News

Kazakhstan has been ranked fourth in terms of consumer confidence among Central Asian states, according to a survey by Freedom Finance Global.

In July, the consumer confidence index (CCI) in Kazakhstan reached 101.5 points. About half of those who took part in the survey were positive about their perspective of the country’s economy and their well-being in one year and within five years. Some respondents said that the economy’s condition is going to be «so-so» in one year (17.2%) and five years (11.6%), respectively.

Another group of respondents assessed the future of the economy as almost bad: 9.4% in one...

Kazakhstan wants its official representative to have a seat on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, the country’s authorities won’t seek this goal through the courts. Kazakhstan is going to introduce a resolution about its intention at the organization’s upcoming general conference in Vienna, according to Aybek Smadiyarov, the official spokesperson of the country’s MFA.

What happened? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan stated that it won’t sue the IAEA over the absence of representatives of Kazakhstan on the organization’s board.

«Over the entire history of the IAEA Kazakhstan is the...

Bereke Bank announced that it has restored transactions with cards issued by Mastercard.

As the bank highlighted, the restoration of cooperation with Mastercard took three months, which is two times faster than any similar experience across the globe. As of now, Bereke clients will be able to use Mastercard in Kazakhstan and abroad as usual. They can pay for their online purchases, make money transfers or withdraw cash from any ATMs.

According to Andrey Timchenko, CEO of Bereke Bank, the bank was connected to the Mastercard system as a new member. However, the bank hasn’t provided any timeframes for resuming...

Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has ordered the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development to complete the revision of natural deposits in Kazakhstan by the end of this year.

«The ministries of digital development, industries and energy should complete the comprehensive analysis of all historical data and ensure that as much of this information is uploaded on the online platform as possible. The ministries of industry and energy should complete the revision of all deposits by the end of this year with sanctions against unfair subsoil users,» he said during the cabinet’s...

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Uzbekistan’s long-term foreign currency (LTFC) issuer default rating (IDR) at «BB-» with a stable outlook.

According to the agency’s last report, Uzbekistan’s ratings balance robust external and fiscal buffers, low government debt and a record of high growth relative to “BB” rated peers.

«Uzbekistan’s government is progressing with key structural economic reforms, including privatization of state-owned enterprises and a continued reduction in preferential lending to stimulate competition in the economy. The government plans to revive its energy tariff reform, after putting off implementation in May 2023. Successful implementation will benefit long-term public finances and reduce...

Russian authorities have concluded DNA analysis of the bodies of those who died due to the aircraft crash in the Tver oblast. Evgeniy Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner, was thought to be on board. The Investigative Committee of Russia declared all passengers dead.

What has DNA analysis shown?

«We have finished DNA analyses within the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region. As a result, we have identified all ten individuals, who were supposed to be onboard and killed in the crash,» the agency said in a statement.

Who was the sole woman on the plane? According to...

The National Welfare Fund of Samruk Kazyna has paid $874,248.98 to members of its board of directors in 2022, the holding said in a statement.

«The total number of payments to members of the executive body of the Samruk Kazyna fund was $874,248.98 in 2022,» the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange reported, citing Nazira Nurbayeva, the holding’s executive manager for economic and finance. On August 25, she was appointed the deputy foreign minister.

In 2021, the holding paid its top managers $591,865.48. This means that payments to top executives within the holding increased by 47.%. According to...

The Agency for the Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has confirmed the reliability and steadiness of Freedom Holding Corp. and its subsidiaries in Kazakhstan, including Freedom Broker and Freedom Bank, according to the agency’s website.

As the agency noted, the international holding of Freedom Holding Corp. is represented in Kazakhstan by its 100% subsidiary Freedom Finance (working under the Freedom Broker brand), which in turn owns Freedom Finance Bank, Freedom Finance Insurance and Freedom Finance Life. Freedom Finance has the status of a banking conglomerate and insurance holding.

As of July 1, Freedom Broker controlled assets of...

The prominent American philosopher and political economist Francis Fukuyama has shared his vision on what role Central Asian countries play in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine, whether the world is facing a new conflict and what Kazakhstan can do to become more independent from neighboring countries. Even though Fukuyama predicted prosperity and peace for the entire world in his book The End of History and the Last Man, written after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he’s no longer sure of this prediction.

Fukuyama came to Kazakhstan as a mentor of the Leadership Academy for Development (LAD...

The coal company Shubarkol Komir, which is a subsidiary of the ERG Group controlled by moguls Patokh Chodiev and Alexander Mashkevich, told Kursiv the reason for their big deal with the Russian Sberbank in the middle of August. This deal caused an outcry in the media in Kazakhstan.

«This is not a new deal. This is a restructuring of loans we received earlier; the deal was approved by the regulators. It was carried out in full compliance with the sanction regimes and in accordance with permits/approvals from authorized regulators,» the press service of Shubarkol Komir reported.

The government of Kazakhstan is negotiating with stakeholders of ArcelorMittal about the company’s leaving the country. This information was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Yerulan Zhamaubayev in the corridors of the cabinet, the Vlast edition reported.

What happened? The finance minister told journalists that the political decision about ArcelorMittal leaving the country has already been made.

He refused to clarify whether the government is negotiating with Russian Severstal for the purchase of ArcelorMittal assets.

«You probably heard that the decision was made. Roman Sklyar (the first deputy prime minister) is the one...

Dividends for securities controlled by the government are expected at $414 million next year, which is $61 million less than the authorities expect to gain this year, according to the law on the state budget for 2024–2026.

The document prepared and published for public consideration by the Ministry of Finance says that all these figures were based on data received from authorized agencies, which control public securities. In 2025, the government is expecting dividend payouts of $409 million and $410 million in 2026.

