News

Even though the regulator softened its monetary policy cutting the base rate to 14.5% in late May, while inflation slowed to 8.4% in June, returns on Kazakhstani government securities (GS) rose by 1.5% to 2% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of the year. According to the National Bank’s Macro & Market Overview for international investors, this increase was largely driven by the need to finance the budget deficit and strong market participation in GS auctions.  

Demand for these securities exceeded supply by 180%, with investors showing the most interest in medium-term bonds, although...

Four new entities joined the Kazenergy association of oil and gas companies in July and August 2024, bringing the total number of members to 68. These new members represent key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, including hydrocarbon extraction, energy and geological engineering, according to a Kazenergy press release.

Among the new members is Kazakhoil Aktobe, a joint venture of KazMunayGas (KMG) and Caspian Investments Resources Ltd, owned by China’s Sinopec. Kazakhoil Aktobe is involved in hydrocarbon production at the Alibekmola and Kozhasai deposits in the Aktobe region. Another new member, KMG Engineering, specializes in developing geological and geophysical databases, as well...

The Ministry of Energy has drafted an order proposing an increase in marginal electricity rates for several generating companies. The draft order has been posted on the regulatory legal acts portal, signaling potential changes ahead. This follows a previous rate increase in January.

Currently, all power companies are divided into 55 groups. Notable entities among them are Ekibastuz GRES-1 and GRES-2, Eurasian Energy Corporation (a part of ERG), power plant operators in Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Ridder, Atyrau, Crystal Management (owned by Timur Kulibayev’s Joint Resources) and the Shulba Hydropower Plant. The Ministry plans to add five more groups to the existing...

According to the press office of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, eight Turkish companies expressed a willingness to invest in the agricultural business of Kazakhstan.

Turkish investors are interested in projects for leguminous crops and cattle hide processing, ice cream production, and agricultural machinery manufacturing.

Businessmen from Turkey occupied in the leguminous plant processing sector intend to produce the goods with high added value — amino acids, including lysine and gluten.

Ice cream producers are looking forward to exporting their products to Russia and China. The Minister of Agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov, informed the investors that...

Kazakhstan’s arbitration claims against the North Caspian Operating Company N.V. (NCOC), the international consortium operating the Kashagan oil field, have increased to $160 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The claims, which recently rose from $150 billion to $160 billion, stem from the Kazakh government’s discovery of alleged corruption in certain deals related to Kashagan. The compensation amount could climb even higher, the news agency reported, citing its sources.

In April 2023, Bloomberg reported that Kazakhstan had initially filed a $13 billion lawsuit against NCOC, later raising the demand to $15 billion. The allegations centered on multinational companies allegedly...

FlyArystan CEO Richard Ledger came to Uralsk to meet Zhazira Musina, the mother of a 12-year-old girl who wasn’t allowed onboard and left alone in the Astana airport.

«The CEO visited Uralsk to apologize and meet in person Zhazira Musina, the mother of Zere Galiyeva, who was left alone at the Astana airport during the KC 7367 flight boarding on July 21, 2024,» the Telegram post says.

Richard Ledger gifted the certificates for free flights across Kazakhstan operated by FlyArystan until the end of 2024 to Zere Galiyeva, her sister, Zaura, and their mother.

The...

The Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan has fined FlyArystan, a low-cost subsidiary of the national air carrier AirAstana, approximately $7,700 for violating passengers’ rights on a delayed Almaty-Astana flight.

According to the Committee, the air carrier did not provide the passengers of the delayed flight with the legally required services. Thus, the passengers were provided with neither accommodation nor transfer to the hotel and back to the airport. As a result, an administrative offense report was filed under Part 2, Article 567 of The Civil Code on Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a fine...

OnlineKazFinance, a microfinance organization (MFO) operating under the Solva brand, has raised $5 million in the first tranche from the global investment fund BlueOrchard. The company will lend these funds to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Kazakhstan.

Before issuing the loan, BlueOrchard conducted due diligence, confirming that Solva fully meets the investment fund’s standards.

Since 2016, more than 83,000 Kazakhstani entrepreneurs have used Solva’s services. Over the past four years, the company has issued business loans totaling $2 billion. Interestingly, more than 70% of the company’s clients are female entrepreneurs. As part of its client-oriented approach, the MFO has been...

Japan is ready to invest $200 million in Kazakhstan’s energy, infrastructure, machinery and food industries via the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), a subsidiary of Baiterek, has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese development institution, according to Kazakh Invest.

The document was signed by Marat Yelibayev, the CEO of DBK, and Hayashi Nobumitsu, the governor of JBIC, during the Central Asia + Japan business forum where 36 other documents related to bilateral cooperation were signed as well. The event organized by Kazakh Invest and the Japan Association for Trade with...

BASS Gold, a Kazakhstani mining company, has obtained a license for extractable resource exploration at eleven new geological blocks near the Ushshoky deposit, on which it has notified the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

The Ministry of Industry granted the license to BASS Gold in July 2024. The total area of the new site is 25.1 km², with estimated gold reserves of 2 to 4 tons. The relevant confirmation will be provided in a report prepared in accordance with KAZRC (Kazakhstan Code for Public Reporting for Solid Mineral Reserves) and JORC (International Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and...

Kazakhstani banks purchased 1.7 billion euros in the over-the-counter market in July, a 98% increase over June, according to the statistics published by the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

The majority of deals, 98.4%, were transactions between Kazakhstani banks, with only €37.1 million of the transactions involving foreign parties.

