News

On Oct. 15, 2024, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, JSC obtained a banking license in Tajikistan. This information was revealed by CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov.

«Today, a subsidiary of Freedom Kazakhstan has obtained a banking license in Tajikistan! Congratulations to @aidos_zhumagulov_b [Aidos Zhumagulov, member of Freedom Bank’s board] and his team!» Turlov wrote on Instagram.

Freedom Bank announced its plan to enter the Tajikistani market in January 2024. On April 12, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) authorized the bank’s intention to establish a closed joint-stock company in Tajikistan.

According to Svetlana Zhakupova, minister of labor and social protection of Kazakhstan, South Korea has requested the repatriation of approximately 15,000 undocumented Kazakhstani workers. As she noted, this requirement is one of the conditions for signing the employment agreement.

«We have finalized the document and submitted it to South Korea via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for their consideration.  They have set three conditions for the agreement,» said Zhakupova.

According to the official, the conditions are the following:

According to Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baibazarov, Kazakhstan’s economy grew by 4% between January and September 2024, while the country’s GDP has reached 3.2%. The minister revealed these figures during a cabinet meeting

«Thanks to the measures undertaken, we may see that economic growth has been accelerating for the third consecutive month. Growth in the real sector reached 5%, while the service industry grew by 3.8%,» the report stated.

Baibazarov highlighted that this year’s economic growth is entirely driven by the non-resource-based sector, with agriculture and construction showing the most significant growth.

Service sector...

Over the first eight months of 2024, Kazakhstan’s external trade totaled $91.6 billion, representing a 0.6% decline compared to the same period in 2023. However, the country reported a 3.3% increase in exports to $53.5 billion, alongside a 5.6% decrease in imports (down to $38.1 billion), according to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan.

Key recipients of Kazakhstan’s exports are:

Over the past month, Italy’s share in Kazakhstan’s exports increased by 0.7 percentage points...

Kazakhstan will not allocate public funds to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP), confirmed Nurlan Baibazarov, minister of national economy, at a recent government briefing.

«The construction of the NPP will be the largest investment project in our country. We are in the early stages and are considering a priority project financing scheme where the state’s role is limited to creating favorable economic conditions for the project’s successful payback,» Baibazarov stated.

Project financing involves securing a loan that will be repaid through the revenue generated by the project itself. In the case of the NPP...

VEON Group, the parent company of Kazakhstan’s Beeline mobile operator, will relocate its headquarters from Amsterdam to Dubai in a bid to access global talent and expand its investor base in the Gulf region.

The UAE has been home to VEON’s expanding operations since early 2022. The company’s head office will be based at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), making VEON the largest Nasdaq-listed company headquartered in Dubai.

Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON, stated that the decision to relocate reflects the company’s strategic focus on being closer to its key markets. This move will enable the telecom operator to...

Between 2025 and 2026, Kazakhstan will face three simultaneous economic crises — budget, debt and balance of payments crises — according to Kairbek Arystanbekov, head of the Institute for Economic Policy, in an interview with Golos Naroda, a YouTube channel. The expert stressed the severity of this «triple crisis» scenario, warning that the combination of these downturns will significantly impact the economy.

Arystanbekov highlighted the potential budget crisis, citing a projected deficit of $8.4 billion by 2025. As of Aug. 1, 2024, the budget deficit already stood at $5.7 billion and estimates from the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC) indicate...

A Kazakhstani company, Canadian Chicken, has begun constructing a large poultry processing plant in the Kostanay region. The plant will have an annual capacity of 50,000 tons of poultry.

The construction, set to be completed in several stages by 2029, will create 500 new jobs. The project, spanning 300.5 hectares, is valued at $114 million.

According to Canadian Chicken, the new facility will be equipped with technology from leading producers, including Meyn, a Dutch company specializing in poultry processing equipment, Pass Reform, an international manufacturer of high-end incubators, and Big Dutchman, a German company known for its poultry feeding and...

