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According to Olzhas Baidildinov, author and host of the «Baidildinov. Oil» TV show, Kazakhstan probably wants to increase its share in the North Caspian Operating Company, an international consortium that has run the Kashagan oil field on the Caspian Sea offshore since 2016.

«Five billion dollars in fines is quite a big amount of money. The consortium has already invested $65 billion in the project. They have never stopped investing, so these investments might be even bigger now, about $70 billion. Knowing all this, the government wants them to pay $5 billion in fines. I think...

BAMIN, a subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group and British mining company Anglo American have signed an agreement that guarantees the acquisition of the full export volumes of BAMIN’s Pedra de Ferro mine for 2023. As of today, the Pedro de Ferra mine produces about one million tons of high-quality iron ore a year.

«The signing of this contract builds on previous sales agreements between Anglo American and BAMIN for standalone exports and once again demonstrates BAMIN’s position as a high-quality supplier of iron ore. We look forward to having a successful relationship with Anglo American,» Benedikt...

As of March 1, 2023, the banking sector’s assets in Kazakhstan reached $97.9 billion assets, a 0.1% increase compared with January 2023, according to the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM). A 0.6% increase in the loan portfolio was a key driver for this growth, the regulator said.

High-liquid assets have risen to 31.2% ($30.6 billion). Banks’ equity capital rose in February by 3.9% to $12.4 billion (a 7.4% increase since the beginning of the year). At the same time, the banking sector reported a 0.5% decrease to $85.6 billion in its liabilities (a 2.3% decrease...

Kazakhstan has filed a lawsuit against the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC). The country’s government wants the oil company to pay $5.1 billion in fines for violating environmental legislation, according to Bloomberg, citing the Ministry of Ecology of Kazakhstan.

«The Ministry of Ecology blames NCOC for storage of twice as much sulfur the country’s legislations allow it to store within a production facility,» the news agency reported.

NCOC earlier said that it follows all rules and requirements in Kazakhstan consistently.

The Kashagan oil field is considered one of the largest oil deposits discovered over the...

During a state visit to Almaty, Kazakhstan, Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Committee of the CPC Ma Xingrui brought the idea of launching cooperation between local and Chinese companies to produce tantalum and beryllium, rare metals necessary for many industrial purposes, according to the website of Kazakhstan’s prime minister.

The Chinese official said that China has been pursuing modernization not only in China itself but also abroad, an ambitious plan Xi Jinping proposed several years ago. According to Xingrui, Kazakhstan can also benefit from the Chinese plan of modernization.

There are several key directions in the plan, including...

Members of the parliament supported the candidacy of Alikhan Smailov to be prime minister of the country’s cabinet. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on his official appointment as prime minister.

Earlier this week Smailov was nominated to the office by the political party Amanat. Tokayev supported this decision.

«The Amanat party nominated its candidate and I support this decision. I suggest appointing Alikhan Smailov prime minister once again. As you all know, he is a hardworking and professional person. I think he knows very well what we expect from his cabinet,» the president said to...

Analytics believe that inflation is going to be high over the period from 2023 to 2025. This is a less optimistic outlook compared with the previous one, according to the National Bank.

In a survey conducted by the regulator experts said they expect inflation at 12.2% this year, 8.8% in 2024 and 7.2% in 2025. In February, when inflation reached 21.3% on a year-to-year basis, their forecast was slightly more optimistic: 11.8% in 2023, 8% in 2024 and 7% in 2025.

As a result, the National Bank has highlighted that the base rate increase expectations for 2023 and 2024 have...

KTZ Express, a transportation and logistical company within the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), is working with China Xinjiang Electronic Port to launch a new data sharing platform designed to speed up customs clearance for Kazakhstani and Chinese carriers, the KTZ said in a statement.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, in 2022, the transit of cargo from China via Kazakhstan increased by 13% and reached 9.4 million tons of cargo. In order to prove their intentions, the two countries have agreed to build trade hubs in Urumchi and Almaty. Moreover, a third railway...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has suggested broadcasting important plenary sessions of the national parliament on a state TV channel. He made this statement while giving a speech to the parliament.