The banks purchased €17.5 million, which is 63.3% less than in May. June’s indicator turned out to be the smallest this year, while July’s, on the contrary, was the biggest by solid margins.

A drastic increase of yuan purchasing transactions could be noticed. The banks bought 3.9 billion yuan in July...

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, green energy generation increased by 31.1% to 6.6 billion kWh in 2023, accounting for 12.7% of all energy produced if output from major hydropower plants is taken into account or 5.8% hydro power excluded.

Wind turbine-generated energy production showed the most significant increase by 63.3% year-on-year, reaching 3.7 million kWh. Moreover, small-scale hydropower plants reported a 16% increase in output to 949.1 million kWh, compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, solar energy production decreased by 1.5% to 1.9 billion kWh compared to 2022, although it remains the largest segment within...

Russia will not ask the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help regarding the unexpected incursion of Ukrainian military forces into the Kursk region of Russia, according to Gazeta.ru, citing Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

«No, we won’t request military assistance. It would be very strange if Russia, the key country in the CSTO, asked someone for help within its own territory. Who are you going to ask for help in the Kursk region? The Kazakhs or the Armenians? Who? Your questions...

The government of Kazakhstan has approved the sale of 100% of the shares of Atyrau International Airport by its current owner, ATMA – Atyrau Airport and Transportation, to QazAir Investments, a company owned by investors from Qatar. The corresponding document has been officially published.

Currently, the airport is controlled by two equal owners: Turkish Mağdenli Yer Hizmetleri ve Taşıma A.Ş. and the Social-Entrepreneurship Corporation of Atyrau. The government’s edict applies to the shares of both owners, meaning that QazAir will obtain 100% of ATMA’s shares. No details on the sum of the deal or its timeline are available.

According to...

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has identified six main regional tasks for Central Asian states for the next several years. Among them are the development of defense, energy and logistical cooperation, the enhancement of economic potential with a focus on resource independence, general principles of water and food security, intensifying ties between youth and writing a general history of the region.

In his article «Renaissance of Central Asia: On the Way to Sustainable Development and Prosperity,» the president noted that interaction between Central Asian countries is crucial for preserving their unique civilization and stabilizing the region as a whole.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled his trip to Kazakhstan due to the threat of a powerful earthquake, The Japan News reported. Kishida was scheduled to participate in a Central Asia-Japan summit in Astana.

The prime minister’s decision followed two earthquakes in southwest Japan on August 8, with magnitudes of 7.1 and 6.9, respectively. Japanese authorities immediately issued a tsunami warning after meteorologists forecast a megaquake along the Nankai Trough. According to media reports, a natural disaster of this scale occurs once every 100 to 150 years.

Kishida was also set to visit Uzbekistan and Mongolia, in addition to...

YouTube is down on devices in Russia. When trying to connect to the website via browser, the «unable to connect» notification appears. A lot of users in the country have experienced difficulties connecting to the service.

The issue persists regardless of the ISP, affecting many users across the country. Five thousand complaints have been recorded by 11:20 GMT+3, according to a Russian outage monitoring service Sboi.rf. Users claim that they are met with an error or an endless loading screen. In some cases, the video hosting asks to check the Internet connection, although it is completely fine.

The issues may...

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and its subsidiary, KASE Clearing Center, have officially joined Tabadul Digital Exchange Hub. From now on Kazakhstani companies are able to raise funds from the UAE and other Gulf countries via Tabadul, a digital platform launched by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in July 2022. KASE is now the sixth member of the digital exchange hub. 

Tabadul allows Arab and Kazakhstani enterprises bilateral cross-trading to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two exchanges. KASE and ADX cooperation includes optimizing trade mechanisms by making both parties’ securities available for cross trading. As a result, foreign...

CEO of KazMunayGas (KMG) Askhat Khassenov and CEO of LanzaJet Jimmy Samartzis have signed a memorandum of cooperation, agreeing to launch the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstani oil company reported.

According to Khassenov, KMG is pursuing a 15% reduction of its carbon footprint by 2031 (compared to the 2019 rate). Within this strategy, the development of the biofuel market in Kazakhstan is an important step toward carbon neutrality.

«The global demand for SAF is growing. As a company, we are considering the launch of SAF production in Kazakhstan,» Khassenov said.

In turn, Samartzis stated that...

The Ministry of Ecology of Kazakhstan is going to collaborate with Israeli companies to simulate emergencies such as floods and wildfires.

During a meeting with representatives of several Israeli companies working in the sphere of sustainable development, Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan Nurlan Kurmalayev presented the Kazakhstani project of emergency prediction.

«We are ready to consider any offer from Israeli companies specializing in digital technologies, hydrometeorology and environment-related solutions to develop an IT system for simulating emergencies like floods and wildfires,» Kurmalayev said.

In turn, Israeli businessmen shared their experience of operating in the CIS. The...

On the evening of August 7, two more Kazakhstani athletes secured silver medals at the Olympic Games in Paris: boxer Nurbek Oralbay and wrestler Demeu Zhadrayev, as reported by the National Olympic Committee (NOC).

According to the NOC, Oralbay competed against Oleksandr Khyzhniak from Ukraine. Khyzhniak won the first round with a score of 3 to 2. The second round saw the same result for Oralbay. In the third round, the Ukrainian boxer triumphed with a score of 5 to 0, winning by the judges’ split decision. Both athletes fought in the 80-kilogram weight category.

Demeu Zhadrayev reached the final...

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...