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Timur Turlov, CEO and majority shareholder of Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC), has commented on the situation with investigations into the holding’s activities by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported by CNBC. As he wrote on Instagram, the only goal of ill-wishers is to put together negative information, while their main weapon is «scandal narrative and blatant manipulation of facts.»

On Friday, October 6, CNBC reported that the SEC’s Boston regional office has been probing FRHC for months, citing «documents the outlet has seen and people familiar with the matter.»

As Turlov explained...

According to Health Minister Azhar Giniyat, several cases of Eris, a subvariant of the Omicron COVID-19 variant were reported in Kazakhstan.

Where have new Omicron subvariants been identified? As the minister said, coronavirus is mutating and circulating throughout Kazakhstan. The last genetic surveys showed that the new COVID-19 variant Eris emerged in the country.

«All variants of Omicron cause mild symptoms. So far, there are 35 people in hospitals. These are elderly with concurrent diseases,» Giniyat said.

Does the country possess enough vaccines? According to the health minister, Kazakhstan possesses enough PCR tests and vaccines...

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has lowered the base rate from 16.5% to 16%. This decision was made today during a meeting on monetary policy. At the same time, the regulator said that the base rate will likely remain the same until the end of this year.

«Due to the current decision and the balance of risks, there is not much room for further lowering of the base rate in 2023. We will be ready to consider further softening of monetary policy if annual inflation decreases to a single-digit figure,» the National Bank said in a...

The business activity index (BAI) has declined for three months in a row in Kazakhstan. Over the period from June to September of 2023 the index dropped by 2.1 points from 51.1 to 49, according to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

The BAI is an indicator that characterizes the state of the economy in the real sector and allows you to explore the dynamics of economic trends as well as critical and turning points of the business cycle. In September, the exchange asked representatives of 519 big, small and medium-sized businesses from all sectors of the economy. When BAI is...

According to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) will be increased to 80 million tons of oil per year by 2024.

«Since 2001, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium has exported more than 860 million tons of Kazakhstani oil. During this period, the capacity of the CPC has increased 2.5 times and reached 67 million tons a year. We are going to boost this rate to 80 million tons by 2024,» he said during a ceremony for the 30th anniversary of the presence of Shell in Kazakhstan.

As Tokayev noted, the country...

According to Almasadam Satkaliyev, minister of energy of Kazakhstan, refineries in Turkmenistan and China are going to obtain licenses from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in order to be able to supply oil products to the EEU member states, including Kazakhstan.

«As far as I know, some refineries are eager to be certified under EAEU standards. Currently, among those potential suppliers are refineries from Turkmenistan and China. This process is still going on, though,» he said at a press conference.

As the official noted, any foreign refinery that wants to enter the EEU market should...

According to Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the government of Kazakhstan is going to establish a new fund to support the domestic defense industry.

Why is a new fund needed? Alikhan Smailov said that as a country, Kazakhstan needs a robust industrial skeleton, citing the address to the nation President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered in September. That is why the government will establish a new defense industry fund to support local producers by the end of this year.

What did President Tokayev say in his address? In early September, Tokayev said that creating defense production of a full cycle locally is «the...

According to Kanat Sharlapayev, minister of industry and construction of Kazakhstan, the change of investor of ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT) isn’t a mandatory obligation for the company if it wants to continue operating in Kazakhstan after the tragedy at the Kazakhstanskaya mine.

What does the ministry want from AMT? If the investor wants to work in Kazakhstan further, the company must obey the laws of the country, Sharlapayev underlined. He also said that the company is going to face the consequences of the official investigation into the deaths of five miners.

«Any change of an investor should...

Polymetal that redomiciled from the island of Jersey to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) has been put on the AIX index called Qazaq Index (QI).

According to the exchange, Polymetal’s stock was added to the index on October 2. This means that currently the index includes the following stocks: Kaspi (15%), Halyk Bank (15%), Kazatomprom (15%), KazMunayGaz (15%), Polymetal (15%), Kcell (6.84%), Kazakhtelecom (6.47%), Central Asia Metal (4.76%), KazTransOil (4.58%) and Bank CenterCredit (2.36%).

In August, the AIX reported 160 transactions for $65,799 with shares of Bank CenterCredit, 570 transactions for $347,531 with shares of Halyk Bank, 235 transactions...

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the price surge slowed down by 11.8% in September in Kazakhstan.

In August, the agency reported inflation of 13.1%. In September, this rate was 0.6% month on month, compared to 0.7% in August. In other words, the monthly price surge slowed down after increasing from 0.5% in June to 0.6% in July and 0.7% in August.

Food prices surged by 11.4% in September (12.4% in August), nonfood products reported a 12.1% increase (13.5% in August), and services by 11.9% (13.9% in August).

In terms of specific products cabbage (+74.3% year-on-year), rice (41.3%), grapes...

According to U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum, although the U.S. is interested in simplifying the visa process for citizens of Kazakhstan, the country doesn’t plan to change the existing rules and legislation in this sphere. The official made this statement during a roundtable with the media in Astana.

What did the ambassador say? As Rosenblum highlighted Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where citizens can obtain a non-immigrant visa valid for up to 10 years. However, the U.S. government should follow a set of rules and laws designed to prevent visa abuse, he added.

During the meeting of business circles of Kazakhstan and Germany President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan said that his government is interested in establishing new companies that can produce goods under the formula «Made in Kazakhstan with German quality.»

What did Tokayev say? Kazakhstan’s president expressed his admiration for the German approach to doing business based on the principles of determination, precision and responsibility.

