News

Kazakhstani car makers produced 28,800 passenger cars in Q1 2023. This is a 47.2% increase over the same period last year, according to the Association of Automobile Business of Kazakhstan (AKAB). Among the most popular brands are Hyundai (11,400 cars), Chevrolet (7,400), Kia (5,800) and Jac (4,900).

Overall, in the first quarter, Kazakhstan produced 31,800 vehicles worth $808.6 million in total. This result is 43.3% higher than last year while the machinery industry’s share in the country’s economy reached 44.5%.

These figures include 18,300 vehicles produced by Saryarkaprom in Kostanay (a 4.7% increase), 11,400 passenger cars by Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan...

According to Elizabeth Rosenberg, the Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Matthew S. Axelrod, the Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce and David Reed, Director for Sanctions at the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the United States and the U.K. can impose secondary sanctions against Kazakhstan if they decide the country illegally assists Russia.

«Russia is trying to evade export controls and sanctions to obtain the goods and components that this country needs to modernize its military capabilities. One way to do this is to ship these goods through third...

Kazakhstan’s parliament has ratified the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) credit history sharing agreement. It is expected that the document will facilitate the exchange of citizens’ credit history within the organization.

The document is going to regulate the order of EEU member states to share customers’ credit history and will determine a pool of information that financial organizations can transfer through national borders. For instance, they will be able to send requests concerning credit reports or request the report itself and associated documents, according to Madina Abylkasymova, head of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) in...

Freedom Holding is going to buy a 100% share in Aviata and Chokotravel, ticket services within Chokofamily Holding. The $32.3 million deal is expected to be closed by the end of 2023, Freedom Holding said in a statement.

According to Timur Turlov, CEO of the company, Freedom Holding’s goal is to create a full-scale ecosystem of digital services for clients. This is why «the acquiring of Aviata and Chokotravel is the next step in the development of the entire group.» More than one million of the most economically active Kazakhstanis can be considered constant users of the two online services...

The Specialized Interdistrict Criminal Court of Astana has completed the trial marked top secret against Ex-Chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB) of Kazakhstan Karim Masimov and his deputies Anuar Sadykulov, Daulet Yergozhin and Marat Osipov. All of them have been determined guilty of treason, coup d’état and abuse of power.

The court sentenced Masimov to 18 years in jail with confiscation of his property and a life-long ban from serving in the public sector. His deputy Sadykulov has been sentenced to 16 years in prison with a life-long ban from working within the government authorities.

Yergozhin was found guilty...

Gazprom and the Russian government will set a fair gas price for Kazakhstan, Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said.

«I’d like to explain the situation a little bit. As you know, the export price of any product includes prime cost, transportation cost and yield that producers want to receive. We understand that Gazprom and the Russian government are the ones who set gas prices in Russia. We are sure [the cabinet of Kazakhstan] that the price setting is going to be fair; based on close relations with Kazakhstan and the Republic of Belarus. I mean we hope...

Shares of Halyk Bank, the too-big-to-fail bank in Kazakhstan, have grown by 9.8% to $0.35, according to KASE. This increase has been driven by the good mood of investors who cheered the bank’s decision about dividend payouts of $0.056 per one common share, Freedom Broker reported.

«An announcement about upcoming dividend payouts of $0.056 per share has triggered this increase in share price. There was nothing unexpected to us but for the market, the size of dividends was a nice surprise,» Freedom Broker said in a statement.

Halyk Bank now wants shareholders to approve this...

Leroy Merlin, a French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer, has denied any intention to get rid of its warehouses in Russia. The company said it doesn’t plan any changes in its operation and won’t sell its warehouses (270,000 square meters) near Moscow, according to RBC news agency citing the company’s press service.

Earlier this week Kommersant, a Russian business edition, reported that Leroy Merlin is seeking a buyer for its logistical parks Yuzhny Vrata and Bely Rast near Moscow. These two warehouse facilities are estimated about $147 million.

According to Kommersant, the company pursued a sale & leaseback deal and...

During the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his hope for direct air travel between Astana and Prague that may emerge.

«We welcome investments from the Czech Republic in various sectors of our economy including energy, machine building, transportation, agriculture, finance, health and pharmacy,» Tokayev highlighted.

He has also said that the government of Kazakhstan is ready to offer its comprehensive support to Czech investors.

In turn, Petr Fiala believes that this meeting will boost the development of bilateral relations.

«The cooperation...

Even though both the Astana International Exchange and Toshkent Stock Exchange have doubled since 2020, KASE is still the biggest stock exchange in the region.

There are six stock exchanges in Central Asia with a total capitalization of more than $100 billion.

Kazakhstan

There are two stock exchanges in Kazakhstan: the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) in Almaty and Astana International Exchange (AIX) in Astana. The first one was established in 1993 as an interbank currency exchange. In 1997, the exchange started to trade with stocks and in 2000, it launched the KASE_Share indicator which is currently known as KASE...

The definition of a “rich person” might be officially added to the national legislation of Kazakhstan, according to Yerulan Zhamaubayev, minister of finance.

The country’s government is going to adopt a new Tax Code by 2025. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance wants members of the parliament to discuss new rates for income tax and value-added tax as they might be differentiated between different groups of people. Those who are considered rich will pay higher taxes.

«These two taxes are the bedrock for our financial system, so all the debates are going around these taxes. We have...

According to Yerlan Aldazhumanov, deputy head of the National Security Committee (KNB) and head of the Border Service of Kazakhstan, 84% of the country’s borders are protected by border servicemen and only 16% of the border are protected with technological means.

«We have deployed special equipment on only 16% of our state border with China, which is obviously not enough. The remaining border is protected by border guards, who physically patrol border areas,» Aldazhumanov said.