In addition, the government is expecting to gain $22 million from its stakes in different public enterprises...

On August 21, shares of the international holding Freedom Holding Corp. set a new record on NASDAQ. According to the stock exchange data, the share price reached $99.50 at its peak.

When trading closed, the security was valued at $90.39. Thus, the price surge was 3.33% ($2.91) compared to the close of the previous session. So far, the price at $99.50 at its peak is the new record for Freedom Holding shares since it went public in 2019.

The holding shares already hit record rates in the middle of August. It happened against the background of the publication of an...

According to the press service of the president of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan and Vietnam have signed a visa-free regime agreement. As of now, Kazakhstani citizens will be able to stay in Vietnam for 30 days visa-free.

What happened? President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is now in Vietnam on an official visit. During the meeting representatives of the two countries signed a visa-free regime agreement.

What is the agreement about? From here on out Kazakhstani citizens can enter, leave and stay in Vietnam visa-free. The passport of such a citizen should be valid for not less than six months. Similar rules will be applied...

The government of Kazakhstan has suspended the force of the rule that requires quasi-state exporters to sell 30% of their export revenue. The new rule is going to last until January 1, 2025, according to the National Bank.

«Given that the foreign currency market is quite balanced and with the intention to expand the room for quasi-state companies in terms of better managment of their cash flows, the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has suspended the rule on mandatory sale of 30% of foreign currency revenue. The decision will be in force until January...

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC announced the restart of drilling at the Chinarevskoye oil field. The company has already allocated $26 million for the project.

«Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC, an independent oil and gas company engaging in the production, development and exploration of oil and gas in the Pre-Caspian Basin, announces that the Nostrum Board of Directors has approved a limited-scale drilling program for the Chinarevskoye field,» the London Stock Exchange (LSE) said on its website.

The company stopped drilling activities in the field in early 2020 as it entered into the process which...

The trading volume of the Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) stocks during the trading session on NASDAQ yesterday amounted to $111 million.

The closing price of the stock was $87.48 per share. The price grew by 25.24% ($17.63) that day. FRHC securities were traded at $90.40 at its peak, which has been the highest value of the company’s shares since its IPO on NASDAQ in 2019.

The volatility of FRHC shares was driven by the report by Hindenburg Research, well-known for their speculation with stocks, and those who followed their advice in an attempt to profit from the short selling of...

The share price of Freedom Holding Corp., represented in Kazakhstan by Freedom Bank and Freedom Broker, has risen on NASDAQ. This growth reached 16% at its peak, according to the exchange’s data.

At the time of publication, the holding shares were trading at $80.60, which means that the share price rose by $10.73 (15.3%) compared to the previous trading session. As a result, the share price assessment recovered to the level of August 14, one day before Hindenburg Research released its report on the holding.

In this document, Hindenburg accused Freedom Holding Corp. of violating anti-Russian sanctions and falsifying financial...

The attack on Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) shares, which has been going on for the past several days, can lead to a short squeeze for Hindenburg Research and those who followed the company’s advice and opened short positions, according to analysts from Kursiv Research.

A short squeeze is a situation on the stock market when stock prices grow rapidly due to a significant amount of short sellers rushing to cover their positions by buying the stock, driving its price even higher. Such demand and a price surge might be a result of positive news about a company, strong fundamentals, company...

The U.S. has imposed sanctions against three companies from Kazakhstan, Russia and Slovakia, which cooperated with North Korea, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control reported.

What happened? The U.S. has imposed sanctions against the Kazakhstani company Defense Engineering, Russian Verus and Slovakian Versor S.R.O.

Why has the U.S. put these companies on the sanction list? The U.S. government is accusing these companies of illegal attempts to supply weaponry from North Korea to Russia.

What do we know about the top managers of these companies? Ashot Mkrtychev, owner or CEO of these companies, is a Slovakian national. He has been...

The new terminal in the Almaty International Airport is expected to start operating in the summer of 2024. It will serve international flights, while the old terminal will be focused on domestic air travel, the press service of the Almaty city administration reported. 

What happened? Almaty Mayor Yerbolat Dosayev and President of TAV Airports Holding Serkan Kaptan discussed the construction of the passenger terminal in the Almaty International Airport.

«As of today, the main work in the airport is 65% done. The tempo of the construction is speeding up. We are expecting the opening of the...

KEGOC, the national operator of the power grid in Kazakhstan, is expecting an increase in energy consumption in the country. This increase is going to reflect the overall development of the national economy, according to a presentation KEGOC made at the company’s Issuer Day.

KEGOC believes that energy consumption will reach 121 billion kilowatts per hour this year, which is a 7% increase over 113 billion kilowatts per hour in 2022. In 2024, the consumption is expected to reach 125 billion kilowatts per hour. By 2028, this rate is going to reach 142 billion kilowatts per hour. In other words...

According to the ecology department of the Atyrau region, Tengizchevroil received a $6 million fine for pollution.

What happened? The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Atyrau region reported that Tengizchevroil was exceeding emission standards, which caused pollution of the environment.

What measures have authorities undertaken? The ecology department filed a report on administrative violations of Kazakhstan’s Code on Administrative Offences, articles 328 and 337. As a result, the Zhylyoi district court ordered Tengizchevroil to pay a $6 million fine.​

In the Q4 of 2022, Chevron Corp. reported $6.353 billion of net profit, which is a 25.7% increase over the...

Kazakhstan is going to change its calculating method for the size of the export duties on oil. Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin has already approved the new methodology by his order.

So far, the size of duty on oil is calculated based on the average oil price in the global markets over the previous month. If the price is below $25 per barrel, the duty is not collected. For prices in the range of $25 to $30, a duty is $10 per ton. If the price is about $30 to $35, the...