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The Freedom Holding Corp. Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI® (Purchasing Managers’ Index™) remained above the 50.0 no-change mark for the fourteenth consecutive month in April, signaling a sustained period of strengthening business conditions. That said, at 51.2, the latest reading was down from 52.7 in March, marking the lowest point in the current sequence of improvement. The sector’s health strengthened slightly at the start of the second quarter.

According to Yerlan Abdikarimov, head of the Financial Analysis Department at Freedom Finance Global PLC (a 100% subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp.), business activity in the manufacturing sector remains in the optimistic zone, although...

Kazakhstan is seeing a surge in visitors from Gulf countries, with tourists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain traveling more frequently than ever. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, citing data from the National Security Committee’s (KNB) Border Service, the number of Arab tourists rose by 62% in 2024.

In 2023, Oman led the way with 15,000 tourists visiting Kazakhstan. The UAE followed with 14,700 visitors, while more than 9,000 came from Saudi Arabia. Arrivals from Qatar and Bahrain also saw notable increases.

Why is Kazakhstan so popular?

The Ministry of Tourism and...

Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament, the Mazhilis, has adopted in the first reading a draft law on endowment funds, establishing a legal framework for their operation.

According to the draft law, an endowment fund is a non-profit organization that manages assets transferred to it. These assets may include money, securities, real estate and intellectual property contributed by individuals and legal entities.

The profit generated from the investment of assets transferred to such funds is used to finance charitable and social programs related to education, science, healthcare, mass participation sports, social protection and innovation. The core capital of these funds is...

Members of Kazakhstan’s Senate, the upper house of parliament, are urging the government to officially recognize digital professions such as social media marketing (SMM) specialists, targeting experts (also known as targetologists), content creators and other tech-related roles. The move aims to reduce the shadow economy, extend social protections to workers and enable universities to offer formal training programs.

The request was addressed to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and voiced by Senator Aigul Kapbarova.

Kapbarova criticized the country’s official job classification system for excluding many in-demand modern professions. She said that roles such as SMM managers, targetologists, content creators, developer operations...

Kazakh cuisine has been recognized as one of the best in the world, according to the TasteAtlas gastronomic guide. Kazakhstan ranked No. 94 out of 100, with dishes such as shujyq, samsa and beshbarmak earning the highest ratings.

The ranking is based on nearly 500,000 ratings from amateur food lovers and culinary experts. Reviewers evaluated almost 16,000 dishes from across the globe. Kazakh cuisine received an average score of 3.9. In the previous edition, Kazakhstan held the 90th spot with the same rating. No other Central Asian countries made the list this year.

Kazakhstan’s most delicious dishes

Experts highlight...

Kazakhstan’s latest macroeconomic review by analysts at the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC) has amended the tenge exchange rate forecast to reflect its greater devaluation. In 2025, the exchange rate is expected to stand at 512.8 tenge per dollar on average, whereas the previous outlook from January suggested a rate of 489.5 tenge per dollar.

The review states that the forecast has been drawn up considering the downward trend in oil prices. The Brent crude average annual price is anticipated to stand at $74.60 per barrel, compared to the January forecast projecting $81 per barrel.

«The...

Limp Bizkit, one of the most iconic bands in modern alternative rock, will perform their second solo concert in Almaty on Aug. 15, 2025.

The show will take place at Spartak Stadium in Central Recreation Park. Discounted tickets are now available. The band last visited Almaty in November 2015, nearly a decade ago.

Limp Bizkit rose to fame in the late 1990s with a distinctive sound blending nu-metal, rap and hard rock. Known for their high-energy and theatrical live performances, the band has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

Halyk, Kaspi, Forte, Bank CenterCredit (BCC) and Jusan reported the highest net revenue in March, according to data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

Halyk Bank, the largest bank in Kazakhstan by assets, boosted its net revenue in March by $161.3 million to reach $481.6 million. Kaspi ranked second with a $83.6 million increase. Over the first three months of the year, its total revenue reached $249.8 million. Forte came in third with $46.7 million in March and $101.7 million for the first quarter.