The official also noted that the government provides the service with necessary financial resources but does so gradually. He refused...

The government of Kazakhstan is planning to complete the development of investment visa legislation in June 2023. Once the draft law is ready, it will be sent to the parliament for further consideration, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection said.

If the new law is adopted, any foreign investor who is ready to invest more than $300,000 in Kazakhstan can apply for a long-term investment visa.

According to a person familiar with the matter, the draft law is almost ready.

The introduction of investment visas is part of a new migration policy that Kazakhstani authorities have been pivoting to...

Kazakhstani businesses are going to invest about $40.5 billion in fixed capital this year, according to Alikhan Smailov, who attended a meeting on the social and economic development of the country.

«The integrated Future Growth Project – Wellhead Pressure Management Project (FGP – WPMP) have been implemented (at Tengiz), a fifth gas reinjection compressor is about to start operating (at Karachaganak field) and the designing of two natural gas processing plants with a capacity of four billion cubic meters at Karachaganak and one billion cubic meters at Kashagan is underway,» Smailov said.

He also noted...

The Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development is going to conduct an auction for gold, silver, coal, bauxites and titanium fields on May 26, according to Iran Sharkhan, deputy minister of industry.

«On May 26, 2023, we are going to conduct an auction for mineral licenses. By doing this we want to attract investments in 25 mineral fields that aren’t in use so far. The auction will cover minerals such as gold, silver, phosphorites, quartzites, baryta, coal, bauxites and titanium,» the official said during the MINEX Qazaqstan conference.

Shakhran encouraged those who’d like to participate...

Elizabeth Rosenberg, the Assistant Secretary for terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is expected to come to Kazakhstan on April 23 on a three-day official visit. According to Aybek Smadiyarov, the official spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is nothing bad in a visit of such an envoy. In fact, it is a good sign that the two countries have this format of relations.

«We are in constant contact with the U.S. and European countries regarding the matter of sanctions. The Ministry of National Economy, which is the authorized body in this...

Kazakhstan has cooperated with leading American companies for more than 30 years and the pull of such companies has been constantly expanding, according to Alibek Kuantyrov, minister of the national economy, who gave a speech during a meeting of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Business Council attended by representatives of Chevron, Boeing, Citi and Pfizer.

As the official noted, the turnover between the two counties increased by 37% to $3.1 billion in 2022 compared to 2021. For instance, exports of Kazakhstani goods to the U.S. rose by 32% to $1.2 billion, while imports of American goods to Kazakhstan increased by 40% to...

The National Security Committee (KNB) of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been investigating ten cases of the country’s citizens taking part in the war in Ukraine. The agency hasn’t revealed any details of pre-trial investigations.

KNB has also refused to specify how many Kazakhstanis left for Ukraine after February 24, 2022. This data is tracked by the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Accounts under the Office of Prosecutor General.

In early April 2023, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko told Al Jazeera that the country considers illegal any involvement of its citizens in armed conflicts in foreign countries.

On April 16, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin came to Afghanistan on an official visit. During talks with his Afghan counterparts, he said that the government of Kazakhstan is planning to open a trading house in the city of Herat, Afghanistan in order to increase trading turnover between the two countries and facilitate businesses. For instance, the new center is expected to play the role of a special platform for business negotiations and consultations on legal issues, marketing and specific goods and services.

During the Kazakh-Afghan business meeting, entrepreneurs from Afghanistan made a...

Kazakhstan’s prime minister announced in a press release that his cabinet has resolved the issue of the Shymkent oil refinery modernization. They plan to raise the refinery’s capacity to 12 million tons of products per year.

«We don’t need half measures. We are going to put a lot of money into the refinery upgrade. That’s why we want to double its capacity. Demand for fuel and lubricants has been growing from year to year. The economy is growing, the population is growing and business activity is growing as well. We have to support these processes by...

Last year, Russia accounted for more than half of all food imports in Kazakhstan, according to a survey by INFOline, a Russian consulting agency. The agency also believes that Russian food suppliers will get an even bigger share of the local market this year thanks to the weaker Russian ruble.

The agency noted that Russian food products account for 30% to 50% of the entire assortment in an average Kazakhstani grocery store. For example, in the Dina Market grocery chain that operates in eight towns in West Kazakhstan, Russian and Kazakhstani food products account for 42% and 32%, respectively.

According...

Kazakhstan needs at least 40,000 charging stations all over the country or 8,000 charging stations with five ports each in order to boost the development of electric transportation, according to Adilbek Orumbayev from Kazavtoprom, an association of the automobile industry in Kazakhstan.

As he noted, the country’s Ministry of Industry has been preparing an overall plan for developing the machine-building industry which is expected to be adopted in the middle of this year. In 2024, Kazavtoprom and the ministry will develop and adopt another document – a new concept for the development of electric transportation. So far, the association has...

As a result of a deal the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has reached with its Chinese counterparts, citizens of Kazakhstan will be able to stay in China for 30 days. The same rule will be applied to Chinese citizens in Kazakhstan.

According to the ministry’s decree, citizens of both countries who have a passport and head to a neighboring country as tourists, for medical treatment or with business purposes for a maximum of 30 days are relieved from visa requirements. In total, citizens of the two countries can stay in either of the states for 90 days within...

The government of Kazakhstan has dropped the idea of constructing six incineration plants at once, although it is still considering the construction of at least one such plant, according to Mansur Osharbayev, head of state policy on waste management under the Ministry of Ecology.

«There are some obstacles on the way to six incineration plants that were supposed to be built by one company. A company that won the bidding decided to suspend the project. I mean, the construction of all six waste-burning plants is no longer on the agenda,» Osharbayev said during a media briefing.