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In the first six months of this year, Kazakhstan Railways increased transit cargo turnover by 39.1% to 27.8 billion ton-kilometers, the company said in a statement. Container transit grew by 26% over the same period.

In the middle of July, during a joint meeting by the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan with exporters, Kazakhstan Railways officials said that over the period from January to June 2023, the amount of cargo going via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) increased 1.8 times as much as last year to 1.3 million tons.

The Kazakhstan Railways’ turnover over the first six months...

The State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) has launched an investigation against several Kyrgyz companies allegedly involved in the illegal supply of drones to Russia.

What happened? The SCNS commented on media reports that the U.S. may want to impose sanctions on Kyrgyzstan «for helping Russia.»

«We can officially confirm that neither the state of Kyrgyzstan nor any state agencies and companies are involved in the violation of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries. However, the SCNS allows that some private businesses and firms might be involved in the...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan announced a plan to increase cargo traffic through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) to 500,000 containers per year by 2030. He made this statement during the first Central Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Saudi Arabia.

What happened? While delivering a speech at the event, President Tokayev said that the development of the transportation sector and transit opportunities is a very important task. This is why Central Asian counties are trying to diversify routes and develop different infrastructural and logistical projects. Tokayev cited the TITR as a project with huge potential.

«We...

The Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), a subsidiary of the national company Kazatomprom, is negotiating with the Chinese nuclear stations as it wants to increase its exports of fuel assemblies, according to Sergey Bezhetskiy, head of the UMP.

«We can boost the production whenever we want. Concerning fuel assemblies, we have all the necessary equipment that allows us to produce up to 400 tons per year. There is no need to buy something. All we need is to change the work style and work in two shifts. We are constantly negotiating with the Chinese about an increase...

Kazakhstan wants to extend its agreement with Russia related to oil transit to China. The two countries should now update the protocol to the agreement. The draft document of the protocol has already been published by the government in order to get public feedback.

In an explanatory note to the draft, document authorities said that Russian Rosneft on the one hand, and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan on the other hand, have to revise the existing agreement in terms of volume of the transit and price.

“The two parties create necessary conditions for long-term transportation...

According to The Washington Post, the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington D.C. declined to comment on the incident related to the illegal supply of drones from Kyrgyzstan to Russia through the territory of Kazakhstan.

What happened? In May 2023, several Kazakhstani media outlets reported that undisclosed individuals tried to illegally smuggle a batch of drones from Kyrgyzstan to Russia through the territory of Kazakhstan. As a result, Kazakhstani border guards seized 14 Chinese drones worth $13,486 each. Later, the Customs Service explained that the drones were seized because a supplier from Kyrgyzstan had no license for the export of such goods.

Kazakhstan is going to invest about $1.8 billion in 68 different projects related to the upgrading of sewage treatment facilities throughout the country, according to Ilyas Ospanov, deputy minister of industry and infrastructural development.

Plans to upgrade the existing sewage treatment facilities and build new ones were first revealed by Kairbek Uskenbaev, former minister of industry in December 2022. The Ministry of Industry reported that the work was already launched in the towns of Saryagash, Atyrau and Fort-Shenchenko. At the time, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov highlighted that these facilities were 90% worn out.

According to Ospanov, $323 million will be...

The Russian petrochemical company Sibur and the Chinese Sinopec can both get a 30% stake each in the Kazakhstani polyethylene project Silleno, according to Dastan Abdulgafarov, deputy head of KazMunayGas (KMG) for strategy, investments and business development.

As the official noted, KMG is going to have a 40% stake in the project.

«The project’s shares might be distributed as follows: 29.9% for KMG, 10.1% for KMG Petrochem (a subsidiary of KMG), 30% for SIBUR and 30% for Sinopec,» Abdulgafarov said. However, he admitted that this is «only the target structure of the project» and the final...

Kazakhstani producers of grain have temporarily stopped the export of wheat to China due to low prices offered by Chinese importers, according to Zeinolla Abdumanapov, head of the National Association of Exporters KazGrain.

«The Chinese side currently offers $240 per ton. However, Kazakhstani exporters think that this is too low given that there are many factors affecting the actual price. They want at least $245-250 per ton from the Chinese,» he said.

As the official noted, Kazakhstan Railways has cleared this month’s export of 23 railway trains loaded with grain toward China. However, as of...

According to the press service of Air Astana, the company transported 7.4 million passengers last year. This year, it is planning to beef up this number to 8.4 million passengers (+13.4%).

In October 2022, the airline completed the process of redomiciliation, when all its aircraft were removed from the Aruba island jurisdiction and put under the jurisdiction of Ireland, which uses EASA standards. The company’s top management said that the adaption of European jurisdiction is going to raise its safety standards.

In its annual report, the company also said that it is expecting its low-cost FlyArystan division to transport many...

Adani Group, controlled by Gautam Adani, a billionaire from India, examined several sites in Kazakhstan to find a suitable location for its one-gigawatt coal power plant, Samruk Energy reported.

«We are in touch with Adani Group as the company is thinking about the construction of a one-gigawatt coal power plant. We organized the company’s representatives’ visit on several sites, provided them with the necessary information and explained how the Kazakhstani legislation works in terms of return on investments,» Samruk Energy said in a statement.

The Kazakhstani-authorized company is still waiting for Adani Group to articulate...

According to the Association of Kazakhstan Auto Business (AKAB), in June 2023, Kazakhstani car dealers sold 15,900 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as well as 943 trucks and buses. This is a 41.2% increase over June last year.

