News

Russian tech giant Mail.ru Group is going to replace its name with VK, according to Interfax news agency.

The planned rebranding is a continuation of the company’s strategy announced in 2020. Mail.ru wants to build an entire ecosystem and put VK, the social network it runs, in the middle of that system.

Moreover, as the holding survey has shown many regular users don’t know they use products supported by Mail.ru Group while almost everyone all over the Russian-speaking part of the internet knows the VK brand.

Within the strategy, the company has already issued on the market brands such as...

On October 7, 2021, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of Financial Market (ARDFM) published a list of entities with signs of illegal activity in the territory of Kazakhstan. There are 121 organizations on the list including FFIN Brokerage Services Inc., which insists that it never received any requests from the agency and now wants to clarify the situation.

According to FFIN Brokerage Services, the «black list» published by ARDFM consists of entities that have never been regulated by the Kazakhstani agency. But the agency has received some complaints from unidentified clients. FFIN Brokerage Services...

The international consortium North Caspian Operating Company, an operator of Kashagan field, West Kazakhstan, is going to put oil production on hold next June due to maintenance of the equipment, according to Ermek Marabayev, deputy executive director of NCOC. 

The company is going to make an overhaul of the equipment deployed both at the Caspian Sea and on the shore. Therefore, oil production will be stopped from June 1 to July 1, 2022, Marabayev said.

He also noted that NCOC and his partner Caspian Pipeline Consortium are going to upgrade a flowmeter they use for measuring oil supplies.

«It...

According to Magzum Mirzagaliyev, a minister of energy in Kazakhstan, the Mangystau region where new seven gas infrastructural projects will be implemented soon. The government has already allocated $624.5 million for that purpose.

It is expected that once all the projects are done, the issue of gas supply in the Mangystau region will be closed.

«Among these projects are an overhaul of the first line of the Beyneu-Zhanaozen gas pipeline; construction of the second line of the Beyneu-Zhanaozen pipeline; overhaul of the Zhanaozen-Aktau main gas line; construction of the gas conduit from Zhanaozen-Aktau gas line to Kuryk village and...

The French oil and gas giant Total is going to complete the third phase of Dunga field exploration in the Tupkaragan district of the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan, and is ready to invest $164.3 million over the period 2021-2025, according to Magzum Mirzagaliyev, the minister of energy.

In 2019 the Ministry of Energy and Total agreed to extend a production-sharing agreement on Dunga from 2024 to 2039.

«In exchange, Total promised to invest$164.3 million in the project over the period 2021-2025,» the official said.

Once the third phase is completed, the oil output at Dunga is expected to increase...

Addressing the issue, President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has said that she won’t pardon Mikheil Saakashvili, who faces several criminal charges, the Interfax news agency reported.

Zourabichvili publicly appreciated local law enforcement officials, who have shown high professionalism while arresting Saakashvili.

«Many have been asking me today whether I going to pardon him or not. My answer is simple and clear: no and never,» she said in a statement spread by the president’s office.

As the current president of the country, she wasn’t happy to see the footage of the ex-president’s arrest but the law and justice require...

Jusan Bank now controls 24% of Kcell, a Kazakhstani mobile operator. The company’s shares have been traded on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

According to Aibek Kaiyp, the chairman of Jusan Bank’s board, the deal is part of the bank’s strategy to develop high-end tech platforms.

«This deal offers Jusan new opportunities in developing its banking ecosystem via the synergy of mobile and finance technologies. It is going to help us to add some new unique digital products into the list of our services,» he said.

The bank also noted that all shares were bought through open and competitive...

Nurtay Abilgaliyev, the director general of Kazakhstani company BTS Digital revealed why Russian SBER has chosen his company as a partner. It will be part of a new project by SBER which is going to update Kazakhstan’s e-government software. 

Abilgaliyev has told journalists that because BTS Digital takes business seriously, Russian SBER has decided to share its technologies with the company and work on the project together.

«We had shared all the information we have: discussed products, strategy and the future of our solutions. We revealed who we are and what kind of team we have as a leading...

