News

Seventeen agreements for $629 million were signed during the Third Kazakhstan-China Interregional Cooperation Forum in Ürümqi, attended by businesses from 17 regions of Kazakhstan and 27 regions of China, the press service of Kazakhstan’s cabinet reported.

The Almaty region and Chinese TBEA, for example, have agreed to build and modernize ten electrical substations and power lines in Kazakhstan. The country’s authorities have also reported an agreement on the construction of an electrical equipment manufacturing site being signed. They haven’t specified who exactly signed the document, though.

Furthermore, Qazaq Camel and Xinjiang Huaken Dairy Group Co. Ltd signed three contracts...

The government of Kazakhstan has the intention to transfer the Zenith shipyard in Uralsk into a «competitive environment,» according to a cabinet resolution published at Adilet.kz.

Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Construction said it would sell 85% of Zenith shares to raise funds necessary for its modernization. Now, Zenith is on the list of state-owned entities that should be sold to private investors. The decision has recently been officially approved by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.

«Hereby resolution is entering into force within a day after its official publication,» the Adilet website said.

In...

According to Viktor Lebedev, head of strategic projects in the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the transportation sector of the Eurasian Economic Union needs more than $250 billion in investments to unleash its «unlimited» potential for the movement of goods within the region, including those on transit.

Given that countries affiliated with the bank are ranked from 79 to 123 in the global Logistics Performance Index, there is huge room for improvements in this area, the official highlighted. Moreover, Lebedev believes that Central Asia has the potential to become an effective hub between big markets, which of course would require a...

Kazakhstan has approved the use of Toncoin, a cryptocurrency developed by Telegram. This decision, made by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), allows Toncoin to be used on cryptocurrency exchanges registered with the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). The approval follows a visit to the AIFC by Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, as reported by the financial center’s press service.

Toncoin is the native cryptocurrency of TON (The Open Network), a blockchain platform developed by a team of IT specialists from Telegram led by the Durov brothers. It is used to pay for various transactions within systems built on...

Last year, the consolidated net profit of Samruk-Kazyna shrunk by 10.3%, dropping to $4.5 billion. The holding has already notified the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) about this financial result.

The rate decline was primarily caused by an increase in net loss driven by 4.5-time depreciation and an increase in other operation costs. Financial expenditures have also risen, reaching $1.5 billion, while the net profit of joint ventures and associated companies reported a 1.5-time decline to $2 billion. At the same time, gross revenue and profit from operational activities have shown insignificant growth. The company also reported a 4.1% increase in...

«New Vision: The Power of Business,» a global business forum, started in Almaty, gathering together well-known Kazakhstani and international businessmen along with prominent figures in politics.

Thus, Jeff Hoffman, the founder of Booking.com, Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, and Brian Tracy, a famous business coach, have already come to Almaty as key speakers of the forum. At the end of the three-day event, Dimash Kudaybergen, a popular Kazakhstani singer, is expected to give an exclusive concert.

The event, which is aimed to be an effective platform for discussing global megatrends, businesses and markets in the age of AI...

According to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the people of Kazakhstan are going to decide whether the country needs a nuclear power plant (NPP) in a referendum this fall. The cabinet will choose the exact date for the endeavor. The Ministry of Energy and Samruk-Kazyna have been obliged to prepare for the referendum, explaining to the population its goals and objectives.

«There is no way to expand economic growth without a stable power supply. This is why I have ordered the cabinet to explore the issue of launching a nuclear power station in our country. Currently, we are...

According to Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan Marat Kozhayev, the Astana police department is going to stay on high alert due to the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana.

Commenting on a question about security measures, the official said that the Astana police department isn’t inventing anything new and is simply following the best international practices in this sphere.

«Astana will be a venue for a grandiose political event, which is going to be very important from a geopolitical point of view. This is why we are taking so many...

