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The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has published its demographic analysis of banking sector customers.

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, there were 13 million people over the age of 18 in Kazakhstan as of 2023. The ARDFM has analyzed 53% of these people with an overall debt of $15.3 billion in consumer loans and $3.5 billion in mortgages (excluding loans from Otbasy Bank).

According to this data, people born between 1982 to 2000, often referred to as Millennials, constitute the biggest group of banking loan customers, although their credit history is better than...

The European Parliament has passed a resolution suggesting that the EU should consider the possibility of giving EU candidate status to Armenia. The initiative, which emerged against the backdrop of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan‘s claim to withdraw his country from the CSTO, has been supported by the vast majority of EU deputies (504) with 32 abstaining and four voting against the move.

«If Armenia is interested in becoming a candidate for accession to the European Union and continues to pursue reforms that strengthen its democracy, it will become a basis for the transformation of...

Deputy Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Timur Zhaksylykov has revealed data on mutual investment between Central Asian states. According to the official, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the major investors in the region, while Kyrgyzstan is the key recipient of these investments. This country accounts for 63% of all internal investments in the region. This data was revealed during the В5+1: Business Partnership and Regional Prosperity summit (B5+1 is Central Asia and the U.S.).

«When we talk about big projects in the region, we shouldn’t forget about the Bozymchak copper and gold open pit mine in...

Kazakhstan has nearly caught up with Russia in terms of GDP per capita which reached $13,300. This is quite a significant figure compared to other Central Asian countries. For instance, it is 11 times higher than the same rate for Tajikistan; 7.1 times for Kyrgyzstan and 5.2 times for Uzbekistan, according to a survey by INFOLine.

The agency’s analysts predict that this year the national GDP of Kazakhstan will rise by 13.7% per capita (as in 2023) and by 29.9% by 2028. However, according to Halyk Finance, this growth will be driven by the commodity sector and won’t improve the...

Kazakhstanis will be able to stay in Thailand for 30 days straight as the country’s government wants to extend this temporary practice forever. In September 2023, the two countries agreed to introduce a 30-day visa-free period to see if this was necessary for their countries. This trial period expired on February 29, 2024.

According to a draft document, published on the legalacts.egov.kz website, Kazakhstanis will be able to travel to Thailand and stay there for 30 days visa-free. Those who want to stay longer should apply for a visa.

«The total amount of days Kazakhstani citizens...

The bilateral turnover between Kazakhstan and China rose by 30% in 2023, reaching $31.5 billion, according to the press service of Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan.

Over nine months of 2023, China invested about $1.4 billion into Kazakhstan’s economy in addition to 45 joint projects worth $14.5 billion which are in the implementation stage.

«As of today, there are 3,000 joint businesses [with China] in Kazakhstan. This is vivid proof that the partnership between business communities of the two countries is sustainable and productive,» Bektenov said.

During a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to...

BlackRock, an American investment company, is the second biggest shareholder of Polymetal, a gold producer. According to the company’s website, BlackRock has cut its share in Polymetal – by 3.43 percentage points to roughly 4% – for the second time over the past two weeks.

Polymetal shares were sold on March 4 at $3.80 per item, the company said. Given that BlackRock has sold more than 16 million shares, it is estimated to have gained around $61.8 million.

On March 1, Black Rock decreased its share in Polymetal from 9.91% to 7.5%.

On Monday, Polymetal International closed its deal with...

The European Union has removed Arkady Volozh, co-founder of Yandex, from its sanction list as the entrepreneur has been erasing Russia from his official biography and underlining his Kazakhstani roots. The move was widely announced by the media as Volozh’s behavior “has changed.”

However, the EU hasn’t given any official explanation for the move.

Along with Volozh, EU sanctions have been lifted for Josef Hambalek, a Slovakian businessman and Sergei Mndoyants, a former vice president for government relations in the Russian company AFK Sistema. The EU has also removed from its sanction list nine individuals who have passed away, including...

According to Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states didn’t do what they were supposed to do when Azerbaijan crossed the sovereign territory of Armenia. This is why Armenia can quit the organization if it fails to decide where its responsibility lies when it comes to Armenia, the Armen Press news agency reported, citing Pashinyan.

As the Armenian prime minister noted, the CSTO member states repeatedly assured Armenia that its sovereign territory is a «red line» for them. However, during crises of 2021 and 2022 when this red line was crossed (by Azerbaijan...

According to Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev, 37 new solid domestic waste processing facilities will be built from scratch within the country along with upgrading the existing eight ones.

The project’s cost is estimated at $380 million; $76.1 million of which is expected to be private funds. Once the project is implemented, the volume of recycled waste will increase to 1.5 million tons per year.

In addition, Kazakhstani authorities are going to modernize the two current sortlines for solid waste and build 19 new sorting facilities throughout the country. This project will cost $109 million including...

Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan discussed a wide range of issues related to trade, economy and culture. They have also signed a variety of important agreements.

President Tokayev came to Azerbaijan on an official visit on March 11. Later, the two leaders met in an official residence of the Azerbaijani president for negotiations and signed a set of documents, as follows:

– Agreement between the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan on mutual recognition of diplomas of maritime crews’ members;

– Memorandum of understanding between the...

According to Chair of the National Bank Timur Suleymenov, since the start of the year, the National Fund of Kazakhstan has managed to boost its assets by 0.3% to $60.2 billion thanks to an inflow of $2 billion over the period from January 1 to February 29. However, over the same period, the fund carried out money transfers to the state budget for $2.2 billion.

«The National Fund’s assets increased by 0.3%, reaching $60.2 billion over January and February. In February, the fund reported a 1.44% increase in investment income ($870 million). Since the beginning of...