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has gotten rid of its stake (13.1%) in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), as announced by the Kazakhstani platform. MOEX stocks were sold to two Russian entities: Tetis Capital and Balance Asset Management, supervising Nigella and Levkoy closed-end investment funds. Currently, they hold 8.5% and 4.6008% of the shares, respectively.

In the fall of 2022, Balance Asset Management acquired more than 77% of shares of the CSKA Moscow football club from the VEB.RF state corporation. As of Oct. 11, 2024, the founder of Balance Asset Management was claimed to be Vitaly Balanovich, a financier and managing...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction has discovered more than 100 rare metal deposits, including tungsten, molybdenum and lithium, according to a report from Khabar24, a Kazakhstani TV channel. Demand for lithium and other rare metals is expected to double in the coming years, making them increasingly valuable and strategically important.

«The day when rare metals overtake oil is near. Experts predict that global demand for lithium will double in the next two to three years, while cobalt prices are forecasted to rise by 70%. This growing appetite for these critical minerals has led many to...

Telegram will appoint an official representative and open an office in Kazakhstan, a move aimed at improving «content oversight on Telegram,» according to Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s minister of digital development.

Madiyev has recently met with officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and representatives from Meta and Apple to discuss issues like data security, combating fake accounts and user protection.

«We are working closely with Telegram to swiftly remove unauthorized content and block harmful channels. Under our legislation, internet platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp and TikTok are now required to have a local representative in Kazakhstan. An...

Kazakhstan’s cabinet has approved a roadmap for the petrochemical industry, developed by the Ministry of Energy. The plan aims to boost the sector’s output to 1.8 million tons by 2030, a fivefold increase compared to the 2023 level.

«The Ministry of Energy has drafted a roadmap for the oil and gas chemical industry covering 2024 to 2030. This roadmap outlines measures ranging from securing raw materials to producing finished products. Its primary goal is to advance the petrochemical industry and facilitate project implementation within this sector. The aim is to boost petrochemical production from 357,800 tons...

The government has decided to withdraw more funds, equivalent to $2 billion, from the National Fund in addition to the $7.4 billion already scheduled for withdrawal this year. This plan was revealed by Chair of the National Bank Timur Suleimenov.

«The cabinet has requested $4 billion. The target transfer was planned at $3.3 billion, but it is now going to be $7.4 billion. This transfer is outside the fiscal rule perimeter. I mean, a guaranteed transfer is limited by the budget code, whereas a target transfer has no limitations,» Suleimenov said.

Under the budget law...

According to Andrey Romanov, project manager and deputy managing director of Kalamkas-Khazar Operating, LLP (KKO), a joint venture of KazMunayGas (KMG) and Lukoil, Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED), is set to begin in September 2024. The final investment decision is expected to be made by the fourth quarter of 2025, with offshore platform construction starting in 2026 and dredging of the lake bed scheduled for 2027-2028.

The project started in 2023 and will last until 2067, with an expected peak oil production of 4 million tons per year. Capital expenditures for the projects are estimated at $6 billion, while...

Qatar is investing $20 billion in Kazakhstan’s economy. Members of the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, have ratified an agreement between the two countries aimed at establishing a long-term relationship. All in all, nine projects are expected to be implemented, providing jobs for 14,000 people during construction and 3,000 permanent jobs once the projects commence their regular operation, said Senator Shakarim Buktugutov. 

Qatari investors will establish a new communication provider, construct a gas processing plant at the Kashagan Field and complete the second line of the Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent gas pipeline. They will also build a power plant in the...

Investors in the Sax Invest pyramid scheme were scammed out of $18 million after being promised lucrative returns from securities trading and diamond mining operations in Angola.

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has launched an investigation into the scheme, which defrauded more than 3,000 investors between 2018 and 2022.

«The company was presented as an investment fund. However, the promised monthly dividends of 2% to 3% were only paid to participants by pulling in funds from new depositors,» said the ARDFM. «Investors were encouraged to hand over their money, under...