He noted that the cabinet is going to be beholden to the parliament. Therefore, ministers have to possess not only professional knowledge but also a set of skills that can let them maintain their interests and opinions in front of the parliament clearly and convincingly.

Nowadays, people have an opportunity to observe all mistakes the cabinet can make and help to correct them, according to Tokayev.

«Today...

The National Bank of Kazakhstan hasn’t changed official limits for withdrawing cash from banks for small businesses, even though several state agencies demanded the regulator to do so, according to the National Entrepreneur Chamber Atameken.

In January 2023, the country’s authorities suggested the National Bank cut the cashing in of money limits by half ($22,348), citing the fight against money laundering. In turn, Atameken wanted the regulator to do the opposite.

On June 1, 2020, Kazakhstan adopted the following cashing-in of money limits for small, medium-sized and large-sized businesses: $44,697, $268,182 and $335,227, respectively.

A company can withdraw more cash...

Huawei Digital Power, a subdivision of Huawei responsible for green power, electrification of transportation and green infrastructure development, is going to assess the possibility of starting production of solar station inverters and electric car battery chargers in Uzbekistan, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy.

The cooperation between the two sides was discussed during a meeting of Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, minister of energy in Uzbekistan and Yao Jing, vice president of Huawei Digital Power for the Middle East and Central Asia, who visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

«During the meeting, the two sides shared their opinion on what they...

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market in Kazakhstan (ARDFM) has amended the microloan issuing rules. Starting from May 15, 2023, microfinance companies will be banned from hiding any details of their loans.

The current rules require microfinance organizations to ensure they have written annual effective rate of return with typestyle of the exactly same size as other rates mentioned in a loan agreement. Starting from May 15, this rule will be applied to all visual information associated with microloan rates.

Moreover, microfinance organizations will be obliged to put the annual effective rate of return on a...

KazTransOil, the national pipeline company in Kazakhstan (KTO), is going to export 125,000 tons of oil through the port of Aktau in April. This oil will then be transported toward the Mediterranean Sea via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC).

«In April 2023, we are planning to export 125,000 tons of oil via the BTC,» the company said in a statement.

The KTO has already exported 10,000 tons of oil from the Tengiz oil field from Aktau to Baku by the President Heydar Aliev oil tanker. By the end of March, an additional 10,000 tons is expected...

Shymbulak, a mountain ski resort near the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan, has been officially recognized as the highest ski run for night skiing in the world, according to Askhat Oralov, minister of culture and sport in Kazakhstan.

As Oralov noted, representative of Guinness World Records Sheida Subashi has registered this record while at the Talgar Pass station 3,200 meters above sea level.

«My congratulations to all people in Almaty and Kazakhstan! There are tons of beautiful places in our country, so many new records will follow in the future, I believe,» he said.

According to...

Konstantin Fedorets, the current CEO who has headed the company since 2018, will leave Rakhat on April 21. This decision was made by the company’s board of directors on March 24, according to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange website.

The board has already chosen Akhmed Akhrarov, former deputy head of Russian Konti-Rus, as the new CEO of Rakhat. He is going to start working on April 21, 2023, according to a document signed by Kirill Shumkin, acting head of LOTTE Rakhat.

Once the changes enter into force, the company board will include three non-residents Akhmed Akhrarov, Park Gyun Youl and Yim...

Standard & Poor’s has confirmed credit ratings for Halyk Bank, Kaspi Bank, Bank CenterCredit, ForteBank, Nurbank and Freedom Bank with a stable outlook, according to the Agency on Regulation and Development of the Financial Market in Kazakhstan (ARDFM).

The credit rating agency also affirmed the rating of OnlineKazFinance, a micro financial organization.

«According to S&P data, in 2022, the country’s banking system was stable and demonstrated a professional approach to the management of assets’ quality during economic cycles,» the regulator said. 

The agency noted that currently, Kazakhstani banks spend less money on reserves for possible...