BCC posted $45.9 million in net revenue for March, with a quarterly total of $152.8 million...

For years, the U.S. has ranked among the largest investors in Kazakhstan. But in 2023, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the U.S. dropped by nearly 80%. In 2024, the country recorded a net outflow of $870 million in U.S. investment, the first such outflow since data tracking began in 2005, according to Freedom Finance Global analyst Ansar Abuyev.

Data from Kazakhstan’s National Bank shows that over the past five years, the Netherlands has been the leading source of FDI, contributing $30.3 billion. Russia ranks second with $11.7 billion, followed by the U.S. with $10.3 billion.

The Netherlands’ leading role...

Police have detained a suspect in the brutal killing of Bibigul Shpanova, a manager at the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), in Atyrau. Physical evidence was recovered from a 38-year-old man, according to the regional police department.

«A man born in 1987 has been detained on suspicion of murdering a woman born in 1979 in her apartment and has been placed in a temporary detention facility,» the police department said in a statement.

A criminal case has been opened under the murder statute of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code. The investigation is now under the direct oversight...

Members of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, have adopted the draft of the new tax code in its second reading. The document has now been passed to the Senate, the upper chamber, for approval.

The second reading of the draft law was relatively quiet, as no discussion took place this time. MP Berik Beisengaliyev delivered a report on the key concepts of the new tax code, after which MPs voted for its adoption.

The MP also reported that the value-added tax (VAT) rate was lowered from the previously proposed 20% to 16%, while the VAT registration threshold...

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the country wants to use the Pakistani ports of Karachi, Qasim and Gwadar for the transit of its goods to markets across the Persian Gulf, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin has already discussed the potential for close cooperation in this sphere with Minister for Maritime Affairs of Pakistan Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry. During the negotiations, the Kazakhstani side presented its initiatives aimed at linking the transport and logistics infrastructure of the two countries.

Kistafin emphasized that Pakistani ports might become transit hubs not only for Kazakhstan...

Kazakhstan’s young chess players made a strong showing at the Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, bringing home a total of 39 medals —16 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze.

According to the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess), standout performances came from Amirzhan Anetov, Mariya Kholyavko, Alimzhan Zhauynbay and Sultanbeibarys Dumanuly, who each won gold in standard chess. Anetov and Kholyavko also topped their age categories in blitz chess. Meanwhile, Adinur Adilbek and Amaliya Yedresheva each captured gold in both rapid and blitz formats.

Here are Kazakhstan’s gold medalists by category and age group:

Standard chess

Kazakhstan is turning to livestreaming to boost exports to China and expand into new markets across Europe and the Arab world, according to Aitmukhamed Aldazharov, head of QazTrade, Kazakhstan’s trade policy development center. He made the announcement at a recent press conference at the Central Communications Service in Astana.

In November 2024, during the China International Import Expo, QazTrade and Jiangsu Soho Holding Group hosted a livestream on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, and launched a national streaming pavilion featuring Kazakh products.

Viewers from China and other countries could purchase goods in real time. One broadcast generated sales of...

A luxurious mansion confiscated from Karim Massimov, the former head of the National Security Committee (KNB), and valued at $3.1 million, will be transferred to the administration of Astana, according to the Returned Asset Management Company (RAMC), LLP. The property has already been removed from sale and will be used for public needs.

«The managing company has received an official request from the administration of Astana to use the property for the city’s social needs. Given the high social significance of the request and in accordance with national legislation, the mansion was removed from the online auction,» RAMC stated.

Although...

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) can once again offer Russian investors access to 127 foreign stocks. However, the trading will now take place on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, and only qualified investors will be allowed to participate, with all transactions conducted in Russian rubles, according to the RBC news agency.

The breakthrough is credited to the National Clearing Centre (NCC), a subsidiary of MOEX. Thanks to its efforts, investors can once again invest in some of the most popular American stocks — including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, NVIDIA and Visa — as well as 19 ETFs from FinEX.