Stock prices of CNS Pharmaceuticals, which develops treatments for cancers of the brain and central nervous system, plunged 35% on Wednesday, reaching an all-time low. The company announced the price at which it will sell its shares to private investors. The figure turned out to be a third lower than previously stated, and the volume was higher, which will significantly dilute the stakes of existing shareholders.

Details

CNS Pharmaceuticals’ stock prices plummeted 35.2% to $1.84 on Nasdaq on Wednesday, June 26. This is the lowest the company’s stock has ever traded on the exchange. After the...

Umut Shayakhmetova, CEO of Halyk Bank, and Daniyar Abulgazin, a mogul on the Forbes Kazakhstan list, may have been on a yacht called Persefoni I, from where fireworks were launched, causing a massive fire on the Greek island of Hydra, according to local authorities. The news came out when the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) obtained a list of passengers on the boat. Representatives of both Shayakhmetova and Abulgazin refused to respond to a request from Kursiv.media to comment on the news.

The OCCRP investigators reported that apart from the aforementioned individuals, there were Shayakhmetova’s husband and their...

Kazakhstan, China and Russia are going to create a single digital platform (SDP) for container shipping on the route stretching across Kazakhstan from the Selyatino railway station near Moscow to Chinese Xian, according to Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ).

The SDP agreement is expected to be signed during a Kazakh-Chinese Business Council meeting in early July. Once the system is implemented it will offer processes designed for customs clearance and e-commerce, for example, not for just these three states but for some other countries.

«This system will simplify logistics, promote the development of e-commerce, improve customs procedures, decrease...

Against the backdrop of sanctions, the U.S. imposed on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has asked the Russian exchange, which still controls a 13.1% stake in KASE, to sell it back, according to Frank Media, a Russian media outlet, citing sources close to the Russian exchange.

«In the past, MOEX pursued a strategic goal of keeping KASE under Russian influence and provided it with capital and technologies. In the current situation, however, MOEX may give its consent to the deal with KASE, which can receive necessary technologies from American Nasdaq, while Koreans...

Over the period from January to May 2024, Kazakhstan Railways exported 125,000 tons of oil to China compared to 45,000 tons over the same period last year (a 2.8-time increase), the company said.

«There was a positive dynamic in cargo shipping between Kazakhstan and China over the period from January to May 2024. The volume of cargo shipping by railway transport has risen by 12.4% compared to the same period last year and reached 12.8 million tons. Kazakhstani exports to China rose by 1 million tons, reaching 5.7 million tons,» the company said in a statement.

According to the EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas, the EU would like to boost trade turnover with Kazakhstan even though it is not an easy task.

«On June 25, several companies from the EU and representatives of Kazakhstani agriculture and foreign ministries discussed what exactly European businesses should do to expand their presence in Kazakhstan, a part of the Eurasian Economic Union. Even though this is not an easy task, I think we are trying to find a win-win solution,» he said during an EU-Central Asia summit on investment, competitiveness and trade.”

Jankauskas pointed...

Investors interested in small-cap companies should take a look at four stocks, writes investment author John Navin in a Forbes column. These companies share common traits: a low P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio: the lower it is, the higher the potential), dividend payments, and inclusion in the Russell 2000 index.

Civitas Resources

Civitas Resources is engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the DJ Basin in Colorado, as well as in the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico. The company calls itself the first carbon-neutral producer of these fossil fuels in Colorado.

Its...

Kazakhstani company DA GROUP 22 has been added to the 14th package of EU sanctions for assisting Russia. Apart from the Kazakhstani company, the EU has also imposed restrictions against 61 other entities from Kyrgyzstan, China, Turkey and the UAE.

What do we know about DA GROUP 22?

DA GROUP 22, LLC was established in 2022. This small company is involved in wholesale trade with electronic and telecommunication equipment and components. According to eGov.kz, there is only one employee.

Kazakhstani authorities said they knew about the intentions of the EU and the U.S. to impose secondary sanctions against two...

