News

Qazaq Air, a Kazakhstani airline controlled by the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, has successfully passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The procedure covered all key company activities, including flight safety and passenger service. The recently obtained certificate will be valid until November 2026, according to the airline’s media statement. 

The audit procedures were carried out by an independent company certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to do so. The air carrier believes that certificate will enable the company to reinforce its position in the airline market and continue enhancing its safety standards.

In late May, President Kassym-Jomart...

Analysts from Freedom Broker recommend buying shares of Kaspi.kz, a fintech company, following the publication of its third-quarter 2024 financial statements. They expect the price of the company’s American Depositary Share (ADS) to rise by 22%, increasing from $108.40 to $132 on Nasdaq.

«We have updated overall financial indicators in our valuation model, most of which have remained at the same level. We have also reduced the equity value, resulting in a price update for one ADS of Kaspi.kz, now set at $132, with a 22% growth potential from the current price. Thus, we have upgraded...

Kcell issued three-year coupon bonds worth $30.5 million on the Astana International Exchange (AIX), with proceeds allocated for refinancing existing liabilities, according to details shared with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). Just under a month earlier, Kcell closed a $184 million loan facility with Halyk Bank.

This latest bond issue marks the fourth under Kcell’s $203.7 million bond program. The recent issue volume is 150 units at a par value of $203,700 each and a 14.75% coupon rate (0.5% above the National Bank’s base rate).

On Sept. 4, 2024, Kcell issued $61 million in coupon bonds to improve its loan...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy will extend the ban on exporting oil products (gasoline and diesel fuel) outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) until Jan. 1, 2027. This decision, drafted as an order by the ministry, has been coordinated with other public agencies such as the ministries of finance, trade and integration, and national economy.

The draft decision, posted for public discussion, states:

«To impose a ban until Dec. 31, 2026, on the export from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan outside the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union of certain types of petroleum...

More than 150 corpses of endangered Caspian seals were found on the shore of the Caspian Sea in the Mangystau region. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture told Kursiv.media that the reason for the massive death of animals is yet to be clarified.   

«In the Bautino district of the Tupkaragan district, the recent storms have washed hundreds of bodies of critically endangered seals to the shore. Scientists say that they have found 151 corpses for now,» Azamat Sarsenbayev, a Kazakhstani blogger, posted on his Instagram.

Scientists are currently investigating the cause of the seals’ deaths. So...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development stated that within the next 10 to 15 years, Central Eurasian countries — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Mongolia — will each have a company worth more than $1 billion entering the global market.

«Organizers of the first Central Eurasia @ Silicon Valley Tech Conference projected that unicorn companies — tech giants valued at over $1 billion with global reach — will emerge within the next 10 to 15 years across Central Eurasia, in countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Mongolia...

A resident of Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region petitioned a court to confirm his birth and obtain proper identification documents. It was revealed that he was born in the middle of the steppe to a family of shepherds. Since his parents lived in a remote area, they never registered his birth with health facilities or the civil registry, according to Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court.

In his petition, the man stated that he was born at home on Feb. 6, 1998, to a family of shepherds. His mother never sought medical support or a birth certificate from local authorities, though he did receive all...

Astana’s Barys hockey club is set to remove all foreign players from its roster. Moving forward, all key positions on the team will be held by Kazakhstani athletes, who will be expected to take responsibility for the team’s performance, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Although a few North American players still remain on the team, they are expected to depart soon.

In parallel, the ministry has expressed its expectation for Barys head coach Galym Mambetaliyev to lead the team to new successes. Ending contracts with foreign players is seen as a step toward this goal.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan plans to expand its collaboration with France, according to a recent announcement. This followed a meeting between Water Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov and French Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sylvain Guiaugue, where both parties agreed to sign a memorandum and a trilateral agreement to support the exploration of underground water resources and conduct comprehensive scientific studies of the Ile-Balkhash Basin.

Two French agencies will participate in this effort: the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) and the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM, French Geological Survey). The Kazakh Water Ministry is...

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili, has refused to accept the results of the recent parliamentary elections, held on Saturday. She has urged citizens to take to the streets to protest alleged vote-rigging. Former President Mikheil Saakashvili has echoed her call for demonstrations.

«This election was completely falsified. Your votes were stolen. We witnessed a Russian special operation and we were its victims. I refuse to accept these election results. We should not recognize them, as doing so would be equivalent to accepting Russian dominance. I invite everyone to join me on Rustaveli Avenue tomorrow at 7 PM...

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has allocated the first tranche for the establishment of the National Digital Investment Platform in Kazakhstan. The project is aimed at transforming processes associated with raising investments. The platform is expected to enhance transparency and the efficiency of interactions between investors and public agencies.

Once available, the platform is going to streamline integration between participants of the investment ecosystem and simplify interactions between government bodies, the quasi-state sector and investors. The project has been initiated within the digital agenda of EDB member states.

The initiative was first announced by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in...

Kazakhstan and European Union officials recently held their 21st meeting to discuss initiating negotiations on visa facilitation, according to Schengen.news.

Kazakhstan proposed several changes, including:

Kazakhstan assured the EU that these adjustments would not result in increased illegal migration and that Kazakhstan is committed to cooperating with European authorities to readmit citizens who remain in the EU illegally.

David O’Sullivan, the EU’s sanctions envoy, noted that relations between the EU and Kazakhstan are improving, and the proposed visa talks will further...

German Raiffeisen Waren, a multispecialty agriculture company, has discussed potential cooperation in agriculture with Kazakhstani state-owned Baiterek Holding. According to Baiterek, the enterprise plans to establish service centers and construct an assembly plant for Fendt and Valtra machinery.