Kazakhstan-based gold mining company Solidcore Resources plc, formerly Polymetal International plc, reported a 42% year-on-year (YoY) drop in gold production in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, producing 68,000 ounces of gold equivalent, according to performance data published on its website.

The company attributed the decline primarily to delays in shipping gold-bearing concentrate from its Kyzyl deposit in Kazakhstan to the Amursk POX processing facility in Russia. The delays stem from operational challenges at the Amursk plant linked to the impact of international sanctions against Russia.

As a result, the Kyzyl site has accumulated a stockpile of 41,000 ounces of...

About 90% to 99% of entities in Kazakhstan do not meet data protection legislation, according to Ivan Korshunov, chief information security officer (CISO) at Bereke Bank. Speaking at a roundtable titled «Cryptography and Personal Data: Best Practices and Promotion of Local Solutions,» he claimed it is simply impossible for the vast majority of Kazakhstani businesses to meet the requirements set by state agencies.

Korshunov noted that the country’s legislation mandates the use of cryptographic information protection facilities (CIPF) if a business stores or transfers personal data. However, the law doesn’t clearly define what those facilities are. Moreover, personal data is...

Kazakhstan will soon host top executives from Google, marking the company’s first management-level visit to Central Asia, Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced on his Instagram page.

«In a month, we expect a visit from Google’s top management to Kazakhstan; it will be the first visit of this level to Central Asia,» Madiyev wrote.

He added that a delegation from Kazakhstan recently held another meeting with Google partners to discuss the development of digital public services, partnerships in artificial intelligence (AI) and efforts to improve the digital skills and qualifications of civil servants.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources is going to save Lake Balkhash, and it will do that with a plan. This plan has yet to be prepared by water resource specialists from Kazakhstan and France. They are going to analyze the quality of water and create a digital platform to monitor the lake’s water level.

As reported by the agency, Kazakhstani specialists will examine the lake in conjunction with the French Development Agency (AFD, Agence Française de Développement) and the French Geological Survey (BRGM, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières). The French side has already started collecting necessary data.

Since the beginning of the year, 43 incidents involving critical data leaks have been reported in Kazakhstan, according to Iskander Tazhibekov, deputy chair of the Information Security Committee under the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

While admitting that the number of leaks is continually growing, the official did not disclose any details, explaining the surge by the country’s overall digitalization.

In May 2024, a similar point was made by MP Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva.

«In fact, frequent cases of critical data leaks are the result of the ubiquitous digitalization we...

The airline ticket booking service Aviata has rebranded as Freedom Travel, according to a statement on the company’s website.

All core features familiar to users — ticket search, personal accounts and 24/7 customer support — will remain unchanged. Passenger data, booking history, purchased tickets and boarding passes will also be retained.

The Aviata.kz website will continue to operate but will automatically redirect users to the new address. Users will not need to reinstall the mobile app; the update will occur automatically.

In April 2023, Aviata became part of Freedom Holding Corp., enabling the service to integrate with the holding company’s...

AITAS Group, a Kazakhstani agricultural holding established in 1996, plans to build a new sausage factory in Shymkent. The plant, called AMP-Yuzhnyi, will be the largest such facility in Central Asia, according to the company. AITAS has already signed a memorandum of intent with the administration of Shymkent.

The factory will be located in the Bozaryk industrial zone. Once commissioned, it will have the capacity to produce up to 50,000 tons of products per year. Overall, the holding plans to invest about $36.1 million in the project.

«This is a very ambitious project with no peers...

Since July 2024, Kazakhstan’s Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) has acquired about 140,500 shares of Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), while the country’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna purchased nearly 1.35 million shares in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, according to data from the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

As no new shares were issued, the changes reflect a redistribution of ownership stakes.

The exact value of the acquired shares cannot be precisely calculated. However, based on market prices during Q1 2025, Samruk-Kazyna likely spent between $3.8 million and $4 million to increase its stake from 85% to 85.49%.

The...