News

S&P Global Ratings has improved long-term credit ratings for four subsidiaries of Freedom Holding Corp., according to a statement issued by the rating agency.

Ratings for Freedom Finance and Freedom Finance Global (both operating under the Freedom Broker brand), Freedom Bank Kazakhstan (under the Freedom Bank brand) and Freedom Finance Europe have all been upgraded from B to B+ on the international scale and from kzBBB- to kzBBB on the national scale.

S&P analysts emphasized their expectation that Freedom Holding Corp.’s companies will see capitalization growth, driven by a planned moderate pace of balance sheet expansion and strong profits diversified...

According to Azattyk, many individuals born and raised in Central Asia are among the rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad from power. The media outlet analyzed a video clip in which one of the rebels in the Syrian settlement of Deir Semaan spoke Tajik.

The video, shot on Dec. 3, shows a group of armed individuals wearing camouflage near Simeon Monastery, a Christian landmark located 30 kilometers from Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city.

One of the men spoke Tajik, stating that their group had seized the territory from «infidels.» However, it remains unclear which group he was referring to.

An undisclosed source...

On Dec. 12, the value of global depository receipts (GDRs) of Halyk Bank traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) dropped by 5.3%. Analysts from Freedom Broker believe this decline was caused by a dividend gap on Dec. 13.

Halyk Bank is set to pay $0.75 per GDR, which can be converted into 40 common shares. As of Oct. 1, The Bank of New York, a nominal holder for the securities, held 3.1 billion shares, equivalent to 77.4 million GDRs. In other words, holders of Halyk Bank’s GDRs expected to receive $58 million in total dividends. Meanwhile, in September, the...

Kazakhstani AST Petroleum and American BlueSky Energy have agreed to start producing diesel fuel production facilities in Kazakhstan. The fuel will be produced from coal, according to the Telegram channel Energy Monitor, by Nurlan Zhumagulov, the chairman of a public fund with the same name.

According to Zhumagulov, each facility will have a capacity of 20,000 tons of diesel fuel per year. One ton of coal is enough to produce 240 liters of fuel. Once domestic demand is met, the facilities will export fuel to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries.

The production of diesel fuel from coal is known as...

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) plans to introduce a gradual reduction in the minimum price of distressed assets held by banks and microfinance organizations if an initial auction fails. For subsequent trade sessions, the proposal suggests setting the price at no more than 70% of the market value for the second round and no more than 50% for any further attempts. A draft regulation with the aforementioned amendments is open for public comment on the legalacts.egov.kz portal until Dec. 26.

The ARDFM explained that the reduction in the minimum price is designed to address...

Kazakhstan’s lawmakers are working on a draft law that would prohibit the use of state funds to finance foreign athletes. At the same time, the country will prioritize football (soccer) as an Olympic sport, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov announced.

Responding to a parliamentary inquiry from Senator Darkhan Kydyrali, Bektenov stated that members of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament, have developed and approved a draft law on physical culture and sports in the first reading.

«The draft law includes a provision banning the use of state funds to finance athletes who are not citizens of...

The cost of renting an A-class warehouse is expected to rise by 29% in 2025, reaching 5,800 to 6,000 tenge ($11.11 to $11.49) per square meter. This year, rent payments ranged from 5,600 to 5,800 tenge ($10.73 to $11.11) per square meter (VAT and utilities excluded), reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year, according to IBC Real Estate.

At the same time, the amount of new warehouse space commissioned in Kazakhstan during the first 11 months of the year reached 191,000 square meters, nearly doubling last year’s figures. Some forecasts indicate that this figure will rise to 255,000 square...

Kazakhstan is in negotiations with Telegram, TON, Tether, Google, EPAM and other international IT companies about opening their representative offices in Astana. These companies are expected to carry out R&D activities and develop new products there, the press service of the president reported.

The country’s authorities have already selected the venue for these offices which will likely be located within the new international artificial intelligence (AI) center AlemAI, planned to open at the Nur Alem Sphere — a former EXPO 2017 pavilion.

