strong IT specialists with high IQs and weak passports,» he said during Astana Finance Days 2026.

According to...

World No. 2 Elena Rybakina, who will officially become World No. 1 on Monday, defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the 2026 U.S. Open final.

The 2026 U.S. Open women’s singles tournament has come to an end. This final echoed the 2026 Australian Open final, with the same result.

Of their 18 matches, Rybakina and Sabalenka have played seven finals. In the opening set at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Rybakina looked more confident, especially on return. Sabalenka struggled to counter the Kazakhstani’s backhand. Rybakina consistently neutralized Sabalenka’s powerful serve...

Kyrgyzstan has, for the first time in its history, established domestic production of its national currency, the Kyrgyz som. Previously, som banknotes had been printed exclusively abroad for more than 30 years, according to the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Notably, the first banknotes were printed during celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence.

«In recent years, pursuant to the instructions of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has consistently and systematically worked to establish its own production of the national currency,» the...

Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, 58, has unexpectedly demonstrated his strength during a visit to a military unit. He took off his jacket, lay on a bench and completed 20 consecutive bench press repetitions. The video quickly went viral, with users discussing how much weight the president was lifting. Kursiv LifeStyle looks at how Mongolian officials surprise the internet.

The video was recorded when Khurelsukh visited Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084. The president, dressed in semi-formal attire, put the barbell back on the stands after the set as if nothing unusual had happened.

Timur Suleimenov, governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, believes the country needs to move away from a rigid, bank-centric financial system in which banks account for 80% or more of the entire financial sector.

Read also: High deposit inflows meet rising credit stress in Kazakh banking.

He said brokers, dealers, insurance companies and the stock market as a whole should roughly double their share of the financial system, from the current 20% to 40% over time.

«In other words, if banks are active, then the economy...

In the Aral district of the Kyzylorda region, police officers pulled over a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by a six-year-old boy, Polisia.kz reported.

The car was spotted during a patrol of one of the district’s streets. Road police pulled it over, preventing a possible traffic accident.

During the inspection, police found that the SUV belonged to the boy’s father. Police filed administrative charges against the man for failing to properly fulfill his duties to raise and ensure the safety of a minor, as well as for allowing the child to be outside at night without a...