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New Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Nurlan Baibazarov, appointed to the position by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on February 6, revealed on the sidelines of the cabinet what is going to happen with the Value-Added Tax (VAT) within a massive tax reform.

The ministry has been preparing the new Tax Code for a while. The increase of the VAT from 12% to 16% is one of the key elements of the reform. At the initial stage, the ministry even wanted to raise the tax to 20% but later dropped the idea.

According to the Ministry of National Economy, the VAT...

In January 2024, the Astana International Exchange (AIX) reported record-high trading volumes of stocks. It amounted to $25.5 million, which is the best result the exchange has ever shown. Stocks of Polymetal International have accounted for the lion’s share of this success. More generally, foreign stocks became a significant part of stock trading on the AIX this January (37%).

Polymetal International is ranked among the top ten gold producers in the world. The company’s shares have been traded on the AIX since 2019. In 2023, Polymetal redomiciliated from the island of Jersey to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). As...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Olzhas Bektenov, former head of the presidential administration, as the new prime minister of Kazakhstan. Bektenov’s nomination was supported by 69 MPs, while seven MPs abstained from voting.

Today, on February 6, President Tokayev took part in the Mazhilis session where he officially nominated Bektenov for the post of the country’s prime minister.

«I am proposing Olzhas Bektenov as the candidate for the post of prime minister. He’s been nominated by the Amanat party. This is an experienced public servant, a well-educated and hard-working person with good organizational skills. This is...

Bagdat Musin, minister of digital development, innovations and the aerospace industry, has announced the upcoming arrival of a new surveillance system, designed to monitor violations of environmental legislation. All companies whose activities are linked with the emission of ozone-destroying substances are expected to be enrolled in this new automated system of monitoring starting this year, Zakon.kz reported.

A wide range of enterprises such as thermal power plants, refineries and metallurgic plants will be obliged to install equipment specially designed to gauge the number of emissions and transfer this data to a regulatory authority online.

«It’s like...

The Amanat political party has nominated Olzhas Bektenov, the head of the presidential administration, to be the new prime minister in Kazakhstan.

As Akorda, the official residence of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reported, Chair of Mazhilis Yerlan Koshanov has proposed the candidacy of Olzhas Bektenov for the post of prime minister during a meeting with the president.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to discuss the proposed candidacy with the leaders of political factions within Mazhilis, the lower house of the country’s parliament.

What do we know about the candidate? Olzhas Bektenov was born in 1980 in Almaty...

This year, Kazakhstan’s economy is expected to grow by 5.3% at least, according to the country’s cabinet.

In 2023, the country reported economic growth of 5.1%. For instance, key industries such as the construction sector grew by 12.3%; trade by 11.3%; telecommunication services by 7.1%; transportation services by 6.9% and the production sector by 4.3%.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kazakhstan amounted to $19.7 billion over the first nine months of 2023; non-commodity sectors accounted for more than $11 billion of this money. Investments in fixed capital rose by 13.7%.

The cabinet reported a 20-year high FDI rate (annual rate...

According to the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan (AFK), last year commercial banks shifted their focus from retail lending to business loans. This tendency is going to continue this year as well.

The lending pace has slowed against the backdrop of shrinking benefit mortgage and car loan programs as well as a decline in the inflow of new borrowers to 411,000 in 2023, compared to 549,000 new borrowers in 2022. As a result, the retail lending pace dropped from 31.3% in 2022 to 26.7% in 2023 ($36.5 billion).

On the other hand, the amount of business loans grew by...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dismissed the country’s cabinet. The first Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar has been appointed as the executive prime minister.

«I hereby order to accept the resignation of the cabinet of the Republic of Kazakhstan and appoint Roman Sklyar the executive prime minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan,» the press service of the president reported, citing the edict.

Also, the president instructed members of the cabinet to continue performing their duties until the new cabinet is formed.

The edict immediately entered into force.

On February 7, a new prime minister is expected...

