News

Kazakhstan’s authorities are going to make it easier for labor collectives to go on strike. They prepared a set of amendments to the national legislation on regulation for workplace conflicts.

According to MP Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, the draft law is going to oblige employers to give room for their employees to negotiate with an employer and public officials before going on strike. It is expected that the move will let workers better understand their right of assembly.

«The decision whether a labor collective should go on strike or not must be made by the majority,» said the deputy.

Another novelty of...

According to Almasadam Satkaliyev, head of the National Welfare Fund Samruk Kazyna, Kazakhstanis have sent 128,700 requests for buying more than 8.8 million shares of KazMunayGas (KMG), a national oil company. The value of this set of shares is estimated at $159 million, the official said at the cabinet’s meeting.

In general, the company offered investors to buy about 30.5 million common stocks for $546.7 million. This means that demand from retail investors accounts for 30% of the entire initial offering.

For comparison, when KazTransOil went on IPO in 2012, there were 34,687 requests from individuals for $126.6 million. In...

The Turkish company Omtis Ortadoğu Makina is going to build a new sugar plant in the Aktobe region, Kazakhstan. The project costs about $550 million, according to the regional administration’s press service.

The memorandum on cooperation was signed by Eraly Tugzhanov, the governor of the Aktobe region and Ibrahim Gultekin, founder of Omtis Ortadoğu Makina, a company well-known for its expertise in sophisticated engineering projects.

«The company is ready to invest $550 million in the plant with a capacity of 330,000 tons of sugar per year. It is expected that 180 jobs will be created,» said the regional administration.

New...

Russia is strongly interested in the creation of a cotton-textile cluster in Uzbekistan, according to Alexey Gruzdev, deputy minister of industry and trade in Russia.

«We are going to go further and put more effort into our cooperation. We are ready to increase our investments in Uzbekistan, including a more active role of Russian companies in creating cotton-textile clusters in this country. Kolobkovsky Textile, a Russian textile producer, is already engaged in such a project. This is the first Russian-Uzbekistani joint project in the field of cotton-textile clusters,» said Gruzdev at the joint session of business councils of Russia and...

TotalEnergies, the largest oil and gas company in France, has sold Total E&P Dunga GmbH, its subsidiary in Kazakhstan for $330 million, according to the press service of Total. The buyer is Oriental Sunrise Corp. Ltd. registered in Kazakhstan.

«On November 28, 2022, TotalEnergies and Oriental Sunrise Corp. Ltd. signed a purchase agreement. The latter bought Total E&P Dunga GmbH for $330 million,» said Total.

Total E&P Dunga GmbH owns a 60% share in the Dunga oil field in Kazakhstan and produces 7,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The other two participants of the project are Oman Oil Company...

French Total Eren is going to assist Kazakhstan in establishing a new up-to-date wind power plant while the other company from France Assystem will facilitate the development of nuclear energy in Kazakhstan. These deals have been sealed by the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna during the official visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Paris this week.

The wind power station with a capacity of one Gigawatt costs $1.9 billion and will be built over 2026-2027 in the Jambyl region.

«This facility will increase the combined capacity of our renewable power sources by half. The entire project is going to be unique...

The National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna is going to borrow money from the National Fund by issuing new obligations. All these funds will be allocated by the holding for strategically important infrastructure projects. To make it possible, the country’s government has even decided to amend the current legislation and expand the list of financial tools the National Fund is allowed to invest in.

These tools include securities issued by Samruk-Kazyna in order to fulfill the order of the president and implement a set of strategic infrastructure projects.

Thus, Samruk-Kazyna has already announced that tariffs in the gas, energy and logistic sectors...

The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan has reduced the size of the base rate from 14% to 13% due to lower inflation and commodity prices, according to an official statement on the regulator’s website.

This is the first time the country has decreased the base rate since May 2019.

The annual inflation in Kyrgyzstan in November reached 14.5%, a slight decrease compared to 15.4% in October. The regulator hopes that this slowdown of inflation processes will continue next year.

