Tyson Foods is negotiating a multibillion-dollar investment in beef production in Kazakhstan in order to access China’s market, reports Kazakh Invest. After African swine fever’s devastating effect on China’s pig herds, the country’s demand for foreign pork, beef, chicken and fish will likely increase. The United States is the world’s largest beef producer, but sales to China suffered after the latter imposed a 25 percent retaliatory tariff in July and the value of U.S. beef exports to China fell 17 percent year on year in the first quarter. Setting up and exporting products from a Tyson Foods plant in Kazakhstan would mean a tariff of just 12 percent. Tyson Foods generated $4.8 billion or 12 percent of its sales from outside the U.S. last year, and international market expansion is a priority among its executives. Investment from the company would be a major boost for Kazakhstan’s efforts to upgrade its agriculture industry, with which it hopes to supply nearby major consumers China, Europe and India. Last year, Kazakhstan and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an initiative to double beef and lamb production within a decade.
Tesla is bringing its Supercharger stations and service centres to Kazakhstan this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently wrote on his Twitter page (@elonmusk). A Tesla Supercharger is a 480-volt direct-current fast-charging station for electric cars. As of January, there are 12,011 individual Supercharger stalls at 1,422 locations worldwide, and Tesla plans to expand the electric vehicle network to 15,000 stalls. Tesla is an American automotive and energy company specialising in electric car and solar panel manufacturing.
Kazakh Ambassadors-at-large Yerlan Khairov and Batyrkhan Kurmanseit, Kazakh Invest representatives and Japan’s leading technology companies and organisations discussed investment opportunities in Kazakhstan at Tokyo’s 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia. Sojitz, with more than 50 years of experience in the transportation industry, expressed interest in railway container and sleeper production projects and the creation of a logistics hub in Kazakhstan. They are also interested in investing in agribusiness, petrochemistry and information technology. The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation expressed interest in uranium and tungsten extraction. The Future of Asia gathers political, economic and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region annually to frankly and freely talk on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.
The Kazakh Ministry of Labour and Social Protection developed a list of Kazakhstan’s 100 most popular professions in service and industry as part of the Zhas Maman (Young Specialist) programme. It includes 35 professions that require higher education, 65 that require technical and vocational education and training and 10 newer professions in information technology, 3D modeling and augmented reality, machine learning, renewable energy, urban planning, unmanned aircraft systems and multimedia. The criteria for selecting popular professions is based on Kazakhstan’s labour market, 700 employer questionnaires and state programmes and strategies like the 2025 Strategic Development Plan and the Digital Kazakhstan, Nurly Zhol, Nurly Zher and Industrial and Innovative Development state programmes. Computer hardware and electronics engineers, 3D modeling and augmented reality engineers, additive manufacturing engineers, machine learning system engineers, software developers, database analysts and system administrators top the list.
A centre for industrial design and packaging solutions will be created in Kazakhstan, reports Kazinform. The Kazakh Packaging Association and the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development will focus on repackaging and rebranding Kazakh goods to improve their export potential. Entrepreneurs aiming to export to China, Russia or Uzbekistan will be assisted in meeting the given country’s packaging requirements, Kazakh Packaging Association Chairman Batyrbek Aubakirov told a recent press conference in the capital.