As RIA Novosti news agency reported, Roscosmos, a state corporation of Russia responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research has announced a tender for scientific research of issues associated with manned flights to the Moon.

The tender’s details have been published on a website dedicated to state purchase contracts in Russia. According to the bidding specifications, the agency wants tender participants to develop all the proper engineering requirements for future Moon missions. The total cost of a contract is $23.3 million. 

«The main goal of the research project is the development of proposals, recommendations and requirements for...

Despite the ongoing pandemic, esports show growth. Newzoo, a leading gaming market analytic data supplier reported that the global revenue of esports in 2021 will reach $1.1 billion, 14.5% higher than in 2020 ($947.1 million). Therefore, many want to take their piece of the pie.

Tournaments grow in popularity

There is one universal rule: money follows the potential clients, and esports is no different from this. According to Newzoo analysts, the global audience of esports events has been growing and this year can reach 728.8 million viewers. This figure is 10% higher than in 2020.

Here is an example. In 2020 the largest...

Pavlodar Oil Chemistry Refinery is going to shutdown maintenance in October. To avoid shortcomings of diesel supply, Kazakhstan authorities may import 385,000 of the fuel from neighboring Russia, according to Bauyrzhan Salimgereev, the head of the oil refinery and transportation department under the Ministry of Energy.

As the indication balance shows, in 2021 the volume of possible import of diesel from Russian may reach 530,000 tons this year.

«So far we have imported 145,000 tons. Therefore, we can easily import an additional 385,000 tons of the fuel,» Salimgereev said.

He noted that because the refinery plant in Pavlodar...

In 2022 the town of Balkhash will receive $35 million for the purpose of tourism development, according to Zhenis Kasymbek, akim (governor) of the Karaganda region.

With that money transfer, the government is going to cover the costs of new utility system construction in the settlement of Torangalyk and Chubar-Tubek, which are both located on the shore of Lake Balkhash. Even though both settlements used to be part of a rural area, on July 14, 2021, the government decided to make them administrative parts of the town of Balkhash.

«While the government was preparing a project of the state budget...

According to the preliminary information, eight people have died today in the incident with gunfire in a university in Russian Perm.

As the police reported, the gunfire was opened by 18-year-old Timur Bekmansurov, who was detained by the police. However, some federal officials said that the attacker was shot, RBK reported.

«I’ve been inside the university’s building. I can see a lot of law enforcement officers and I know that four people have been injured,» Natalia Petischeva, the head of the university press service told RBK.

Earlier today a man with a gun sneaked into the university’s campus and opened...

London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has temporarily excluded Kyrgyzaltyn, a state-owned gold mining company in Kyrgyzstan from the Good Delivery List, Interfax news agency reported citing the LBMA.

Given that large banks, which are dominant players in the precious metals market, prefer to make business with producers from the Good Delivery List, Kyrgyzaltyn no longer has full access to that international marketplace.

«With effect from today, 17 September 2021, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC has been suspended from the LBMA Good Delivery List for failing to meet the requirements of the Responsible Sourcing Programme. All production from the refinery will no longer be...

Alp Er Tunga Ersoy has been appointed as the new president of the Almaty International Airport, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange reported.

On September 14, the company’s board decided to discharge Erkal Kadri, a former CEO of the gateway even though in August Almaty International Airport generated about one-fourth of the revenue (EBITDA) that TAV Airports holding got in the first half of the year.

Thanks to its new asset revenue TAV Airports considered the second quarter of 2021 as the best quarter in terms of operational activity since 2019. 

In April 2021 TAV Airports from Turkey and Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund...

Kazakhstan’s authorities are ready to spend about $500 million to upgrade eGov, a national hub for state services online. The largest commercial bank in Russia Sber might receive the lion’s share of that money. Local companies can have in view just one-fifth of the total sum.

The future transition to digitalization platform and Data Driven Government concept has been discussed in Kazakhstan for two weeks. During the Eastern Economic Forum on September 3, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Askar Mamin and CEO of Sber Herman Gref signed a Memorandum on Cooperation in the Area of Digital Transformation of Kazakhstan, which is expected...

