News

The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has prepared new rules for microcredits online. They will oblige microfinance organizations (MFOs) to implement two-factor authentication when registering new customers.

According to the new rules (entering into force on January 1, 2024), MFO must ensure that clients enter their accounts through two-factor authentication, including biometric identification. Moreover, a customer will be asked to pass two-factor authentication when a microloan is used for acquiring goods and services from an MFO’s partners.

Given that this industry is full of perpetrators who are looking for a chance to deceive good customers...

The Kazakhstan postal service Kaspost has stopped processing money transfers going through the Russian payment system Unistream, which has been put on the sanctions list. However, an operator of the call center of Nurbank told Kursiv that the bank is still working with the payment system.

What happened? As an operator of Kazpost told the Kursiv edition, the company has suspended processing money transfers via Unistream. The press service of Kazpost confirmed this information.

«Since July 21, 2023, Kazpost JSC has suspended supporting money transfers by Unistream, which has been included on the international sanctions list...

The government of Kazakhstan has decided to postpone testing of the space rocket complex Baiterek designed for medium-lift launch vehicles at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The pause for 2023 to 2025 is due to the current geopolitical situation in the world, according to the protocol on changes to the agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia on the creation of the space rocket complex Baiterek at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan assessed the potential political, legal and financial consequences of the changes to the agreement and highlighted that they are justified.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan has approved amendments to the edict on the state security service (SSS). The agency is no longer in charge of protecting Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

What happened? The SSS is no longer responsible for the protection of Nazarbayev.

The previous version of the document required the agency to protect the president of the country, the first president – the Leader of the Nation – and other high-ranked officials.

The updated edict, which was recently signed by Tokayev, says that the secret service must «protect the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other high-ranked officials.» The...

Over the first six months this year, Kazakhstani automakers assembled 73,100 cars, which is a 40.6% increase over the same period last year, according to a survey by the Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Business (AKAB). In June alone, the output in the automotive sector increased by 29.2% to 14,600 cars year on year.

More generally, over the period from January to June 2023, Kazakhstan produced 66,600 cars (+41.6%), including 4,700 trucks (+21.6%), 1,100 buses (an increase of 1.9 times), 499 trailers, and 188 special vehicles.

Allur, the biggest automaker in Kazakhstan, accounted for the vast majority of this growth. In...

According to the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), its subsidiary the Sokolov-Sarybai Mining Production Association (SSGPO) produced five million tons of iron ore concentrate and steel pellets over the first six months of this year. In 2022, the company produced 6.2 million tons of the product over the same period.

«Due to the current geopolitical situation, ERG has stopped shipping products produced by the SSGPO to the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), which used to be the company’s largest consumer before Western countries introduced sanctions on Russia. As a result, the SSGPO was forced to cut...

The fintech group Kaspi.kz is going to acquire a 40% stake in the Kolesa Group holding, according to the company’s financial report published on the website of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The $88.5 million transaction is expected to be closed in the third or fourth quarter of this year. Kaspi.kz will acquire a 39.76% share from an undisclosed subsidiary of the Baring Vostok fund, which is also one of the key shareholders in Kaspi.kz itself.

Mikhail Lomtadze, head and co-owner of Kaspi.kz, will remain the largest owner of Kolesa Group. Under the upcoming deal, he will give 11% of...

The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan has signed a contract with the Russian energy company Inter RAO about the scheduled supply of energy. The contract guarantees that Kazakhstan can purchase energy from Russia whenever it’s needed.

According to the ministry, the mechanism of centralized purchase and sale of electricity through the Unified Power Purchaser, which has operated in Kazakhstan since July 1, 2023, hasn’t yet prevented bulk customers from applying for more energy than they really use.

«All this data is available when we are forming a schedule for energy generation based on the capacity of...

The Astana International Exchange (AIX) has launched a program for public ESG bonds, which cancels the initial fee for primary listing and admission for bonds issued this year, the AIX said in a statement.

Moreover, the AIX has decided to cut down the annual listing fee for public ESG bonds from the standard $10,000 to $1,000.

«ESG is one of the key areas that AIX strives to develop and wants to be associated with. The new initiative is driven by our intention to enable ESG-focused companies to raise funds they need to invest in projects linked...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine summoned Idris Kadyrkulov, Kyrgyz Ambassador to Ukraine and asked him to explain the information about Kyrgyzstani export of dual-use goods to Russia.

What happened? According to the official website of the Ukrainian MFA, the Kyrgyz diplomat was asked to explain how dual-use goods from Kyrgyzstan had been on their way to Russia.

The ministry highlighted that as a member of the international community Kyrgyzstan should comply with international sanctions.

Moreover, officials in Kyiv said that any re-export by Kyrgyzstan of goods that may be used for military purposes in Russia «will be reviewed...

In the first six months of this year, Kazakhstan Railways increased transit cargo turnover by 39.1% to 27.8 billion ton-kilometers, the company said in a statement. Container transit grew by 26% over the same period.

In the middle of July, during a joint meeting by the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan with exporters, Kazakhstan Railways officials said that over the period from January to June 2023, the amount of cargo going via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) increased 1.8 times as much as last year to 1.3 million tons.

The Kazakhstan Railways’ turnover over the first six months...

The State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) has launched an investigation against several Kyrgyz companies allegedly involved in the illegal supply of drones to Russia.

What happened? The SCNS commented on media reports that the U.S. may want to impose sanctions on Kyrgyzstan «for helping Russia.»

«We can officially confirm that neither the state of Kyrgyzstan nor any state agencies and companies are involved in the violation of anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries. However, the SCNS allows that some private businesses and firms might be involved in the...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan announced a plan to increase cargo traffic through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) to 500,000 containers per year by 2030. He made this statement during the first Central Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Saudi Arabia.

