News

Kazakhstan announced a halt to grain trade with China after the Chinese partners introduced new regulations on imports. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan sees this as a reason for a drop in the price of wheat.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, grain export contracts lost $20 within a week, possibly because of a heavy yield. Referring to the Bureau of National Statistics, there were 13.1 million hectares of wheat sown, and 264,100 hectares of fall wheat are left as of July 2024.

As of July, a kilogram of wheat costs $0.26 ($215.81 per ton). The...

The Kazakhstan Central Securities Depository (KCSD) is going to get rid of Russian securities it holds as a nominee holder by transferring them to Russian jurisdiction. In order to execute this task the KCSD will set up accounts in subsidiaries of Western banks in Russia. The KCSD Board of Directors made this decision late June, according to FrankMedia, a Russian media outlet, citing the depository’s website.

Since 2022, Russian brokers and managing companies had been transferring Russian securities to the KSCD for nominee holding. Now, the KCSD wants these securities to be kept in Russia. According to some media...

Since the initial public offering (IPO), Air Astana shares have lost nearly 30% of their value (from $2.49 to $1.74). However, analysts and the National Bank of Kazakhstan recommend buying the stock, forecasting a potential price increase of up to 50%. During an interview with Kursiv, CEO of the airline Peter Forster expressed hope that the stock price of the company would align with its strong performance.

As Foster noted, the current stock price does not reflect the airline’s performance, which has been very strong, as confirmed by both local and foreign analysts.

«This is an airline that...

According to Bagdat Musin, CEO of Kazakhtelecom, the communication operator and Telegram have agreed to exchange traffic directly without using transit operators. Musin believes that this move will allow Kazakhstanis to share information on Telegram more quickly.

The official revealed that he met with Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, and negotiated with him to facilitate direct traffic exchange without intermediate operators.

«My colleagues have completed the necessary work in conjunction with Telegram specialists and have established a direct physical connection with Telegram’s network to accelerate data exchange without intermediate operators. We currently receive 19 gigabits per second...

Shares of the Kaspi.kz fintech group are traded on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) 8.9% higher than American depository shares (ADSs) from the same issuer on Nasdaq, according to the latest survey by Freedom Broker. The company’s analysts believe that the ADS value may jump by 7.5% to 7.8% shortly, equalizing share prices on both platforms.

As of August 7, Kaspi.kz shares were traded on KASE at $133.54 (+3.5% compared to the closing price on August 6). At a preliminary session on Nasdaq, ADSs were traded at $118.49, with the lag between the stocks at 12.8%.

On August 6, the...

In conversation with Kursiv.media, Shin-Line’s Head of Board of Directors, Dmitry Dokin, discussed the plans for cooperation with Saudi Arabian Al-Alameya Group. Shin-Line is to export already-made ice cream, though the Governor’s Office of Almaty region earlier reported on plans for the milk supply for Al-Alameya. 

«We are starting to export ice cream from Almaty to Saudi Arabia this September. If the volume is going to be engaging, we may build a new ice cream factory there in the future,» Dokin noted.

According to him, the company is currently localizing the package for the Arab markets. Shin-Line...

According to RBC, a Russian business media outlet, many Russian companies have reported new obstacles to doing business with Kazakhstan. However, nearly all Kazakhstani banks told Kursiv.media that they haven’t noticed an increase in rejected transactions for clients from Russia, as long as they aren’t on the sanctions list.

In late July, RBC reported that the share of rejected payments in banks across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan rose to 30%, citing a survey by large Russian transportation companies. Additionally, the average timeline for a transaction increased by roughly 15% or two weeks.

Although banks have never explained the reasons...

Air Astana increased consolidated profit for the first half of 2024 by 12.9%, according to a release on the company’s website. However, the airline’s profit has plunged by 80%.

In the first six months of the year, Air Astana reported $586.2 million in revenue compared to $519.1 million earned the year prior and $4.6 million of net income compared to $23.5 million in the first half-year of 2023. The results include data for both Air Astana and FlyArystan, its low-cost subsidiary that became an independent entity earlier this year.