Presenting the new center’s concept to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev also announced that...

For the seventeenth month, Freedom Finance Global has been studying consumer confidence, inflation and devaluation expectations of residents of four Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In November 2024, mixed dynamics of consumer confidence were recorded. Growth was noted in only two countries, and in three countries there was a reversal of two-three-month trends in the index. But in the dynamics of inflationary sentiment, a deterioration is noticeable in almost all countries with sharp changes in indicators. Devaluation expectations in the region have again grown almost everywhere against the backdrop of weakening national currencies.

In November, the...

During a visit to AlemAI International Center, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan instructed the cabinet to explain the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to every Kazakhstani citizen and teach them how to use this technology. As a result, the country’s authorities also plan to expand training programs for specialists in the field of AI. 

«We have taught AI to think, analyze and speak the Kazakh language. This remarkable milestone paves the way for the development of the Kazakh language in the digital environment. It’s now essential to continue this significant effort. The next task is to...

Telemedicine services will be available to residents of rural areas in Kazakhstan by fall 2025. This initiative aims to address the shortage of medical personnel in remote regions, according to Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Healthcare Yerbol Ospanov.

«Currently, residents of remote settlements have to travel 400 to 500 kilometers to district centers and cities to access quality medical care. Telemedicine will enable online consultations — both between patients and doctors and between doctors with varying levels of expertise,» Ospanov said on the sidelines of a panel discussion on the use of Big Data and patient registers...

Freedom Bank Kazakhstan is set to issue $195 million in bonds as part of a new bond program, aiming to place half of the total value in two stages by the end of 2024. The funds raised will be used to finance corporate lending in the real sector of the country’s economy, according to Farhat Sarsekeyev, the bank’s managing director, who announced the plan during Issuer Day at the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

«Since mid-2024, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan has entered the corporate lending market. We currently serve 51,000 corporate clients and have several projects we plan...

The second tour of Kazakhstani Jibek Joly (Silk Way) excursion train is set to launch as early as January 2025. The ticket price is now tied to the U.S. dollar exchange rate. It has also been raised due to the addition of two towns on the route. Tourists will enjoy a journey starting and ending in Almaty, passing through Turkestan, Tashkent, Samarkand and Shymkent.

«Passengers will spend a full day in Turkestan, visiting the Mausoleums of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and Arystan Bab, the Otyrar Museum and other sites. The Tashkent tour includes stops at the Hazrati...

Kazakhstani Nurbank has announced its cooperation with the new Russian money transfer system Kwikpay, according to a statement issued by the bank. The service offers fee-free bi-currency transfers, allowing funds to be sent in one currency and received in another. The partnership comes amidst challenges faced by Zolotaya Korona, a Russian payment system widely used in Kazakhstan.

Nurbank has become the first Kazakhstani credit institution to connect to Kwikpay. The system has recently been expanding its presence in other countries and now enables money transfers to Armenia, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan through intermediaries.

According to the...

In Kazakhstan, over 37,000 prisoners will observe New Year’s Eve as another ordinary day behind bars. Unlike in Europe and the U.S., where New Year’s Eve menus are often prepared for those in custody, Kazakhstan’s prisons do not provide special holiday meals. Kursiv LifeStyle explored how New Year’s Eve is marked in the country’s penal institutions.

For most, New Year’s Eve is a cherished family holiday, filled with festive meals and the hope for a brighter future. However, for those serving jail terms in penal colonies, the occasion is far less celebratory.

According to the Committee...

According to KazTransOil, Ukrainian drone attacks on an oil refinery in Russia’s Bryansk region have not affected the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Kazakhstani oil to Germany.

During the night of Dec. 11, ten Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery in the Bryansk region. Some Telegram channels reported a fire at a loading facility belonging to the pipeline, located in the Sven settlement near Bryansk. However, Kazakhstan’s representatives denied this information.

«The attack was on an oil depot. KazTransOil called Transneft, and according to their information, the drones attacked fuel and lubricant depots, not the oil pipeline...