What happened? While delivering a speech at the event, President Tokayev said that the development of the transportation sector and transit opportunities is a very important task. This is why Central Asian counties are trying to diversify routes and develop different infrastructural and logistical projects. Tokayev cited the TITR as a project with huge potential.

«We...

The Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), a subsidiary of the national company Kazatomprom, is negotiating with the Chinese nuclear stations as it wants to increase its exports of fuel assemblies, according to Sergey Bezhetskiy, head of the UMP.

«We can boost the production whenever we want. Concerning fuel assemblies, we have all the necessary equipment that allows us to produce up to 400 tons per year. There is no need to buy something. All we need is to change the work style and work in two shifts. We are constantly negotiating with the Chinese about an increase...

Kazakhstan wants to extend its agreement with Russia related to oil transit to China. The two countries should now update the protocol to the agreement. The draft document of the protocol has already been published by the government in order to get public feedback.

In an explanatory note to the draft, document authorities said that Russian Rosneft on the one hand, and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan on the other hand, have to revise the existing agreement in terms of volume of the transit and price.

“The two parties create necessary conditions for long-term transportation...

According to The Washington Post, the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington D.C. declined to comment on the incident related to the illegal supply of drones from Kyrgyzstan to Russia through the territory of Kazakhstan.

What happened? In May 2023, several Kazakhstani media outlets reported that undisclosed individuals tried to illegally smuggle a batch of drones from Kyrgyzstan to Russia through the territory of Kazakhstan. As a result, Kazakhstani border guards seized 14 Chinese drones worth $13,486 each. Later, the Customs Service explained that the drones were seized because a supplier from Kyrgyzstan had no license for the export of such goods.

Kazakhstan is going to invest about $1.8 billion in 68 different projects related to the upgrading of sewage treatment facilities throughout the country, according to Ilyas Ospanov, deputy minister of industry and infrastructural development.

Plans to upgrade the existing sewage treatment facilities and build new ones were first revealed by Kairbek Uskenbaev, former minister of industry in December 2022. The Ministry of Industry reported that the work was already launched in the towns of Saryagash, Atyrau and Fort-Shenchenko. At the time, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov highlighted that these facilities were 90% worn out.

According to Ospanov, $323 million will be...

The Russian petrochemical company Sibur and the Chinese Sinopec can both get a 30% stake each in the Kazakhstani polyethylene project Silleno, according to Dastan Abdulgafarov, deputy head of KazMunayGas (KMG) for strategy, investments and business development.

As the official noted, KMG is going to have a 40% stake in the project.

«The project’s shares might be distributed as follows: 29.9% for KMG, 10.1% for KMG Petrochem (a subsidiary of KMG), 30% for SIBUR and 30% for Sinopec,» Abdulgafarov said. However, he admitted that this is «only the target structure of the project» and the final...

Kazakhstani producers of grain have temporarily stopped the export of wheat to China due to low prices offered by Chinese importers, according to Zeinolla Abdumanapov, head of the National Association of Exporters KazGrain.

«The Chinese side currently offers $240 per ton. However, Kazakhstani exporters think that this is too low given that there are many factors affecting the actual price. They want at least $245-250 per ton from the Chinese,» he said.

As the official noted, Kazakhstan Railways has cleared this month’s export of 23 railway trains loaded with grain toward China. However, as of...

According to the press service of Air Astana, the company transported 7.4 million passengers last year. This year, it is planning to beef up this number to 8.4 million passengers (+13.4%).

In October 2022, the airline completed the process of redomiciliation, when all its aircraft were removed from the Aruba island jurisdiction and put under the jurisdiction of Ireland, which uses EASA standards. The company’s top management said that the adaption of European jurisdiction is going to raise its safety standards.

In its annual report, the company also said that it is expecting its low-cost FlyArystan division to transport many...

Adani Group, controlled by Gautam Adani, a billionaire from India, examined several sites in Kazakhstan to find a suitable location for its one-gigawatt coal power plant, Samruk Energy reported.

«We are in touch with Adani Group as the company is thinking about the construction of a one-gigawatt coal power plant. We organized the company’s representatives’ visit on several sites, provided them with the necessary information and explained how the Kazakhstani legislation works in terms of return on investments,» Samruk Energy said in a statement.

The Kazakhstani-authorized company is still waiting for Adani Group to articulate...

According to the Association of Kazakhstan Auto Business (AKAB), in June 2023, Kazakhstani car dealers sold 15,900 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as well as 943 trucks and buses. This is a 41.2% increase over June last year.

Over the first six months of the year, there were 83,200 new cars sold, which is 1.6 times more than a year earlier. Over the period from January to June 2023, car sales in Kazakhstan were similar to sales in the period from 2013 to 2014, experts from AKAB said.

The association is now forecasting that at least 150,000 vehicles will...

According to Elizabeth Horst, principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for Pakistan Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the U.S. government is working to reduce Kazakhstan’s dependence on Moscow in the energy sector, as the U.S. and Kazakhstan are long-term partners in this sphere. She made this statement at hearings in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Russian TASS news agency reported.

What happened? While delivering a speech at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Horst said that the US is helping the Central Asian states to cope with the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions and are ready...

Ten Russian athletes have been naturalized in Kazakhstan since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Because of the war, they couldn’t take part in international competitions as Russian citizens.

What happened?

«After analyzing news about the change of nationality, open data about athletes in international tournaments and open registers of sports federations, we counted 204 Russian athletes who have changed or are about to change their nationality,» the Kholod outlet reported.

In terms of «hospitality» for Russian athletes Kazakhstan is ranked sixth. Currently, ten former Russian citizens represent this country on the global...