On March 25, 2023, two-time female chess champion Bibisara Assaubayeva publicly criticized the behavior of grandmaster Zhansaya Abdumalik during the Women’s Grand Prix in New Delhi, India. According to Assaubayeva, Abdumalik decided to leave the tournament, citing a lack of attention from the organizers of the event.

Assaubayeva noted that one person who got annoyed with insignificant things and decided to leave at the last minute put the entire 12-person tournament at risk. «Even though there are many questions for local organizers, the real problem here is Zhansaya. In sports we have to be ready for non-standard situations,» she said.

Mareven Food Holdings, a Vietnamese company specializing in instant noodles, is going to build a food plant in Uzbekistan. This $125 million facility will produce instant noodles, non-alcoholic beverages, dehydrated vegetables and chips, according to the country’s Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade.

The facility in question has been discussed by Minister Laziz Kudratov and Nguen Duong, head of Mareven Food Holdings. The new plant is expected to be built within the free economic zone of Angren in the Tashkent region. Once the project is implemented, it will create at least 800 new jobs.

The two sides also discussed the...

Michael Calvey, American investor and founder of the Baring Vostok fund, which controls a 28.8% share in Kaspi.kz, has left Russia along with his business partner Philippe Delpal, according to Russian media reports.

«Calvey and Delpal have gone to the U.S. and France, respectively, immediately after legal restrictions imposed on them by Russian authorities were repealed,» the Interfax news agency reported, citing a lawyer.

In August 2021, the Meshchansky district court of the city of Moscow placed Calvey and his business partners on a five-year probation. Before that, they all received conditional sentences for their...

The Ministry of Energy is undertaking measures to ensure consumers in Kazakhstan have enough fuel, although some of its regions are reporting shortages.

«In some regions, we see shortages of fuel due to high consumption. Therefore, the ministry is trying to ensure the country has enough fuel,» the agency said in a statement.

Given the importance of the energy industry, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov discussed its development with representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the Samruk-Kazyna holding and KazMunayGas, the national oil company.

According to officials, in the first quarter of 2023, the country produced...

The court of arbitration in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast has seized non-monetary assets belonging to Volkswagen after a request filed by GAZ.

The Russian court agreed to seize the assets of the German auto giant due to a lawsuit filed by GAZ, a Russian car manufacturing company. GAZ insists that VW’s decision to cancel a contract for car assembly in Nizhny Novgorod caused damages of $202.4 million for GAZ.

As a result of the GAZ complaint, the court banned any actions linked to the liquidation or reorganization of Volkswagen Group Russia, VW’s Russian subsidiary. Also, the company can’t change its...

Current Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said that he is ready for the new composition of the cabinet after the parliamentary elections.

He voted at poll #111 and talked to journalists. Smailov noted that the constitution requires the cabinet to step down after the parliamentary elections.

«We are going to resign and will stay in office until the new cabinet is formed. It’s up to the president and the new parliament who is going to be the new prime minister. Of course, my colleagues and I are ready for any scenario,» Smailov stated.

When journalists asked...

Kazakhstan’s automakers produced 19,500 vehicles over January-February 2023, a 36.8% increase over the same period last year, according to the Association of Automobile Business of Kazakhstan (AKAB).

In February alone, the industry produced 10,400 cars worth $285 million.

In terms of the type of vehicles produced within the reported period, the vast majority were passenger vehicles (17,500 or +41.3%), followed by 1,600 trucks (-3.5%), 263 buses (an increase of 2.3 times), 158 trailers and 27 special-purpose machines.

The biggest car maker Allur in Kostanay increased its output in January-February to 10,600 vehicles (+37.2%). Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan in Almaty produced...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed into law 25 amendments to the country’s tax code, according to the press service of Ak Orda.

These amendments cover a special tax regime for retail tax and distressed assets of banks and microfinance organizations. For instance, the new edition of the tax code restores retail tax in Kazakhstan.

«Any business with a staff of fewer than 200 people and revenue lower than $4.6 million a year can apply for a special tax regime. This regime has two different rates depending on whether an individual (4%) or an entity (8%) is...