«Kazakhstan is ready to become a reliable partner in the sphere of natural resources and critical raw materials needed by the German and European industries,» he said.

According to the president, global...

As the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan reported, it has received a letter from the Russian Ministry of Energy with a draft of an amended intergovernmental agreement on the parallel operation of the two countries’ unified energy systems (UES).

«The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation has sent a draft agreement between the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the government of the Russian Federation on measures to ensure parallel operation of the unified energy systems of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation with amendments and additions through the diplomatic channel,» the...

According to Transneft, the company has signed an agreement with KazTransOil on the transit of Kazakh oil through Russia next year.

«After negotiations between Transneft and KazTransOil the two companies have signed an updated memorandum on cooperation and an agreement on rendering services on transportation of Kazakh oil by transit through Russia in 2024,» the company said in a statement.

The negotiations were part of an official visit to Kazakhstan by a delegation of top executives from Transneft. During this visit, the company’s CEO Nikolay Tokarev met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. They discussed a range...

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported that the state budget received $423 million of tax revenues from tourism activities over the first six months of this year.

Data comparison. According to the agency, over the first half of this year, the sphere of tourism brought 10.4% higher tax revenue than the same period last year ($319 million).

Tax revenue was at a record high of $640 million for the entire year of 2022.

What was going on in this industry before the pandemic? According to Moldir Abdualieva, the official representative of the ministry, the current tax revenue from tourism...

According to the CEO of Kazakhstan Electricity Greed Operating Company (KEGOC) Nabi Aitzhanov, all money the company obtains through the secondary public offering (SPO) will be allocated for strengthening the southern zone of the United Power System (UPS).

«In order to strengthen the southern zone of the UPS, we need to build two new 500-kilowatt lines on the Chu-Jambyl-Shymkent route and to upgrade three electrical substations in Chu, Jambyl and Shymkent. This project is expected to start this year and will last until 2027. All funds we receive from the SPO will be allocated for the...

Russia has imposed personalized sanctions against 23 British citizens, including Cressida Hogg, the chair of BAE Systems, a British aerospace company that has a stake in Air Astana, a Kazakhstani national airline, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

What happened? As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia reported, the country decided to expand its list of sanctioned individuals by adding 23 people who represent the political and military establishment, media and science community of the U.K.

Who is on the list? Among the 23 British citizens on the Russian sanction list are Antony Radakin, Chief of the Defense Staff...

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has transferred part of its functions to its subsidiary structure called the KASE Clearing Center. The center will be engaged in clearing and settlement activities and will play the role of central counterparty in all deals.

The KASE Clearing Center has obtained all the necessary licenses from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), including a license for some banking operations, which is a standard practice for clearing centers. In addition, as a central counterparty, the center will act as an intermediary and formal executor for all transactions on KASE, being...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank located in Kazakhstan will be certified once again in 2024, Kazatomprom said in a statement.

«In 2023, the first stage of repeated certification of nuclear fuel was conducted at the LEU Bank. For the first time in the world’s history, such a certification was conducted at full nuclear fuel cylinders. The second stage of repeated certification is expected in 2024,» the company reported.

On September 25, the 67th Regular Sessions of the IAEA General Conference was opened in Vienna, Austria. Each year delegates from...

Yerzhan Yesimkhanov, a Kazakhstani lawyer, wrote on his Instagram that the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan hasn’t paid the French company Conseil Sante for consulting services rendered in 2019. The agency responded that it «wasn’t satisfied with the work done by this company.»

What is the reason for the argument between the Ministry of Health and Conseil Sante? According to a post on Instagram published by Yesimkhanov, the Ministry of Health refuses to pay the French contractor for services rendered several years ago.

«At the end of 2018, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health hired a foreign consultant...

Renat Bekturov, the executive partner of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), the key jurisdiction for the Astana International Exchange (AIX), has revealed details of the process of merging the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and AIX initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

He also spoke about the presence of the Moscow Exchange on the list of shareholders of AIX.

«The final decision is yet to be made. Currently, we are discussing issues related to merging our liquidity: what will it look like; whether the legal form will change and if so, how will it change? Once we...

Rumors about a spike in the COVID-19 Delta variant are being circulated in Kazakhstan. However, according to the country’s healthcare ministry, the epidemiological situation is stable.

What happened? As the StopFake website reported, there are tons of messages on social media claiming that the number of people contracting the Delta variant is rapidly growing. These messages also said the new virus is very dangerous and symptom-free.

What did the healthcare ministry say? According to the agency, all those messages about the spike in the Delta variant are fake.

«The epidemiological situation with the COVID-19 infection in...

According to Reuters, the government of Egypt is negotiating with a bank in Abu Dhabi as it wants to obtain a credit line to finance purchases of wheat from Kazakhstan.

Why does Egypt want the new deal? The new agency believes that Egypt is seeking a cheaper alternative for Russian grain, which it has mostly been importing since last year. Moreover, Egypt is trying to cut its import expenditures because the country is struggling with a shortage of foreign currency.

What is the deal’s status? As the media outlet reported, citing its source, the two sides are negotiating the price...

Kazmortransflot, a subsidiary of KazMunayGas (KMG), a national oil company in Kazakhstan, has leased two of its vessels to OFCO Offshore International, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports Group (ADP), KMG said in a statement.

«With the purpose of expansion of cooperation between KMG and ADP two subsidiaries of these companies, Kazmortransflot and OFCO Offshore International have signed a three-year contract to lease Kazakhstani towboats… The leasing of the towboats will let Kazmortransflot enter the market of maritime services in the Persian Gulf to obtain more profit and new experience,» the company said in a statement.