Freedom Holding Corp. has rolled up its sleeves as it engages in developing Wi-Fi infrastructure in all major cities of Kazakhstan. According to Timur Turlov, the company’s CEO, once the project is completed, it will help ease the pressure on mobile networks in the cities and attract more loyal customers to the holding’s ecosystem.

In 2024, free Wi-Fi by Freedom was introduced alongside the health path (terrenkur) in Almaty. This project became a testing ground for the company as it develops Wi-Fi infrastructure across Kazakhstan.

«We have understood the mistakes we made during the creation of...

The World Bank’s former chief economist lost a bet to Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov over the country’s GDP growth. Japarov had confidently predicted that Kyrgyzstan’s economy would grow by more than 7% in the coming years and he won «a bottle of fine wine,» according to the news outlet Kaktus.media, citing Hugh Riddell, head of the World Bank’s office in Kyrgyzstan. Between January and November 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s GDP grew by an impressive 9%.

On Dec. 10, the World Bank presented the findings of its «Listening to the Kyrgyz Republic» survey to the head of Kyrgyzstan’s cabinet. During the meeting...

Vyacheslav Chikalin, a former vice president of Evrazbank (liquidated in 2010) and a former member of the board of directors of Sol Rusi, was detained in Moscow’s subway. He was on a wanted list for accusations related to embezzlement and fraudulent activities. During his encounter with the police, Chikalin claimed to be homeless and a participant in the war against Ukraine, as reported by the TASS news agency.

«Chikalin has signed a military contract and is currently participating in the SVO (special military operation against Ukraine). He arrived in Moscow to spend his vacation,» a...

Hungary’s Karcag Kincse Museum of Art recently hosted the exhibition «Nomads of Kazakhstan: Past and Present,» attracting over 12,000 visitors and sparking significant interest.

The exhibition showcased more than 200 unique artifacts reflecting Kazakh history and culture.

One of the main highlights was the dombra (a two-stringed plucked musical instrument) belonging to the prominent Kazakh poet and thinker Abai Kunanbaiuly, serving as a symbol of the enduring connection between generations.

Similar exhibitions have previously been held in Turkey, South Korea, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic. This year, the series will conclude with the exhibition «Cultural Heritage of the...

In November, yuan transactions between Kazakhstani banks reached 1.35 billion yuan ($186 million), marking a 133-fold increase compared to October when the transactions amounted to 10.5 million, according to statistics published by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s First Credit Bureau (FCB) was the first to notice these dynamics.

The total trading volume, including transactions involving non-residents, reached 1.45 billion yuan ($199.8 million), with Kazakhstani residents accounting for the majority of trading transactions. The FCB attributed the rapid growth to a low base in the previous month when transaction volumes were minimal. November’s figures marked the second-highest level since the...

Freedom Finance, operating under the Freedom Broker brand, plans to expand into the markets of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the next year, according to Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.

«We plan to allocate 20% to 30% of our [Freedom Holding Corp.] annual revenue for these purposes. Our goal is to expand within the next year,» Turlov said in an interview with the Interfax Kazakhstan news agency.

However, he refused to provide an exact timeline for the move, underlying that it is hard to predict.

Freedom Finance is a professional...

Kazakhstan is going to assess student performance with the help of the Social GPA assessment system, which evaluates students’ social skills and their participation in school and community activities. The Ministry of Education highlighted that this system emphasizes students’ comprehensive development and shouldn’t be confused with the American GPA scale.

«Social GPA is an assessment of students’ participation and achievements in extracurricular and social activities as well as their results in supplementary education. We are introducing the Social GPA grading system to promote the inclusive development of students and to shape essential competencies based on core...

China plans to construct four renewable energy facilities in Kazakhstan, with electricity set to be sold at prices ranging from 21.68 to 28.72 tenge or 4.25 to 5.63 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at the current exchange rate set by the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

«The agreement involves the construction of three wind power plants (1.5 gigawatts, GW) and one solar power plant (0.3 GW), with a total combined capacity of 1.8 GW in the Karaganda, Turkestan and Pavlodar regions,» stated Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov in a background note accompanying the draft law on ratifying the agreement...