Over the first six months of the year, there were 83,200 new cars sold, which is 1.6 times more than a year earlier. Over the period from January to June 2023, car sales in Kazakhstan were similar to sales in the period from 2013 to 2014, experts from AKAB said.

The association is now forecasting that at least 150,000 vehicles will...

According to Elizabeth Horst, principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for Pakistan Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the U.S. government is working to reduce Kazakhstan’s dependence on Moscow in the energy sector, as the U.S. and Kazakhstan are long-term partners in this sphere. She made this statement at hearings in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Russian TASS news agency reported.

What happened? While delivering a speech at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Horst said that the US is helping the Central Asian states to cope with the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions and are ready...

Ten Russian athletes have been naturalized in Kazakhstan since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Because of the war, they couldn’t take part in international competitions as Russian citizens.

What happened?

«After analyzing news about the change of nationality, open data about athletes in international tournaments and open registers of sports federations, we counted 204 Russian athletes who have changed or are about to change their nationality,» the Kholod outlet reported.

In terms of «hospitality» for Russian athletes Kazakhstan is ranked sixth. Currently, ten former Russian citizens represent this country on the global...

The official inauguration of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan was held in the capital city of Tashkent. The ceremony was held at a joint meeting of the two chambers of the Uzbek parliament Oliy Majlis.

The newly elected president of Uzbekistan has taken an oath on the Quran and the Constitution of Uzbekistan. In his inaugural speech, President Mirziyoyev underlined that, despite the disagreements between different political parties in the country, all of them are united by the interests of the nation.

«For me personally, to be elected President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is a...

Alina Aldambergen, head of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) shared her vision on whether the current situation on the stock market in Kazakhstan is suitable for initial public offering (IPO) by big companies in Kazakhstan. At a press briefing, she told journalists that almost all global markets report positive news and the pent-up demand is still in place all over the world.

«This year we still see this special period of post-pandemic demand (pent-up demand) that is driving the growth of the global economy. Last year, some economies were affected by international sanctions and high inflation...

As the press service of Kazakhstan Railways reported, the amount of cargo traffic through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) over the period from January to June reached 1.3 million tons this year, which is 1.8 times more than last year. This statement was made after a meeting between railway officials from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and Kazakhstani exporters and cargo shippers.

The two sides agreed to put in joint efforts in order to speed up the process of cargo shipment via the TITR, improve the information-sharing process on the location of locomotives and cars and expand seaport infrastructure. They also...

According to Nurlan Zhakupov, head of the Samruk Kazyna holding, there are going to be a lot of obstacles in the way of the nuclear power plant (NPP) project in Kazakhstan. Also, even though there are four potential contractors for the project, the official mentioned just one, the Russian Rosatom.

«There are some issues with the location of an NPP. We have to examine everything carefully and make a final decision on the location because if you are going to build an NPP you want a source of water nearby and no risk for the environment...

According to Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov, over the period from January to June 2023, the growth rate of Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 5%.

«According to the results of the first six months of the year, the growth rate of Kazakhstan’s economy was 5%, including a 4.8% growth of the real sector and a 4.9% increase in the service sector,» the minister said at a cabinet meeting.

Given that from January to May the country’s economic growth rate was at 4.5%, the GDP growth acceleration rate later was 0.5 percentage points.

As...

Tariffs for heat, water and electricity will increase by 10% to 30% on average in Kazakhstan this year. According to Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev, even though this decision is unpopular, people in Kazakhstan will see its benefits in the future.

What purpose will the additional funds be allocated for? The energy minister highlighted that the tariff increase is necessary for launching an overhaul of critical energy facilities. The government has already allocated $824.7 million, including $195.6 million for maintenance of the heating infrastructure and $634.7 million for an overhaul of the water supply and sewing infrastructure. In addition, the...

According to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Kazakhstan has eliminated the last barrier that prevented suppliers from the Eurasian Economic Union from participating in the public procurement of certain goods in Kazakhstan. Previously, only those companies registered in the country were allowed to take part in public procurement.

As the EEC reported on its website, Kazakhstani companies used to be the only businesses eligible for taking part in public procurement because they were able to obtain an industrial certificate from Atameken, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. The chamber issued this certificate only to local companies. In addition, suppliers of electronics...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed the law on online platforms and online advertising that will oblige Kazakhstani bloggers and influencers to pay taxes.

What novelties does the new law introduce? The document introduces the notion of «influencer» and puts legal responsibility on them for the information they spread online. All bloggers with a large audience will be required to label sponsored posts to inform their followers if a post is paid. They also will be obliged to pay taxes for such paid content. Disinformation and fakes will be punished with fines.

What is the penalty for fake news? The spread...

According to the press service of the Ministry for Emergency Situations, Deputy Minister Marat Kuldikov wrote a report on his dismissal from his post at his own request. This was reported to “Kursiv” in the press service of the department.

«The procedure of his official resignation is underway,» the agency said.

What happened? Last month, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the Abay region when there was a massive wildfire. He was angry with the actions of responsible officials and even stopped short a report by Kuldikov by calling it «irrelevant.»

«The minister...

Polymetal International plc, the biggest producer of silver and one of the biggest producers of gold in Russia announced its intention to leave the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The company also said that it has gotten a 75% stake in the copper and gold Baksy project in North Kazakhstan.

«Polymetal International plc is announcing its intention to stop listing on the LSE if shareholders have no objections,» the company said in a statement.

Polymetal’s board of directors believes that the delisting from LSE serves the company’s and its shareholders’ interests. With that in mind, the...