Moreover, Raiffeisen Waren is also considering the supply of agricultural machinery to KazAgroFinance, a subsidiary of Baiterek, as well as leasing of the equipment to Kazakhstani farmers. KazAgroFinance has already worked with the Fendt and Valtra brands, leasing 34 pieces of machinery worth €3.9 million to farmers since 2000.

“Germany has long been a strategic partner for Kazakhstan. Baiterek...

KazTransOil (KTO), an oil pipeline operator and subsidiary of KazMunayGas, plans to reduce its oil supplies to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline by 11% in October, bringing the total to 133,000 tons compared to September. Meanwhile, the company is expected to increase its supplies through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline by 12%, reaching 160,000 tons, according to an official statement provided to Reuters Russia. 

Market participants attribute the planned reduction in oil supplies to the ongoing scheduled repair at the Karachaganak field. Meanwhile, the increase in BTC pipeline supplies is likely linked to the completion of maintenance at the Tengiz field...

Freedom Bank wants to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to automate compliance checks on transactions and customers. The financial organization said that once the new mechanism is commenced, the analysis time will be reduced from two days to a few minutes. According to Aidos Zhumagulov, a member of the bank’s board, the new technology will mitigate the risks of secondary sanctions and become a benchmark for other financial institutions.

«Geopolitics has made us stand in the crosshairs of the corresponding banks since we are in a somewhat risky zone for them. They keep an eye on every...

In the first nine months of 2024, facilities using renewable energy sources (RES) generated 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, accounting for 6.67% of total production. This represents an 18% increase year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan.

Out of the 5.7 billion kWh generated, the breakdown by energy source is as follows:

For comparison, in 2023, RES facilities generated a total of 6.6 billion kWh of electricity, which accounted for 5.92% of total output. In...

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development proposes that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), of which Kazakhstan is a member, conclude an agreement on cross-border bankruptcy. This would allow any CIS country to initiate bankruptcy proceedings by court order against citizens and legal entities that have a significant portion of their assets and creditors in that country, regardless of their place of residence or registration.

The draft agreement has been prepared to «establish legal certainty in cross-border bankruptcy relations.» It outlines a bankruptcy process involving international elements, such as when a company has foreign debtors, creditors or assets in multiple countries.

Since January 2024, companies in Kazakhstan have raised over $6.2 billion through bond issuing, a 2.3-fold increase year-on-year, according to the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK).

The top corporate bond issuers were:

The AFK also reported that bond yields range from 12% to 20%, while deposit yields are between 13% and 16%.

As for government securities, the AFK noted that high rates...

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has gotten familiar with a symbolic banknote of BRICS during the organization’s summit in Kazan. The banknote’s design includes flags of all the alliance member states, including Kazakhstan, that in fact had refused to join BRICS.

According to Dmitry Peskov, the official spokesperson for the Russian president, the banknote was printed by «someone of ours, probably by someone from the trade chamber or someone else.» Putin showed the banknote to his ministers after a meeting with a wide smile on his face.

Elvira Nabiullina (the governor of the Central Bank of Russia) didn’t like...

The Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan is asking other public agencies to find new markets for grain exports due to record-high yields of 26.5 million tons. However, the Ministry of Trade estimates the overall market capacity for Kazakhstani grain exports to be 12 million tons. The government aims to export Kazakhstani grain to Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia while boosting supplies to China and other Asian countries by 1.6 million tons.

Agricultural Minister Aidarbek Saparov recently revealed that this year, the country harvested a record-high yield of nearly 16 centners per hectare (26.5 million tons), a significant boost compared to...

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has granted Recognized Non-AIFC Member (RNAM) status to Raiffeisenbank, a Russian subsidiary of Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, as reported by the Astana International Exchange (AIX) press office. 

«Raiffeisenbank has been granted RNAM status by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA). This means that the regulator recognizes the active broker license of Raiffeisenbank. This status is a milestone on becoming an AIX trade member, but the bank still has to go through an onboarding process,» the statement read.

This means that AIX has acknowledged Raiffeisenbank’s broker license, paving the way...

Kazakhstan plans to begin exporting domestically produced cars to Afghanistan next year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin.

«Kabul is developing rapidly, marked by ongoing construction and increasing trade. A middle class seems to be emerging, bringing greater purchasing power. As a result, our Afghan colleagues have requested that I arrange meetings to discuss establishing car centers for selling new and used cars from Kazakhstan. I’ve already reached out to several contacts and we are pursuing this initiative,» Zhumangarin said.

He added that Kazakhstan may begin exporting cars next year, but first, they need...

According to Bagdat Musin, former minister of digital development and current CEO of the Kazakhtelecom telecommunications company, the sale of Mobile Telecom-Service, which operates under the Tele2 and Altel brands, will be completed by the end of this year. The deal was initially planned to be closed by late September. 

«We are going to close this deal before the year ends, but there is room for some challenges to appear, making us meet the buyer halfway. Although the contract has already been signed, this is a foreign investor, so we have to adjust to their procedures...

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will jointly implement 74 industrial projects valued at $3.4 billion, creating 14,600 new jobs, according to Kazakhstan’s government press office.

Out of the 74 projects, 11 have already been completed — nine in Kazakhstan and two in Uzbekistan — employing 4,800 people. Examples of joint ventures include the small-scale production of Chevrolet cars in Kostanay, the Silk Road Electronics household appliance factory in Saran, sewing and textile factories in Shymkent and the Turkestan region, and autoclaved aerated concrete production in Angren.

In total, 65 of the planned projects will be carried out in Kazakhstan, creating 13,600 jobs.