According to Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, the country is going to open access to fields of indium, scandium, vanadium, thallium, gallium and other rare earth elements (REEs) and rare metals (RMs) that were classified back in the Soviet times.

«In December 2023, we declassified some data on REE and RM reserves in Kazakhstan. Currently, we are excluding some reserves of REEs and RMs (indium, scandium, vanadium, thallium, strontium, gallium and rare earth elements) from the list of state secrets under the Ministry of Industry and Construction,» the prime minister reported in response to an...

Solidcore Resources plc (formerly known as Polymetal), the biggest producer of gold and silver in Kazakhstan, has applied for delisting from the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), the company announced in a statement.

Shareholders who meet specific requirements will be able to exchange their MOEX shares for shares traded on the Astana International Exchange (AIX).

«Regarding recent U.S. sanctions against the Moscow Exchange, the board of directors of the company has decided to quit the exchange. Under the delisting application, the company asked MOEX to set the final trading day for September 30, 2024. If the...

Long-term shareholders of Gilat Satellite Networks, a provider of satellite-based broadband communications, have had some bad luck: the company’s stock prices have fallen in recent years and continue to decline, write analysts at Simply Wall St. Although even good stocks depreciate at times, they believe that it is necessary to wait for an improvement in financial performance before showing interest in the company’s shares.

Details

Before taking an interest in Gilat’s shares, it’s important to see improvements in the company’s fundamental business metrics, warn analysts at Simply Wall St. On Saturday, June 22, they published a report on...

Freedom Bank has the potential to grow fourfold in Kazakhstan, according to the CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., Timur Turlov, who presented the holding’s results for the 2024 fiscal year.

«We have launched many interesting projects that are now soaring. All of them have great potential for further growth. We are reviewing the profiles of our competitors serving 15 to 16 million people. Freedom has one million clients in the bank and about five million customers in its entire ecosystem. So, our potential in cross-selling is tremendous. In Kazakhstan alone, we can grow fourfold to catch...

Freedom Holding Corp. is set to cooperate with British Vodafone, one of the largest mobile operators in the world. This news was revealed by Timur Turlov, CEO of the holding, during the presentation of the company’s results for the 2024 fiscal year.

«We have signed a contract with Vodafone. They are assisting us in network development. We are utilizing all their technologies to build a new fixed and virtual mobile operator in Kazakhstan, with the potential to become a full-fledged operator in the future. We’re going to rely on their brand and all their suppliers to...

The government of Kazakhstan plans to implement over 200 projects worth $86 billion within its National Infrastructural Plan by 2029. In an interview with Premierminister.kz, Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baibazarov shared details of the plan.

«Over the period from this year through 2029, more than 200 projects are expected to be implemented under the plan. The total amount of investment is more than $86 billion. This is quite a big figure and we understand that we have to do a lot to raise these funds,» Baibazarov said.

According to the national economy minister, the...

Fitch Ratings expects that Kazakhstan will continue to rely on Russia as the main export route for its oil.

«In 2023, almost all Kazakhstani oil exports were through Russia, as Kazakhstan is a landlocked country. Kazakhstan can export limited volumes through the Kazakhstan-China pipeline, via sea transportation through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey or by railway. However, these options are significantly more expensive and could require further investments in infrastructure. We assume that Kazakhstan will continue to be able to export oil through Russia and our forecast incorporates no sizeable politically-motivated interruptions to export flows,» said...

Japan has imposed sanctions against Kazakhstani Elem Group, accusing it of breaching anti-Russian sanctions. Elem Group has been on the U.S. and the EU sanction lists since February 2024.

Along with Elem Group, Japan has also put on its sanction list ten companies from China, the UAE, India and Uzbekistan.

According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan is freezing assets of those companies and banning any exports to them, the Russian Izvestiya newspaper reported.

What do we know about the sanctioned Kazakhstani company?

In February 2024, Elem Group was sanctioned by the European Union and the U.S. At the...