Polymetal International, a gold producer, has closed a deal related to the sale of its Russian assets (100% of shares of Polymetal JSC) to Mangazeya Plus four days after its shareholders approved the deal, the company said in a statement.

«We are glad that our shareholders have supported the sale of our Russian assets. Now, when the deal is closed and all risks are gone, the company’s management is going to reveal a new strategy and capital distribution policy in May,» said Vitaly Nesis, executive director of Polymetal.

The company was evaluated at $3.69 billion...

According to Magzum Mirzagaliyev, CEO of KazMunayGas (KMG), the company plans to boost its oil exports via Azerbaijan. He made this statement in an interview with the Azeri news agency Trend.

«On March 11, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will visit Azerbaijan. During bilateral meetings, my Azerbaijani counterpart Rovshan Najaf and I are going to sign an agreement on expanding Kazakhstan’s oil exports via Azerbaijan by 1.5 times,» Mirzagaliyev said.

Kazakhstan has exported oil via Azerbaijan’s territory since March 2023. Currently, the country sends 120,000 tons of oil via this route per month, Mirzagaliyev noted. Once the...

According to the latest report of the National Bank of Kazakhstan on the monetary policy, the rate of dollarization of banking deposits in Kazakhstan was at 22.2% for individuals, the lowest point over the past 26 years, and 24.2% for entities, which is a 16-year low, as of February 1, 2024.

«A big difference in interest rates between deposits in the tenge and a foreign currency as well as mutual volatility of the exchange rate have driven the decline of the dollarization rate to its lowest point over the past 26 years. In addition, the inflow...

KazMunayGas (KMG) has to sell its Romanian subsidiary KMG International by the end of this year as the company has been included in the Complex Privatization Plan for 2021-2025.

In response, to media reports about its negotiations with potential buyers for KMG International, KMG said that «it is currently neither conducting any measures related to privatization of the asset, nor negotiating with any potential business partners.»

Under the Complex Privatization Plan, KMG International must be sold within 2023-2024. This means that the company must be sold until the end of this year. There are three options for the deal, according...

The State Technical Service has discovered that the personal data of more than two million people from Kazakhstan has leaked to the internet. All those people are clients of Zaimer.kz, a microfinance organization, the Ministry of Digital Development reported.

The data leak from zaimer.kz (the website belongs to Robocash.kz, LLC) was reported on March 5. Now, the State Technical Service is trying to identify people whose confidential information has been leaked to the internet. Authorities will notify them via eGovMobile, a public service.

«We are going to investigate this fact and launch an urgent examination of...

Kyrgyzstan has ratified the International Labor Organization Violence and Harassment Convention, the first country that has done so in the CIS region, the 24.kg website reported, citing Jyldyz Polotova, deputy minister of labor of Kyrgyzstan.

According to the International Trade Union Confederation, about 40% to 50% of workers report violence or harassment at work throughout the world. The Kyrgyz Association of Women Judges says that its survey has shown that one in four women has suffered from violence and harassment at work or during their studies at university.

«This can be a source of problems such...

Kazakhstan’s government is going to simplify the procedure of extra-judicial bankruptcy for those with unpaid debts and loans by eliminating the legal requirement for a document proving debt settlement.

MPs have approved amendments to the draft law aimed at reducing risks related to lending and protecting borrowers’ rights.

The law on bankruptcy in Kazakhstan entered into force on March 1, 2023. Since then, 9,500 Kazakhstanis have successfully gone through the procedure of extra-judicial bankruptcy, while 74,500 other bankruptcy applications have been rejected.”

«One of the key reasons for bankruptcy rejections was the absence of a document...

Chairperson of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) Madina Abylkassymova has presented a strategy the agency is going to apply to the banking sector in 2024. This regulatory approach has been prepared in conjunction with the National Bank and different commercial banks, the agency said in a statement on its website.

In 2024, the ARDFM is going to continue tuning up its regulatory process to make the banking sector more transparent and reliable. To achieve this goal, the agency will follow the SREP methodology (Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process) along...

Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. believes that the tax regime in Armenia is quite attractive for investors. He made this statement while delivering his speech at an investment and financial conference in Yerevan, according to the Armenian news agency ARKA.

«Sometimes tax regime can be an obstacle when, for example, there is a tax for securities but no tax for banking deposits. Thank God, in Armenia this rather helps,» Turlov said.

As Turlov noted, the Armenian government collects taxes from profit from securities, while gains generated by deposits are free of...

Kazakhstan’s government is ready to rebuild Almaty after a potential earthquake at the expense of special public reserves, Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baybazarov said. He also highlighted that the government will do everything necessary to help the city if something bad happens.

«The government is keeping an eye on the situation in Almaty. We’ve discussed this issue today. The minister for emergency situations reported on the current situation. Of course, the government has some reserves that are replenished every year. These resources will be allocated for dealing with the consequences of any potential disaster. We...

According to Bauyrzhan Kudaibergenov, deputy minister of the national economy of Kazakhstan, 41 foreign companies with a combined market cap of $1.5 billion have already relocated to Kazakhstan and do business as usual within the country.

«Currently, the government is working on the relocation of foreign companies and big enterprises. We have around 400 companies from 30 countries on the list. We already have tangible results from 41 companies with a combined market cap of $1.5 billion. As you know, these are InDriver, TikTok and Fortescue, among others. Furthermore, we are currently negotiating with 37 more...

In February, Kazakhstan’s business activity index (BAI) grew by 0.4 points over the January rate, reaching 50 points. This data shows that the situation in the national economy is neutral, according to the National Bank. The index has been growing since the start of the year.

The BAI is an indicator of economic condition in the real sector.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan calculates the BAI by interviewing representatives from various companies to assess changes in the business environment. The changes are positive when the rate is higher than 50 and negative when it drops below 50.

In the service...