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According to Nicolas Blancher, deputy head of the International Monetary Fund department on the Middle East and Central Asia and head of the IMF mission to Kazakhstan, the country’s GDP will grow by 4.8% this year.

«In terms of economic activity, we see that economic growth has been quite steady this year and we are now forecasting that it is going to be at 4.8% this year. This growth is driven by all economic sectors including oil and non-oil industries,» he said during a briefing on preliminary results of the annual review...

Halyk Finance has advised the National Bank of Kazakhstan to take a pause in the cycle of decreasing the base rate. The latest survey published on the company’s website, says that the broker has revised its attitude toward the key indicator of the country’s monetary policy.

According to the company’s analysts, in early November they thought that it would be a good idea to reduce the base rate to 15% by the end of this year due to the assumption that the inflation rate would reach 10% year-on-year in December. In addition, the experts didn’t rule out that the price...

According to Health Minister of Kazakhstan Ms. Azhar Giniyat, Pfizer will open a new regional center in Kazakhstan that will also cover Caucasus, Mongolia and other Central Asian countries.

What happened? Giniyat met with representatives of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to discuss cooperation on contract manufacturing of the Prevnar 20 vaccine. The two sides also discussed the opening of the company’s office in Kazakhstan.

«We know that Pfizer will open a new regional office in our country to cover Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia. We are welcoming the move and we hope that in addition to...

The international rating agency Fitch has affirmed Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook.

«Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ with a Stable Outlook,» the agency said in a statement.

The rating reflects strong fiscal and external balance sheets that have proven resilient to external shocks, and financing flexibility underpinned by accumulated oil revenue savings. Set against these strengths are its very high dependence on commodities, high inflation that partly reflects a less developed macroeconomic policy framework relative to ‘BBB’ peers, and weak governance...

Alina Aldambergen, head of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has talked about what the platform can do if the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), which controls a big stake in KASE, is added to the international sanctions list.

«KASE is very serious when it comes to compliance with sanctions. We would stop doing business with any person on the sanctions list immediately after we came to learn about such a fact. So far, MOEX isn’t on the sanctions list. However, we are examining international requirements and consulting on the issue, so we are going to be ready if...

Kazakhstan is ready to place the ports of Aktau and Kuryk on the Caspian Sea under the management of private companies that will be able to ensure full utilization of their capacities, according to Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev.

«We have two key ports. We are ready to place them under the management of any private company. We even thought about selling these ports under the provision of ship-or-pay. We are ready to place our ports under private management if they ensure full utilization of their capacities,» he said during the Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (Kgir2023).

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Kazakhstanis on the occasion that the country’s population has reached 20 million, according to the press service of the president.

What happened? Kazakhstan’s population has reached 20 million.

«Congratulations to my fellow citizens for this milestone event! Happy family is the foundation of the nation’s prosperity and sustainable growth of the entire country. The government will continue its work on promoting family values, protecting maternity and childhood,» Tokayev wrote on his account on X (formerly known as Twitter).

In September 2023, the country’s population was expected at 19.9 million people. Since...

Timur Turlov, the founder and key shareholder of Freedom Holding, shared his vision on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the financial system can affect the employment rate. During the XI Congress of Financiers of Kazakhstan, he said that humankind shouldn’t be afraid of new technologies because the more technologies are introduced, the more employees would be required. The quality of labor is also expected to increase.

«The more technologies we embrace, the more employees we have. This is a kind of funny situation because we see that our staff is growing while are trying to improve...

Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, has announced the test launch of a stablecoin (a cryptocurrency pegged to a certain fiat currency) secured by the digital tenge which was launched by the National Bank of Kazakhstan yesterday, according to a press release issued by the platform.

The rate of the new stablecoin is pegged to the digital tenge with a ratio of 1:1. According to Binance, it has developed a verification mechanism that allows investors to ensure that the value of the stablecoin is always the same as the value of the digital tenge. In turn, this also...

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, 92 Kazakhstani citizens and members of their families have moved from Gaza to Egypt.

What happened? Today, on November 15, 92 Kazakhstani citizens and members of their families have crossed the Rafah border crossing and moved from Gaza to Egypt.

«After passing through necessary procedures, a column with our citizens hit the road toward the city of Cairo and will arrive there very soon,» the ministry said in a statement.

How long will Kazakhstanis stay in Egypt? The evacuation of Kazakhstanis from Gaza is divided into...

According to the prosecutor’s office of Almaty, almost all branches of banks in the city have violated the rights of disabled people as their buildings haven’t been equipped with entrance ramps and special tellers.

What happened? During a meeting with Almaty prosecutors disabled people complained that almost all commercial banks in the city were out of reach for them due to lack of special amenities.

«Almost none of the commercial banks’ branches in the city meet the requirements for disabled people due to the absence of entrance ramps, mnemonic schemes and special tellers. At the same...

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has announced the launch of the digital tenge (DT). Binur Zhalenov, head of the Kazakhstan Interbank Settlement Center (KISC) told Kursiv how the digital currency is going to work.

«When we were working on the DT we tried to forget about certain technologies and just think about what basic criteria and principles the new payment facility should meet in the context of the digital economy. We believe that payments must be instant. Of course, reliability, accessibility and soundness of funds belonging to regular people and businesses are also key requirements. Digital...