Birzhan Kuzhakov, an entrepreneur from Uralsk, West Kazakhstan region told the Kursiv edition how he came up with the idea of entering into business, why he hires disabled people and what he is going to do to get out of the crisis.

Birzhan Kuzhakov, a 50-year-old former police officer, lives in Uralsk where he runs a company called Gibadat. The company produces cabinet furniture, home decoration in ethnic style and medical standing frames for children with Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy.

According to the man, in the days of his youth he used to work as an artist-designer, before later...

As Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev press service reported, the former Vice Minister of Ecology Serikkali Brekeshev has been promoted to the position of Minister of Ecology.

Brekeshev’s candidacy was also approved by Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the parliament.

He was born in 1972 in Pavlodar. His educational background is oil and gas minefield exploration. After graduation from Atyrau Polytechnic Institute, he worked in KazTransGaz national company and Ministry of Oil and Gas.

At the same time, Brekishev’s predecessor Magzum Mirzagaliyev has been appointed to the position of the head of the Ministry of Energy.
 

A 55-year old head of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situation Eugeniy Zinichev lost his life while on duty, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

During the interagency training on possible emergencies in the Arctic zone, the minister tried to save a human’s life, the agency said in a special report. Zinichev and the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Region Alexander Uss were on an inspection of the new firefighting station construction site in Dudinka settlement when the tragic incident occurred.

«The minister and a cameraman both were on the very edge of a cliff. The cameraman slid off...

On September 7 the Georgian parliament approved a decision on amnesty for those who were charged for violating the quarantine regime rules imposed in 2020, the Georgia Online website reports.

The total amount of fines for refusing to wear face masks and breaking quarantine rules and stay-at-home order has reached a sum of $25 million. After the amnesty, more than 245,000 Georgian citizens will be free from criminal and administrative charges and penalties.

The initiative of amnesty for COVID restrictions violations has been offered by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Currently, the wearing of face masks is a mandatory rule...

The largest Russian airline Aeroflot has suspended six pilots from work due to their refusal to get a vaccine. They were all sent on unpaid vacation, the RBC news agency reports, citing the airline representative Mikhail Demin.

Aeroflot employs 2,300 pilots in total.

The suspension was announced on Monday by the Sheremetyevo trade union of flight personnel. After persistent negotiation with the personnel, the company was able to convince 84% of them to get vaccinated.

At the same time, those employees who rejected to do so were suspended from flying and were sent on unpaid vacation even though the Russian...

Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska believes that the consequences of the coup in Guinea will be devastating for the world’s aluminum industry. He’s shared his worries on Twitter. 

According to the mogul, the state coup in the country can bring the aluminum market down.

«This situation can shake up the aluminum market because about 20% of the world’s production of aluminum relies on bauxites from this tiny and poor country,» he said.

On September 5, Guinean President Alpha Conde was captured by military forces, which have taken responsibility for the state coup. The rebels’ leader Mamady Doumbouya announced the...

According to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, it’s the right time to see the issue of nuclear power plant construction in Kazakhstan up close. 

While speaking with Eastern Economic Forum participants via video call, Tokayev stated that Kazakhstan needs a nuclear station.

However, before a final decision will have been made, all facets of the issue should be reviewed, and all the interests of citizens and businesses must be taken into account, he added.

The Eastern Economic Forum, which was held on September 2-4 in the Russian city of Vladivostok, is aimed to discuss relations between Russia, its neighbors of Asia Pacific...

Former Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has begged the nation for pardon due to mistakes in realization of the Kumtor gold mining project, according to Interfax news agency.

He’s made a statement on August 8, 2021. 

«My dear fellow citizens, I sincerely beg your pardon for mistakes I made many years ago when I signed an agreement with a Canadian investor on Kumtor. I didn’t control this deal fully and trust my government but now I admit that Canadians got full control over Kumtor; they receive all the benefits with few dividends for Kyrgyzstan. All we have now is a...