The National Bank is going to hold its next meeting over the size of the base rate on January 30, 2023.

Commodity...

Kazakhstan’s authorities have changed their approach to potential investors. The country is now going to provide them with 10-year residence permits, according to Tamara Duysenova, a minister of labor and social protection of the population. The official also noted that the visa threshold for investors is going to be $300,000 as the government has approved a new migration policy concept called Ashyk Kazakhstan 500+.

The new concept says that any investor who meets key requirements can live in Kazakhstan, register a business, own property, hire personnel, and make any kind of financial transactions associated with his business activity.

It is...

Iveta Dance, head of research, development and project management in SANTO told the Kursiv.media that thanks to its R&D center, the company is able not just to keep the leading position in the market, but also facilitate further development of the entire pharmaceutical industry in Kazakhstan.

SANTO is prone to support research and development activities. What does the company’s R&D division look like today?

Indeed, SANTO is not just the largest producer of pharmaceutical products in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, but also a leader in the field of drug research and development. The company’s R&D center is much bigger than...

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are going to ally with each other to stand against threats to the national security and sovereignty of either country. The draft of the agreement has been published and now is available for review.

The draft document says that the agreement reflects the new level of partnership between the two countries and is aimed at providing peace, stability and security in Central Asia.

In case of any external attack on one country, the other is obliged to take everything needed to halt the crisis. Also, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan promise that they won’t participate in any alliance or...

Queen Rania of Jordan

When a picture of Queen Rania in Kazakh national dress went public several years ago, Kazakhstan’s media wrote (not a big surprise) that Her Majesty sparked a furor. To be fair, though, she always draws public attention whether she’s wearing jeans with a white shirt, which is an unusual look for any queen, or virtually traditional Muslim outfits. We are saying «virtually» because Rania made her position apparent many years ago. «There is no coercion in religion. I’ve made a decision not to wear a chador,» she said to a group of Western journalists...

Kazakhstan is going to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 and experts are trying to estimate the potential costs of such a transition. In November, the World Bank (WB) announced its assessment of this green transition in the country’s energy sector at $1.2 trillion.

Trillion for net zero emissions

The WB’s survey shows how the country can reach carbon neutrality and how much it would cost. The key sector of the national economy in Kazakhstan is energy, which accounts for 80% of all emissions in the country, according to the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources. As a...

Uzbekistan is going to double its uranium production to 7,100 tons by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, the country has already allowed its public company Navoiyuran to publish statistical data about uranium reserves and output with no limitations.

So far, the country’s official statistics don’t show any data about the quantity of uranium Uzbekistan had produced and sold. However, the country could have produced 3,500 tons of uranium last year, according to the World Nuclear Association.

All uranium produced in Uzbekistan is exported to big processing companies such as Orano (France), ConverDyn (the U.S.), Cameco (Canada) and CNEIC (China...

Kazakhstani cities with a population of more than one million people will be able to allocate money for the development of infrastructure in the suburban areas. It is expected that the same approach will be employed in smaller towns with a population of 500,000 people.

These proposals are part of the new legislation on the development of agglomerations that has been adopted by the country’s parliament. According to National Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov, big cities and different regions are going to cooperate to find better solutions for joint infrastructure development.

«In the city of Almaty, for example, there are territories...

According to the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR), housing prices grew by 20% over the past ten months in Tashkent.

In October, the secondary housing market in the capital city of Uzbekistan grew by 4.6% compared to 1.7% in September. The average price for housing surged by 19.8% starting from the beginning of the year. Many experts believe the main reason for such growth is a large influx of foreigners. Between January to October, the local housing market showed 9.2% growth over the same period last year.

However, in terms of the entire country, the housing market showed...

Prime Minister Alikhan Smaillov revealed what the cabinet is going to do now that President Kassym-Jomart has been re-elected. The official said that they have seven years to realize what the president has promised to the people of Kazakhstan.

