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Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov announced that the contract with ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT) has been amended. For the first time in the history of bilateral relations, Kazakhstan now officially requires the company to modernize its coal production and take action on degasification of coal beds.

Kazakhstan had never asked to do this before.

«For the first time, we have put these additional requirements on the contract. Now AMT is obliged to allocate at least $323 million a year for the modernization of its production and $79.7 million for removal of gas from the coal beds,» Smailov said.

According to...

According to the last survey prepared by the Eurasian Development Bank called «The Economy of Central Asia: A Fresh Perspective,» Central Asian countries face four major challenges that limit their economic growth.

Among these obstacles are lack of access to the sea, resource dependence and low level of financial development, lack of coordination in the water and energy complex, and climate change.

Since all Central Asian countries are landlocked, they have to pay more in terms of transportation costs.

«The region’s resurgence as the crossroads of meridional and latitudinal transport corridors connecting the main economic centers of Greater Eurasia will...

The National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, the only owner of the national oil company KazMunayGaz (KMG), revealed the details of its upcoming initial public offer. The holding is going to place 30 million shares for $18.09 per share. It is expected that the total capitalization of the company will reach about $11 billion.

According to Murat Kastayev, head of DAMU Capital Management, the announced share offering price means that potential investors can count on $0.70 of dividends (4%), as the company is planning to allocate about $430 million for dividends a year.

Last year, KMG reported $2.81 billion of revenue with...

Thousands of regular internet users in Kazakhstan have struggled with slow internet connection for weeks. Sometimes the internet is completely out of service. The Kursiv edition asked the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry to clarify what is going on.

Unidentified attackers

According to the government, the only reason for poor internet connection is cyberattacks on the country.

«We’ve been noticing cyberattacks on the Kazakhstani segment of the global net (Kaznet) for many days. These attacks are primarily targeted at public agencies and Kaznet infrastructure. We can’t say for sure who might be behind those attacks...

The European Union and Kazakhstan have signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of sustainable raw materials, batteries, and green hydrogen, according to the press service of Kazakhstan’s prime minister.

The document has been signed by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who held a bilateral meeting during the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt. 

Smailov noted that the E.U. is one of the largest trade partners for Kazakhstan and accounts for 30% of the country’s external trade. In turn, Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the E.U. is one...

During his meeting with residents of the Mangystau region, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that ArcelorMittal lacks systematic work in terms of the prevention of industry-related incidents. That’s why the government must take some strict actions against the company.

According to Tokayev, there have been more than 20 industry-related incidents since 2006. They have taken the lives of more than 100 people.

«Despite notices and orders by public agencies, the situation isn’t any better now than before. As a result, we must take urgent and tough actions,» said the president.

Tokayev wants authorized agencies to undertake an overall inspection of the...

Caspian Sunrise PLC has established a subsidiary for trading with oil, according to Marketwatch. The new company is going to trade with oil produced by Caspian Sunrise. It is expected that the net price of the oil will be raised by $5-10 per barrel.

Currently, Caspian Sunrise produces about 2,400 barrels of oil a day.

On Friday, Caspian Sunrise announced it will allocate $1.1 million for dividend payouts.

«The company’s board is going to allocate for future dividend payouts £1 million per month or 35-40% from free cash flow,» Marketwatch said.

Caspian Sunrise PLC is engaged in oil and gas...

The government of Uzbekistan is going to attract $120 billion of investments by 2026, said Omonullo Nasritdinhojayev, the country’s first deputy minister of finance, during the second Uzbekistan Economic Forum in Samarkand. According to the official, the government wants to attract direct investments through the privatization of public assets and public-private partnerships.

Akmalkhon Ortikov, head of the State Assets Management Agency of Uzbekistan (SAMA), noted that so far this year the government sold more than one thousand public assets. However, most of them are small. The reason the government hasn’t sold larger assets is that «this is just the beginning...

Uzbekistan Airways and Uzbekistan Airports revealed positive financial results over the first nine months this year. Surging demand for air travel in the country is the main driver of this increase in revenue, according to open-source data.

Uzbekistan Airways reported a net profit of $45.7 million within the reporting period, thanks to virtually twofold growth in earnings to $773.2 million. For comparison, the company reported $2.9 million in losses over the same period last year. Interestingly, the prime cost accounts for 75% of earnings for both years.

As a result of this revenue, the airline cut its uncovered losses for...

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan is going to intensify its fight against human trafficking, according to Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov. During his speech at the Astana Legal Forum 2022, he said that the problem was neglected for years.

The minister has acknowledged that the official statistics do not fully reflect facts on the ground. «For years there was no agency or person who was focused on this problem solely,» he noted.

According to international and nongovernmental organizations, the number of sexual and labor exploitation victims is much higher than the number of opened criminal cases in Kazakhstan.

Akhmetzhanov...

According to the overall development plan for the region, which has been developed by the authorities of the Ulytau region and the Ministry of National Economy, over 2022-2026 the government is going to build a new oil refinery with a capacity of one million tons in the town of Jezkazgan. It is expected that the project will cost about $1 billion and will provide jobs for 300 people.

The plan has already been approved by the country’s cabinet.

The region’s governor Berik Abdygaliyev said that the overall plan includes the implementation of a set of projects.

«The implementation of the...

Kazakhstan has frozen a joint Kazakhstani-Russian project by Transtelecom and Russian company BI.ZONE. The two sides signed a contract in 2019 with an expectation of six years of cooperation, the Russian business edition Kommersant reported.

According to the website of BI.ZONE, the company intended to assist Transtelecom in the deployment of SOC and MSSP services as well as expert models to detect various types of cyberattacks.

Russian experts believe that the decision on the Kazakhstani side is linked to the geopolitical situation, namely to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

BI.ZONE is a partner of Sber, the largest Russian commercial bank...