Four universities in Kazakhstan have made it onto the 2025 ranking of the world’s top universities, recently published by Times Higher Education (THE), a leading U.K.-based educational rating agency. These universities are Nazarbaev University (NU), Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), Gumilev Eurasian National University (ENU) and Satbayev University, according to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan.

NU ranked in the overall 501-600 range, rising by several places from its previous standing. The university particularly excelled in the «Education» subject category, where it secured a position in the 251-300 range.

KazNU is in the 1001-1200 range, with notable...

Kazakhstan’s foreign liabilities increased to $259.2 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, a 4% rise year-on-year (YoY). According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, a significant portion of this debt (77.4%) is concentrated in the hands of just 10 countries, with the Netherlands and the U.S. emerging as the major investors.

Quarter-on-quarter, Kazakhstan’s external liabilities grew by 5%. Since the end of last year, the increase has been 1.2% and in the previous five years, the growth has been 18%. This trend shows steady growth without major fluctuations.

As of July 1, the top 10 creditor countries and...

With a fortune of $3.6 billion, Vladimir Kim has become Kazakhstan’s most influential businessman and ranks No. 896 on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people. He has built his wealth through mining and financial investments.

Copper: The new gold

Kim controls 63.5% of KAZ Minerals Ltd., one of Kazakhstan’s largest mining companies. KAZ Minerals operates several major mineral deposits:

Copper has become increasingly valuable due to global demand, driven first by energy transition...

According to Timur Suleimenov, Chair of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has made the principal decision to exit the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), where it holds a 13.1% stake. The National Bank currently controls 46.9% of KASE shares.

«The decision for MOEX to drop its stake in KASE has been made and is supported by our Russian colleagues. I am convinced this is the right and professional decision. As a true partner, MOEX acknowledged that its status as a sanctioned entity isn’t beneficial for KASE,» Suleimenov stated.

He did not provide...

Rolex, a Swiss premium watch manufacturer, has won a lawsuit in the Astana court against a Kazakhstani brand for trademark infringement. The Kazakhstani company had used the “C.” trademark and registered a name similar to Rolex’s well-known watch model, Cosmograph. The court ruled that the trademark registration in Kazakhstan was illegal, upholding the decision of a lower court. Both courts cited Rolex’s longstanding registration of the trademark, which has been in place since 1961, according to a statement from the Astana court.

The Kazakhstani trademark, previously referred to as “Cosmo,” was registered last June and used for watch-related products, although...

Analysts have reported that Kazakhstan’s stock market has been experiencing significant growth despite global challenges. According to Cbonds, a financial market data vendor specializing in global bonds, the increased liquidity and activity in the stock market can be attributed to the easing of monetary policy and support for various reforms. Additionally, international rating agencies such as Moody’s view the country’s prospects positively.

It’s worth noting that the National Bank of Kazakhstan has reduced the base rate five times since last October, providing consistent support for the country’s market growth. Analysts from Cbonds report that this rate reduction has helped lower...

Kazakhstani authorities have accelerated the supply of irrigation water to the Aral Sea, feeding the dying lake with two billion cubic meters between January and October 2024, whereas in June, the body of water got 1.1 billion cubic meters.

According to the country’s cabinet, for the first time in five years, an annual plan for supplying water to the Aral Sea was nearly fulfilled. In previous years, the sea received about 350 million cubic meters of water annually. However, between January and October this year, it received five times as much. In June alone, 1.1 billion cubic meters were supplied...

Over the first nine months of 2024, the total trading volume on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) reached a record high of $922 million, a fourfold increase compared to the same period last year ($220 million). Shares of Solidcore Resources (formerly known as Polymetal) remain the most frequently traded securities on the exchange, AIX stated in response to an inquiry from Kursiv.media.

From January to August 2024, Solidcore reported $370 million in stock trades, compared to $17 million in the previous year. This indicates a growth rate of 21.7 times, as reported by...