At the same time, the company outlines that the indicator does...

Kazakhstani gymnast Nariman Kurbanov has won a silver medal in the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. During his performance on the pommel horse, he scored 15.433 points. This is the first medal for Kazakhstan in this sport, according to the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC).

Although Kurbanov is a two-time champion of Asia and a bronze winner in the Asian Games, the games in Paris are his first Olympics. Kurbanov has a pommel horse skill named after him in the Code of Points. He won several tournaments with this skill, which involves changing sides of the pommel horse in...

President of the International Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich, has highly praised the idea of introducing chess into the school curriculum and the way chess players are trained in Kazakhstan. He discussed a comprehensive plan for chess development in the country until 2027 with President of KazChess Timur Turlov.

During their tour, Turlov and Dvorkovich visited Astana School No. 8, where KazChess opened a chess class in April this year as part of the «Chess in Education» project, implemented in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and local authorities. Under the project, at least 20% of primary...

According to Tim Gitzel, CEO of Cameco, a large uranium producer from Canada, uranium production in Kazakhstan could become less attractive once a new calculation and collection methodology for the Mineral Extraction Tax (MET) is introduced in 2025. The prime cost for uranium production in Kazakhstan has long been considered low but may rise after the tax reform. If this happens, Kazatomprom will lose its competitive advantage. Gitzel commented on these changes during his press conference on the Cameco Q2 results.

Currently, the 6% MET rate for uranium production is not differentiated in Kazakhstan. In 2025, the rate is...

Kazatomprom, the national nuclear company in Kazakhstan, and its subsidiaries reported an 18% decline in sales of uranium oxide concentrate, from 9,500 tons to 7,800 tons, in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the company reported a 6% increase in production year-on-year, reaching 10,800 tons.

Even though Kazatomprom’s sales rose by 81% to 4,400 tons in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2023, its sales over the first six months of the year dropped by 22% to 6,700 tons. As for the entire group’s sales, they...

According to the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of Kazakhstan (ARDFM), the share of non-performing loans (NPLs, loans with a past due of 90+ days) issued to businesses by micro-financial organizations (MFOs) and credit societies (CSs) is very low.

«Even though businesses that rely on loans from MFOs and CSs are primarily considered risky, the share of non-performing loans issued to these businesses in the credit portfolios of MFOs and CSs is still very low,» the agency said in a statement.

National Bank statistics show that the share of non-performing business loans in...

According to the Ministry of Energy’s report on its performance from January to June, Kazakhstan produced more energy than consumers needed in the first half of the year. Previously, officials and industry representatives had warned multiple times about the threat of power shortages.

The ministry reported that the country produced 60.4 billion kilowatts per hour while consuming 60.2 billion kilowatts per hour over the first six months of the year.

«This data shows that our grid infrastructure has been operating smoothly,» the agency highlighted.

In 2023, Kazakhstan struggled with power shortages, according to Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev...

According to General Prosecutor of Kazakhstan Berik Assylov, his agency has reclaimed $684.6 million in cash, jewelry and cultural valuables worth $842,625 that were illegally withdrawn from Kazakhstan, as well as 513,000 hectares of land. The official revealed this data in an interview with the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper.

«After the government took control of several facilities, their former owners lost privileged positions in certain economic sectors. It is important to remember that the illegal concentration of economic resources within a narrow circle of individuals is the main obstacle to developing a free economy in our country,» he said.

As Assylov...

Chinese companies Xiaomi and TCL are considering moving their production facilities from Russia to Kazakhstan due to the threat of secondary sanctions from the U.S. and the EU. For example, TCL has recently refused to supply its components to STI Group and Kvant, which are the company’s contractors in Russia. Xiaomi also stopped delivering its electronic components to Kvant back in 2022, causing the TV set production plant in Voronezh to halt its production process, according to the Russian business edition Kommersant, citing sources in Kvant and STI Group.