Law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan have opened two new criminal cases against Karim Massimov, ex-chair of the National Security Committee (KNB), who is already in jail for treason. He is currently accused of money laundering and bribe-taking, according to KNB.

What kind of criminal cases were opened? According to MIA Kazinform, there are two new criminal cases against Masimov.

One case relates to the legalization and laundering of money and other possessions obtained illegally (article 218 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan) and huge bribe-taking (article 366).

KNB has already conducted “investigative actions” with Massimov after getting consent from the...

Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has ordered the cabinet to accelerate the preparation process for the construction of a one-gigawatt wind station, a joint project with Saudi Arabia that is expected to start in 2025.

«We have already negotiated the construction of a big wind power station with a capacity of one gigawatt in the Jetisu region. The preparation process is currently underway. Once the final agreement is signed, construction will start. It is expected to happen in 2025. The prime minister has ordered the cabinet to accelerate administrative procedures and negotiate all necessary issues with authorized...

According to National Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov, Kazakhstan’s GDP will grow by 5% this year. The official made this statement during a meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana.

«The minister reported to the president that the national GDP is expected to grow by 5% at the end of 2023. Over the first six months of this year, the amount of foreign direct investments reached $13.3 billion,» the ministry said in a statement.

Annual inflation lowered more than two times from 21.8% in February to 10.8% in October. At the same time, the share of...

According to analysts of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK), the tempo of issuing mortgage loans has dropped from 28.8% to 9.9%, which has a negative impact on customer lending as Kazakhstanis are showing less appetite for loans. Over the period from January to September 2023, the country’s banks issued $33.4 billion worth of household loans.

«As the 2022 financial stability report showed, more than half of those who have taken a mortgage loan also take a customer loan within the next three months,» the analysts said in a survey of the banking sector of...

Freedom Holding Corp. has increased its quarter profit by 4.2 times, according to a report published on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the second quarter of the 2024 fiscal year (from July to September 2023), the company reported $115.5 million in net profit compared to $27.2 million over the same period last year.

Over the reported period, Freedom increased its revenue by 2.4 times to $435.6 million or by 4.3 times to $1.97 per share. The company’s business in Central Asia accounted for $387.2 million in revenue, including $167 million from Freedom Bank...

National Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov has revealed details of the unified comprehensive program for small and medium-sized businesses. As the official noted, the government plans to cut subsidies and provide more guarantees to entrepreneurs instead.

During a meeting with members of the country’s cabinet, Maulen Ashimbayev, speaker of the Senate, the upper house of the national parliament, said that medium-sized businesses are almost stagnated. He cited data showing that medium-sized businesses account for just 6% of the national GDP. This figure hasn’t changed since 2019. Moreover, about a third of the sector participants reported losses in the first half of...

The international rating agency S&P held a conference in Almaty and shared its vision for the future of the banking sector in Kazakhstan. According to Sergey Voronenko, senior analyst in the agency, despite uncertainty credit entities in Kazakhstan are still profitable and are even claiming record-high profit.

«This year is going to be a profitable year in terms of the volume of gains. We are expecting that the return on equity capital here will be about 25% to 30% on average, which is much higher than in other developing economies,» Voronenko said.

In turn, interest...

The vast majority of market participants (65%) interviewed by the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK) expect the National Bank to cut the base rate at its next meeting on November 24. Last month, the regulator said that further easing of the monetary policy would be possible only if annual inflation was lower than 10%. (It was 10.8% in October.)

Representatives of banks, insurance companies, brokerage and analytical organizations were among those who spoke to the AFK. The association wanted to know what short-term and long-term expectations the experts have on the Brent crude oil price, the exchange rate of...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Rosatom, the nuclear company in Russia, is ready to build an advanced nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan that would meet all safety rules.

What happened? Short before his official visit to Astana President Putin shared his vision of Russo-Kazakhstani relations in an interview with the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper. In particular, he talked about the possible construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.

«As we all know, the government of Kazakhstan is weighing the possible construction of a nuclear power plant in its territory. If their decision is positive, the...

Freedom Holding Corp. has rejected the deal with Maxim Group, an American investment group, according to the company’s statement on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website.

«The company and the sellers agreed that the deal arranged in February 2023 can’t be fulfilled by December 31, 2023. In this regard, on October 31, both the company and the sellers decided to terminate the purchase agreement by mutual consent of the parties,» the company said in a statement on the SEC website.

In February 2023, Freedom announced that it would acquire Maxim Group and its...

According to Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev, the country is considering a plan to replace coal stations with small modular reactors as Kazakhstan has joined the U.S. Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Program.

What are the small modular reactors (SMRs)

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, SMRs are nuclear reactors generally 300 megawatts equivalent or less, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production and short construction times.

SMRs are several times smaller than traditional nuclear reactors. Since they are modular, they can be assembled at a plant...

More than $3.2 billion will be allocated for the implementation of the Accessible Internet national project by 2027, according to a resolution signed by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.

How much does the project cost? According to the press service of the prime minister, the vast part of the total investments into the project ($3.2 billion) will be private money ($2.7 billion).

What is the goal of the project? The government wants the entire country’s population to have access to broadband internet with a connection speed of at least 100 megabits per second. The project is expected to be completed within...