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According to Alexander Khinshtein, chair of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Technologies and Communications, authorities will decrease YouTube load performance for desktop computers in Russia to 40% by the end of this week and 70% by the end of next week. The move won’t affect mobile internet users, though, the MP wrote on Telegram.

«This forced step is directed against the hosting platform, which wrongfully believes that it can violate our legislation with impunity, not against Russian users,» the MP said.

He also noted that authorities have deliberately chosen the summer season...

According to Vedomosti, a Russian business edition, some Chinese banks are no longer interested in accepting yuan linked with Russia. Some organizations have even started to divide them into «clean» and «dirty» categories if the money is somehow related to Russia.

As economist Andrey Barkhota explained, Chinese banks consider «dirty» any settlements in the ruble and yuan, as well as conversion transactions through sanctioned Russian financial institutions. For instance, one Chinese bank refused to accept yuan acquired at the sanctioned Moscow Exchange (MOEX), according to Maxim Chereshnev, a member of the Business Russia General Council. As the official explained, Chinese...

The Kazakhstani passport has been ranked 64th in the authoritative international ranking of passports by Henley & Partners, making it the strongest passport in Central Asia.

Henley & Partners is a British investment migration consultancy based in London. Its passport index is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest and most accurate travel information database – and includes 199 passports and 227 tourist destinations.

The leader of the 2024 ranking is Singapore, with 195 visa-free destinations. Five countries – France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain – share the second position (192 destinations), while Austria...

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has changed the rules related to the appointment of executive managers in banks, banking holdings and branch offices with foreign capital. The document has also made it easier for foreigners to acquire Kazakhstani banks. The regulation has already been adopted and will enter into force soon, the regulator said on its official website.

On the other hand, any company with foreign executives on its board is now obliged to reveal data on those executives to prove their flawless reputation. This is a new requirement in the country’s legislation.

The...

According to Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek Kazakhstan will introduce new interest-free student loans. During a media briefing, he revealed that the government is launching several initiatives to expand access to higher education. For instance, in late 2024, the country will introduce interest-free student loans.

«Together with several commercial banks and our financial center, we have been working on this issue from a legal point of view. Once this process is completed, and it is already nearing completion, people will be able to take interest-free loans for higher education similar to...

According to Russian RBC, commercial banks in Central Asia are increasingly rejecting Russian companies in banking transactions.

In July 2024, the share of rejected payments through banks in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan reached 30%, says a survey prepared by Russian transportation companies – PEС, Digital VED, GTL and Logita Trade – and reviewed by RBC.

Furthermore, the average deadline for a transaction also grew by 15% compared to June, reaching two weeks. Big business associations in Russia have also confirmed this information to RBC.

Even though banks have not reveal the reason they won’t allow Russian companies to execute their...

Cove Capital, an American company searching for rare-earth elements and rare metals in Kazakhstan, has decided to expand its drilling program in the East Kazakhstan region due to the first promising results, according to Managing Partner Pini Althaus.

KAZ Critical Minerals, a subsidiary of American KAZ Resources (controlled by Cove Capital), has been exploring rare metals at the Gremyachinsky field in the Ulan district of the East Kazakhstan region. Even though Kazakhstani geologists reviewed the field in 2001-2003 to update the national geological map, they didn’t conduct a detailed geological exploration at the time.

«We have...

According to the Ministry of Ecology of Kazakhstan, a group of Chinese scientists has traveled to the Kyzylorda region to visit the Aral Sea area. In collaboration with Kazakhstani specialists, they plan to plant trees throughout the bottom of the former sea.

Scientists from the Xinjiang Institute of Geography and Ecology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences also met with Kazakhstan’s Ecology Minister Yerlan Nyssanbayev.

«During the meeting, the two sides discussed a set of issues related to tree planting on the bottom of the former Aral Sea to mitigate the negative consequences for the regional...

The Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan is developing new mechanisms to improve control over medical services. Authentication using Face ID is one of several tools expected to be deployed. According to the agency, it came up with the idea after an influx of complaints about irrelevant records in patients’ mobile apps.

«More and more patients have recently reported records of medical services they had not received in their mobile apps. This false data not only causes economic damage but undermines the trust of society in the entire healthcare system. It is now obvious that the existing...

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has refused to pardon Karim Massimov, former chair of the National Security Committee (KNB), Informburo.kz reported.

«After reviewing whether it was possible to apply the act of grace to Massimov, the pardon commission sent its recommendation to the president and he has agreed with that,» the media outlet reported.

In late June, the Commission on Pardon Issues Under the President of Kazakhstan recommended that the president reject Massimov’s petition for a pardon. At the time, MP Marat Bashimov, a member of the commission, noted that it was just a recommendation...

The founders of ten startups from Central Asia have gotten the opportunity to study in Silicon Valley under the AlchemistX Accelerator program. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, seven startups are from Kazakhstan.

Among the winning teams from Kazakhstan are the following:

Cybernet.ai is a scientific and research company engaged in AI and big language models. It creates B2B SaaS contact centers based on AI, where bots can’t be distinguished from humans; Parqour cuts capital and operational costs for parking fivefold worldwide with its AI solution that reads license plates, processes mobile payments and provides...

Astana Qazaqstan Team may become Chinese by 2025 now that the cycling team has signed an agreement with XDS Carbon-Tech, a prominent bicycle producer in China. According to some media outlets, the Astana Qazaqstan Team will probably be registered as a Chinese team in WorldTour.

As Cyclingnews pointed out, the Astana Qazaqstan Team finished the 111th edition of Tour de France with quite ambivalent results. On the one hand, the team was last in the team classification. On the other hand, it signed an engagement agreement with XDS Carbon-Tech, which may lead to the inflow of investments necessary to...