Last year, 1,136 scientists and researchers, including 717 associates and full professors, quit different organizations like universities, research institutes and private tech companies where they were involved in research and development. One of the most important factors of that exodus was a low level of income in the research field.

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, there were 21,600 research workers in Kazakhstan last year. This figure is 5% lower than in 2020. As the agency noted, this is the biggest plunge over the past five years.

The data shows that unlike technical staff and others, researchers showed the...

The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Defense Industry has denied the information that the country is assisting Iran in assembling combat drones for the war against Ukraine.

The state agency said that Uzbekistan has never cooperated with Iran in the production of military equipment.

«The State Committee for the Defense Industry believes that any publication of unverified media reports can misinform the public and harm Uzbekistan’s relations with other countries,» the committee highlighted.

Earlier this week, former top executive of the Russian oil company Yukos Leonid Nevzlin said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon

According to National Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov, the number of small and medium-sized companies in Kazakhstan increased by 75% over the period from 2012 to 2021, reaching 1.4 million entities.

He also said that the sector gives jobs to 3.5 million people. This is a 45% increase compared to the same rate in 2012.

«Over the period from 2012 to 2021 small and medium-sized businesses showed positive dynamic in growth. The sector now accounts for 33.5% of the national GDP,» he said.

The official pointed out that over the past nine years the country beefed up its production output fivefold...

Freedom Holding Corp. plans to allocate $4.5 million to support financially the construction of a pump station and water pipelines from the desalination plant to the central water supply facility in the city of Aktau. Construction is expected to start this year and will be finished in 2023. The company and the administration of the Mangystau region have already signed a memorandum on cooperation.

According to Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. this aid project is going to be a kind of message for the entire business community in the country. He believes that businesses must cooperate with the...

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are intended to combine the infrastructure of the Kazakhstani Astana Hub and Uzbekistani IT PARK for the two countries’ residents, according to Bagdat Musin, minister of digital development, innovations and aerospace industry.

The Kazakhstani minister has already suggested partnering with his counterpart Sherzod Shermatov, minister for development of IT and communications in Uzbekistan, during the ICT WEEK 2022 in Samarkand.

«In general, we share the same idea: to represent Central Asia as a single region for IT outsourcing and startups,» Musin said.

In fact, Shermatov made the same statement when giving a welcome speech at the opening...

According to Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng, the crypto exchange is going to test the digital tenge, a new type of money that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) is going to issue. As he noted, the NKB recently launched a CBDC (digital tenge) pilot in a controlled environment and with real consumers and merchants.

«Looking forward to NBK preparing CBDC use cases to see how they could be integrated into BNB Chain to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the crypto ecosystem,» Changpeng wrote on Twitter.

However, the National Bank didn’t respond to the request by the Kursiv edition...

LG, the tech giant from the Republic of Korea, has denied reports that it plans to relocate its manufacturing business from Russia to Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan, according to the South Korean newspaper Business Post.

«LG Electronics doesn’t plan to move its Russian factory to Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan,» the company told the edition over the phone.

On October 21, the Russian business edition Kommersant reported that LG is going to relocate its factory from the Moscow region to Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, where it had allegedly negotiated with local producer Artel.

According to Aset Turysov, deputy minister of digital development and aerospace industry, more than 200,000 foreigners have received Individual Identification Numbers (IIN) in Kazakhstan since September 21. However, he said that he doesn’t possess more detailed information about where these people came from.

«Every foreigner who wants to live in Kazakhstan or open a banking account must obtain an IIN,» he said.

On September 21, President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared a partial mobilization. The Russian authorities said at the time that they would conscript those who have special military skills and military experience.

After this declaration, hundreds of thousands...

As the Bank CenterCredit (BCC) press service reported, Galim Khusainov is no longer the top executive in the bank.

«His contribution to the bank’s development was vital. The board of directors of Bank CenterCredit appreciates Galim Khusainov for his dedication and wishes him all the success in future projects,» the bank said.

Ruslan Vladimirov has been appointed as the new head of the bank. He previously held the same position at ECO Center Bank.

«Bank CenterCredit finishes its planned rotation of the board members due to the completion of the integration between the bank and ECO Center Bank,» the BCC...

Today, on October 26, the National Bank of Kazakhstan increased the base rate from 14.5% to 16% with a percentage corridor of +/- 1.0 p.p. The new standing lending facility rate is 17%, while the standing facility rate for liquidity withdrawal is 15%, according to the regulator’s press service.

According to the National Bank, the move is a result of growing inflationary pressure on Kazakhstan’s economy. The regulator also pointed out that even though it has corrected the rate’s trajectory, its overall direction and tempo remain the same.

In September, the inflation rate was higher than projected

The...

Right before the launch of a new strategy designed to transform Kazakhstan’s economy to its low-carbon version by 2060, the government is considering the idea of constructing a new coal-fired power station in Ekibastuz.

The project of Ekibastuz Regional Power Station (GRES) No.3 was announced by Almasadam Satkaliyev, head of the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna during the cabinet session on the development of the electric power industry. The fund is the only shareholder of Samruk-Energy, the largest electric power company in Kazakhstan and producer of 35% of all electricity in the country.

Samruk-Energy already runs two big coal-fired power stations...

Halyk Bank stocks at the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) dropped 8.62% to $0.25, which is slightly better than the 9% plunge earlier.

The reason the bank’s stocks have been caught under pressure is the shareholder meeting today. The financial entity hasn’t yet announced the results of the meeting.

As of 12:25 Astana time, there were 349 transactions with 744,100 shares of Halyk Bank ($232,000), according to KASE.

The only message the bank made so far was the announcement of a shareholder meeting scheduled for today October 21. The key topic on the meeting’s agenda is dividend payouts: should the bank...