According to Aslan Tukiyev, chair of the judicial panel on administrative cases of the Supreme Court, investors won 78% of legal cases in Astana courts in 2023. It harms the country’s investment attractiveness, the official says.

«This data is terrifying. This means that in seven to eight cases out of ten, investors were right in their arguments with the government, claims of which were unjustified. This situation can have a negative impact on our economy as it demotivates investors. We are going to discuss this issue. We want this figure to decline; we as a country...

The Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan is concerned about military personnel turnover. According to Sultan Kamaletdinov, the first deputy defense minister, this is happening because the ministry is underfinanced.

«The turnover of military personnel causes particular concern as the situation hasn’t been improving for several years now. One the key reasons for this is low salaries,» Kamaletdinov said during a meeting of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security of the Mazhilis (the lower house of the country’s parliament).

As the official noted, more than 17,000 troops have left the army over the past...

The Kyrgyz Republic has won a $35 million arbitration case against QazaqGaz (formerly known as KazTransGas), according to the Kyrgyz media, citing the country’s Ministry of Justice.

«According to the ministry, on January 30, 2024, the arbitration tribunal supported the stance of the Kyrgyz Republic and refused to satisfy claims by the plaintiff (QazaqGas). In 2020, QazaqGas initiated the arbitrary trial against the Kyrgyz Republic under UNCITRAL’s rules adopted in 1976. During the litigation, the complainant demanded $35 million worth of compensation, although it later dropped its claim for lost profits and the sum in the...

The Applied Economic Research Center (AERC) is forecasting that Kazakhstan’s economy will grow by 4.5% in 2024, although it also expects budget parameters to get worse while lowering inflation slows down.

The think tank’s analysis is based on a mix of two models: under the model of aggregated demand, the real GDP growth is expected at 4.6% (previously at 4.2%), while under the model of aggregated supply — 4.4% (4.3%).

Also, the AERC forecast draws on a set of factors such as future oil prices, inflation and economic growth in countries that are trading partners with Kazakhstan. In 2024, a...

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft regulation that may legally pin a mechanism of purchasing KazMunayGas (KMG) shares by the National Fund as a regular practice. The document has been published on the www.legalacts.egov.kz website for public review.

The draft document suggests some adjustments to the agreement with the National Bank concerning trust management of the National Fund. The practice of buying KGM shares at the expense of the fund and with a discount to the market price is going to be a key novelty to the agreement. This scheme became possible last year when Kazakhstan adopted a...

The Ministry of Water Resources is going to promote water-saving technologies among Kazakhstani farmers with the help of financial incentives. Even though the country’s government already reimburses 50% of costs related to purchasing water-saving equipment, this year the amount of subsidizing will reach 80%.

According to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, about 16% of irrigated land in Kazakhstan is irrigated with the help of water-saving technologies.

«Water conservation technologies are used only in 312,200 hectares of irrigated lands out of 1.9 million hectares, which is unforgivingly small these days. Given the threat of...

In 2023, Kazakhstan once again was included in the list of highly corrupted countries, although it managed to improve its position in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International. In the 2023 index, Kazakhstan was ranked 93rd out of 180 countries, scoring 39 points out of 100.

Last year, Kazakhstan was ranked 101st. Transparency International says that the country managed to improve its position due to the more active behavior of the public after the January events.

«We believe that the improvement of the country’s rank (+3 scores) compared to 2022 happened due to the...

A consortium of investors from the Sultanate of Oman has purchased 23.9% of Polymetal International, a Kazakhstani producer of gold and silver, from ICT Holding by Alexander Nesis. As a result, the company no longer possesses a stake in the mining enterprise.

On January 28, 2024, Maaden International Investment (MDI), a subsidiary of Mars Development and Investment (MDI), a state company in Oman, acquired 113.2 million shares of Polymetal. No details of the contract were disclosed.