According to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), the Ministry of Finance obtained control over 12% of Kazatomprom shares as a result of an off-exchange deal between the National Bank and the state-owned Samruk-Kazyna fund, aiming at purchasing Kazatomprom shares using assets from the National Fund. (The National Bank is a managing entity for the National Fund.)

After the deal, the share controlled by Samruk-Kazyna dropped from 75% to 62.9%, while the sold 12% stake (31.1 million common shares and GDRs) was transferred to the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan.

As authorities explained, the purpose of the deal was to replenish...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $122.2 million in strengthening the power grid in southern Kazakhstan under an agreement with the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC).

The project’s contractors have already begun developing a feasibility study. Once all the documents are approved, they will build two 500-kilowatt overhead power transmission lines that will stretch for 475 kilometers. Additionally, the Shu, Jambyl and Shymkent electrical substations are expected to be upgraded to boost the capacity of the power grid by 75%. This upgrade should eliminate overloading, reduce losses during energy transmission and increase the overall reliability of the...

Kazakhstanis will be able to buy and sell digital assets with the help of payment cards from KazPost. The company has been added to the list of entities allowed to offer these services alongside commercial banks, according to a press release from the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC).

«Using financial products and infrastructural solutions of KazPost, customers will be able to deposit fiat currency [money] into an account and withdraw it to work with digital assets. This year, we’re going to launch the first cooperation program that will let holders of KazPost cards use fiat money...

Member states of the Group of Seven (G7) are ready to invest up to $200 billion in infrastructural projects in Central Asia. According to Helaina Matza, acting special coordinator for the Partnership on Global Infrastructure Investment (PGI), a program of the U.S. Department of State, Kazakhstan is one of the key priorities for projects like these. She made this statement during a meeting with Kazakhstani diplomats.

The core goal of the program is to diversify supply chains to ensure food and energy security in the world.

Under the program, G7 member states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and...

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has updated its data on the financial conditions of Kazakhstani banking conglomerates. In the initial version published on July 17, the agency reported that over the first quarter of the year, Kaspi.kz’s assets declined by 50.2% from $14 billion to $7 billion. In the updated version of the report, Kaspi.kz’s assets were estimated at $14.3 billion as of April 1.

The agency also corrected its data on Bank CenterCredit (BCC). In the first version of the report, BCC was the second-largest banking conglomerate with $13.9 billion, outperforming Kaspi.kz in...

The global outage in Microsoft systems hasn’t affected the services of the Ministry of Digital Development of Kazakhstan. The agency made this statement amid news of technical failures at airports, airlines, banks and even the London Stock Exchange due to the Microsoft outage.

«Due to the global outage of the Microsoft operating system, which affected the operations of airports and IT services in several countries, we can reassure you that not a single outage in the operation of critical infrastructure and public IT services has been reported so far,» the ministry said.

The agency highlighted...

KazMunayGas (KMG, a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna) is ready to deploy production of Jet A-1 jet fuel at one of its three oil refineries in Atyrau, Pavlodar and Shymkent within two weeks, the company told Kursiv.media.

«All three large refineries are ready to produce Jet A-1. By the middle of 2024, Almaty airport is expected to be ready to use Jet A-1. All three oil refineries can start production of Jet A-1 within two weeks when necessary. Jet A-1 will be produced according to the production plan,» the company reported.

All three oil refineries operate under...

According to the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, the National Fund grew by $54.2 million (0.09%) over the first six months of 2024. During this period, the fund received $5.8 billion, including $4.8 billion in tax revenue from the oil industry and $977 million in investment income.

At the same time, the government withdrew $5.7 billion from the National Fund, including $3.8 billion in the form of guaranteed transfers and $1.8 billion in special purpose transfers.

According to the law on the state budget for 2024-2026, guaranteed transfers from the National Fund this year shouldn’t exceed $4.2 billion, which means...

The European Council has approved a proposal by the European Commission to start negotiations with Armenia on the issue of liberalization of the visa regime. The matter will be discussed by the council next week, according to Arman Yeghoyan, chair of the Standing Committee on European Integration of the National Assembly of Armenia.

«Issues of starting visa liberation dialogue with Armenia, as well as providing support to Armenia through the European Peace Instrument have been included in the agenda of the July 22 session of the Council of Foreign Relations of the European Union (Council of...

Beijing Capital Agro, a Chinese food product producer, is going to invest more than $600 million in beef farming in Kazakhstan. This statement followed a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov and executives of Chinese companies CITIC Construction and Beijing Capital Agro.

«Under this project, we are going to create dry feed lots and partner with more than 600 farms and existing dry feed lots as anchor partners. More than 3,500 jobs are expected to be created,» the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

As Saparov explained, in February 2024, the Chinese...

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has revealed its stance regarding the threat of U.S. secondary sanctions toward businesses cooperating with VTB Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of the Russian VTB, sanctioned by the U.S. The agency stated it won’t take any active actions.

On July 3, 2024, the Office for Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a list of sanctioned individuals and entities, warning that cooperation with them bears risk of secondary sanctions. VTB Kazakhstan, the only subsidiary of the sanctioned Russian bank in Kazakhstan, was also on the list.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept this year’s forecast for the economic growth of Kazakhstan unchanged at 3.8% (as in April), while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has improved its forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 3.5%. In 2023, the country’s economy grew by 5.1%. Both institutions reported this in their surveys.

The ADB’s forecast for 2025 has also remained unchanged at 5.3%. According to the Asian Development Outlook for July 2024, Kazakhstan’s economy grew 3.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, driven by the booming construction sector, processing industry and services.

This year, economic growth...