News

Starting from December 3 Air Astana, a Kazakhstani airline will support direct flights to Sri Lanka twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, according to the company’s press service.

All flights will be served by the Airbus A321 LR airplane. The departure time of flight КС 167 from Almaty is 05:30 a.m.; the plane would arrive in Colombo at 11.30 a.m. Return fight КС168 will depart from Colombo at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at Almaty airport at 07:40 p.m.

The duration of a flight from Almaty to Colombo is 6 hours and 30 minutes, and 6 hours 40 minutes while...

JSC Kaspi.kz is going to acquire 100% of shares of the BTA Bank owned by KenesRakishev, a businessman from Kazakhstan. According to Kaspi, the Ukrainian bank has no branch offices or loan portfolio, and its operations are limited. The only reason for the deal is a banking license the Ukrainian bank owns. 

According to Kaspi’s financial report for the third quarter of 2021, the company is going to repeat its Kazakhstani story of success in Ukraine and wants to offer people there its mobile payment tools and fintech solutions.

«The acquisition won’t affect the financial status of Kaspi.kz. We...

As the city’s mayor’s office reported, all the businesses in the city were warned about the rule.

In order to guarantee that businesses clearly understand what the akimat (local administration) wants and why it requires businesses to obey this rule, Erzhan Baltayev, head of the department for investments and entrepreneurship development of the city of Nur-Sultan met with local small and middle-sized businesses. They’ve discussed a wide range of issues concerning socially significant products.

According to Kazakhstan’s legislation on trade, the retail margin on socially significant goods can’t be higher than 15% and must be written in contracts between market...

According to the Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Business (AKAB) over the first nine months of this year, Kazakhstan has produced 63,559 vehicles of various types. This is a 25.5% increase over the same period last year when 50,660 vehicles were produced.

The Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan reported $1.1 billion of the combined value of all vehicles produced this year in the country. This is 32.6% more than the first half of last year ($883.6 million).

«The vast majority of these vehicles are passenger cars – 55,016 (+30.8%), heavy trucks – 6,971 (32.1%), buses (872), full trailers and...

Kazakhstan is going to support the idea of increasing oil prices further during the upcoming meeting of OPEC+, according to the Interfax news agency citing Magzum Mirzagaliyev, an energy minister in Kazakhstan.

The minister noted that many other oil producers hold the same opinion as Kazakhstan does.

«Given the soaring oil prices as well as the fact that supply and demand are now quite balanced, oil production must be increased. Kazakhstan holds this opinion as many other producers,» said Mirzagaliyev.

In September 2021, OPEC+ member states cut their oil production by 115% while the initial plan of the...

Because of hackers’ attacks, Kazakhstan’s companies have lost serious money, according to Kaspersky Lab.

This year big companies from Kazakhstan and Russia have lost about $900,000 as a result of cyber-incidents. Once perpetrators choose a target, they do some reconnaissance and attack that company with a tool they prepared for this specific target.

The most expensive cyber-attacks for large companies in Kazakhstan and Russia involve incidents with data leakage (possible harm is more than one $1 million), targeted attacks (about $900,000) and attacks on supply chains (more than $700,000). At the same time for middle-sized and small businesses, the highest...

Russian Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Internal Affairs approved amendments to the driving regulations. They are aimed at e-scooters and hoverboards, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russia is going to amend its legislation to add a new category of transport called «personal mobility vehicle» (PMV). By this definition, any transport with one or two wheels powered by an engine to ride just one person is a PMV. 

Once the amendment is approved, owners of such transport will be obliged to keep 25 kilometers per hour maximum speed limit. They will also be able to...

JSC O’zbekiston Temir Yo’llari (Railroads of Uzbekistan) is going to expand its ties with different sea and land ports, according to the company’s press service. To make some networking, the company is also going to participate in the international conference called Caspian Sea Ports and Shipping 2021, which is scheduled for October 19-21 in the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. 

As the company reported, it is interested in partnering with seaports spread across the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Baltic Sea, and South and South-East Asia.

In August 2021 the company signed a memo on cooperation with Aktau and Kuryk ports...

Russia is going to naturalize children from mixed marriages, according to Sergey Lavrov, a ministry of foreign affairs of the country. He took part in the congress of Russian fellow nationals.

«We [Russian authorities] believe that any mixed family has a right to give its child Russian citizenship no matter where they live in Russia or abroad. This is a constitutional right of any Russian citizen,» he said.

According to Konstantin Kosachev, a deputy head of the Federation Council of Russia, once the initiative is approved, any child can get Russian citizenship if a Russian parent is ready...

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...