MDI is investing in various global industries, including commodity and financial businesses that meet the strategic priorities of the Sultanate. Maaden International Investment was...

Air Astana has revealed the price range for its initial public offering and placement of depository receipts on two Kazakhstani exchanges (KASE and AIX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), according to the company’s website. 

Air Astana is going to trade its global depository receipts (GDR) at $8.50 to $11 on the LSE and AIX, while shares on the KASE and AIX will be offered to investors at $2.13 to $2.75.

The final offering price is going to be defined within that range. The company also noted that one GDR will give the right to own four common shares of...

According to Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek, the University of Oxford will include the Kazakh language in its educational program under arrangements with the ministry.

The agreement was signed during a visit by the minister and presidents of the leading universities of Kazakhstan to the University of Oxford, one of the oldest universities in the U.K. During the meeting the Kazakhstani delegation became familiarized with old manuscripts that related to Kazakhstan and are kept in the Bodleian Library.

During the visit, Nurbek also presented the first edition of the Oxford Qazaq Dictionary, initiated by President...

MPs from the Aq Jol political party have demanded Air Astana to register its aircraft in Kazakhstan, not in Ireland. According to MP Askar Sadykov, the registration of aircraft in a foreign jurisdiction looks like fiscal evasion.

«The Aq Jol fraction believes that the national air carrier should pay taxes in its home country. Otherwise, it looks like an attempt to implement the advice of an infamous official who recommended making money in Kazakhstan and spending it in London, if you know what I mean. Deoffshorization is a big problem for our national companies. Dear quasi-businessmen...

According to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF), in 2023, private asset management companies such as ВCC Invest, Centras Securities, Halyk Global Markets, Jusan Invest and Halyk Finance outperformed the National Bank in terms of earnings.

Last year, the National Bank reported a 10.11% return on UAPF pension assets, while inflation was at 9.8%. Public debt accounts for almost half of the regulator’s portfolio (46.5%); public debt of other countries – 0.13%; deposits in the National Bank – 4.92% and bonds issued by quasi-public entities – 9.1%.

As of January 1, 2024, the weighted average return for BCC Invest assets...

According to Aidar Ryskulov, head of economics and finance in Samruk Kazyna, the holding is attracting money from the National Fund at a rate that matches the historical rate of inflation. This money is necessary to finance big infrastructural projects within the country.

«Why does the holding attract funds from the National Fund? Only to finance strategically important infrastructural projects initiated by the president of the country. In fact, there are just a few such projects. For example, there is the construction of the second railway line Dostyk-Moiynty, meant to boost the country’s transit and export...

Even though Almaty city authorities spent $2.4 million for an automated emergency alert system it didn’t work during a quake in the early morning of January 23. The Almaty Department of Emergency Situations has commented on the failure.

According to officials, there are 843 sirens in Almaty; they cover 100% of the city’s territory.  

«We use sirens only for 5.5-magnitude quakes. This time, our gauges reported only 4 to 5 magnitude earthquakes. There was no need to switch on sirens because they would have created an unnecessary mess with no help to people,» the emergency department...

According to Kyrgyz state news agency Kabar, citing President Sadyr Japarov, Kyrgyzstan is going to provide Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with irrigation water with no limitations despite its deficit in the irrigation period.

As Japarov noted, the problem with the deficit of water was caused by the silting of retention irrigation basins built many years ago. As a result, these ponds could not accumulate enough water for farmers during the irrigation period.

«This year, we are going to clean all these ponds. Moreover, I have instructed the government to build new retention irrigation ponds throughout the country...

Canadian Condor Energies Inc. has received a quota for natural gas (LNG). The company is going to use this gas for production of liquified natural gas starting in 2025.

«Condor Energies Inc., a Canadian-based energy transition company is pleased to announce that it has received a natural gas allocation from the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The gas allocation will be used as feed gas for the company’s first modular liquefied natural gas production facility,» the company said in a statement.

The feed gas will be liquefied to produce up to 350 tons...