As the media outlet noted, if the companies move their...

The Applied Economic Research Center (AERC) has updated its forecast for the economic development of Kazakhstan in 2024 based on key macroeconomic indicators. Analysts say that the country’s GDP growth won’t be as high as expected, while inflation will remain at the current level despite a slightly more negative previous prediction.

According to the center’s survey, GDP is set to grow by 4% by the end of December, two percentage points below the previous forecast published in April. The AERC has been worsening its economic outlook for two consecutive quarters due to slowing performance in several industries and a...

The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) has facilitated raising more than $12 billion in investments in Kazakhstan, exceeding the expected target of $10 billion by 2025. These figures were revealed by CEO of the AIFC, Renat Bekturov, during his meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

«Since the start of the AIFC, its participants have paid $242.2 million to the state budget, including $62.7 million over the first six months of the year. This increase in tax payments was driven by the surging number of registered companies and their growing activities,» Bekturov highlighted.

According to the AIFC CEO...

The share of gross value added of the oil and gas sector in Kazakhstan’s GDP was 16.2% in 2023, a 3.3 percentage point (p.p.) decline compared to the prior year (19.5%). At the same time, the oil and gas industry has risen by 8.3% in absolute figures, reaching $42.4 billion, according to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan.

The primary sector’s share (crude oil and natural gas production as well as technical services in the mining industry) has shrunk by 2.2 p.p. year-on-year to 9.1% of the GDP. However, in terms of money, the rate grew by 6.3% compared...

The State Duma of the Russian Federation plans to amend current legislation to extend military service for people who have recently obtained Russian citizenship. The conscription age for migrants will also be increased.

According to the Russian parliament’s press service, a new draft law requiring migrants to register with conscription centers was initiated by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. If the document is adopted, obtaining Russian citizenship will come with mandatory military registration. Moreover, new citizens will be obliged to serve two years instead of the 12 months required for those born in Russia.

Another new measure is the increase...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Alibek Kuantyrov, former minister of national economy, as the new deputy foreign minister, according to the president’s press service.

«Alibek Kuantyrov has been appointed deputy foreign minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the president’s edict,» the press service stated.

Kuantyrov was born in 1983 in Atyrau. He studied finance at Tomsk State University, graduating in 2006. In 2010, he graduated from the University of Michigan, where he studied applied economics.

Over his career, he has worked in the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and...

Air Astana has reached an agreement with Air Lease Corporation to lease seven Airbus A321neo LR aircraft. The delivery of the first aircraft is expected in 2026, the airline said in a statement.

Under the agreement, which was approved by the airline’s board of directors, the carrier will lease the aircraft for an unspecified period and will return them once the contract expires.

As Air Astana noted, it plans to obtain these seven aircraft within the framework of its broader strategy to expand its fleet to 80 planes by the end of 2028. Currently, the company operates 54 aircraft, a...

According to operational statistics from the National Bank, the amount of cross-border money transfers from Kazakhstan reached $147.3 million in June 2024, which is a 16.6% decrease compared to last year. Uzbekistan remains the leading destination, with a 39.3% share. In June, $60.4 million was sent to Uzbekistan, an 8% decrease compared to June 2023.

Among the other popular destinations for money transfers from Kazakhstan are Russia ($41.2 million or a 26.9% share), Turkey ($22.3 million or 14.5%), Georgia ($10.3 million or 6.7%) and Kyrgyzstan ($5.4 million or 3.6%).

The amount of money transfers dropped by 1.1% month-on-month. However, Uzbekistan’s...

Kazakhstani judoka Gusman Kyrgyzbayev won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, bringing the third medal to Kazakhstan’s national team, according to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Kazakhstan.

Kyrgyzbayev made it to the semifinal, where he lost to Willian Lima from Brazil. However, he still had a chance to fight for third place in the 66-kilogram weight category.

In this round, he competed against Strahinja Buncic from Serbia. The Kazakhstani athlete scored a point and won the match.