Smailov noted that the cabinet will focus on the de-monopolization of the economy, stimulating the spirit of entrepreneurship and income growth as well as modernization of the educational and healthcare systems.

He also underlined that the president wants the national economy of Kazakhstan, its social sphere and regional politics to go through a deep transformation. All public agencies and bodies have...

Health Minister of Kazakhstan Azhar Giniyat presented the new national project Modernization of Health Care in Rural Areas. The project will require $474.7 million from the state budget, according to the official.

Given that more than 50% of all primary health-care buildings are worn out, this money will help to improve this situation.

«We are cooperating with local authorities and have already prepared documents for 655 buildings for primary healthcare, including 253 first-aid posts, 160 outpatient clinics and 242 rural health posts,» said Giniyat.

Moreover, the government wants to organize 32 new multifunctional district hospitals.

It is expected that the...

According to the preliminary data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kazakhstan, the current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won 6,466,392 votes (81.31%) during the presidential election yesterday November 20.

The column «against all» has been ranked second with 5.8% votes. All other candidates have shown much more modest results: Jiguli Dayrabayev – 3.42%, Karakat Abden – 2.60%, Meyram Kazhyken – 2.53%, Nurlan Auesbayev – 2.22% and Saltanat Tursynbekova – 2.12%.

The CEC noted that polling stations were open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM all over the country. The voter turnout reached 69.44%.

On November 20, Kazakhstan had to choose...

The European Union can benefit from deeper connections with Central Asia given the region’s potential in the sphere of energy, commodities and logistics, according to High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrel.

The official believes that the E.U. needs new transport routes bypassing Russia.

«We must deepen our ties with the region and tap into the vast potential it has to offer, in terms of energy supplies, critical raw materials and new transport corridors that do not depend on Russia (to so-called Middle Corridor or Trans Caspian Corridor),» he wrote in his blog on...

Uzbekistan is expecting its budget deficit to be 4% of the national GDP this year. The country is going to decrease the rate to 3% next year. However, lowering the deficit may prove challenging given rising structural spending pressures and the desire to reduce taxes, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that visited the country.

Inflation remains the most immediate threat to current and future prosperity by squeezing real incomes and undermining macroeconomic stability. Fiscal policy should continue to protect the most vulnerable through targeted support.

«However, other spending may well need to be curtailed further given risks...

The World Bank has improved Kazakhstan’s position in the 2022 GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI), which covers 198 countries, the bank’s press service reported.

The index reflects what countries have done in the area of GovTech: support of the key GovTech systems, improving public services, more active participation of citizens and facilitation for the development of overall digitalization.

In the GTMI 2022 update, Kazakhstan has been promoted to group A, which includes the leading countries in this sphere. Previously, Kazakhstan was in group B, which combines a group of countries focused on the development of the GovTech.

«The index reflects the...

Kazakhstan is going to borrow €345.7 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The Senate has already approved the relevant law.

According to Vice Prime Minister Erulan Zhamaubayev, all this money will be allocated to finance the country’s budget deficit.

«This loan will help us meet our obligations in terms of social and other budget expenditures. The repayment period is 11.5 years including a 2.5-year grace period,» he said to the Senate.

By taking this loan, Kazakhstan is obliged to pay an interest rate of 0.25% from the sum of the loan plus 0.25% of the commission...

McDonald’s is going to temporarily suspend its restaurants from operation in Kazakhstan starting from November 18, according to the press service of Food Solutions KZ, which represents the American food giant in Kazakhstan.

No details have been provided for when restaurants might be re-opened.

Food Solutions KZ has been operating in Kazakhstan for six years. The company runs 24 restaurants under the McDonald’s franchise brand in Almaty, Astana, Aktobe, Kostanay and Karaganda providing jobs for 2,000 Kazakhstanis.

Over six years of operation, the company paid more than $6.5 million in taxes.

However, Kazakhstan’s authorities earlier expressed their concern over the...