Incomes in Kazakhstan in the second quarter of 2018 increased by 9.3 percent compared to last year and amounted to 153,700 tenge (US$418.8). Inflation for the same period was only 6.2 percent compared to 2017, meaning that purchasing power has increased in the country. The highest average incomes are in Astana and Almaty, at 213,500 (US$581.7) and 218,800 tenge (US$596.2) respectively, while the lowest incomes are recorded in densely populated southern regions such as the Turkestan region, where it is on average 97,300 tenge (US$265.1). In general, the average income of the population has grown since 2015 at rates from 5.5 percent to 9.3 percent.
Investments in fixed assets of the financial and insurance sectors for the past eight months of this year fell by 11.5 percent compared to 2017 and amounted to 37.1 billion tenge (US$101.08 million). At the same time, the total volume of capital investments in Kazakhstan for the same period increased by 33 percent, and amounted to 6.4 trillion tenge (US$17.44 billion). The main source of capital investment funding in the sector are businesses’ own funds, which account for almost all investment in the sector; borrowed funds comprised only 0.04 percent. The leader in financial and insurance investments is Almaty, contributing 69.9 percent (25.9 billion tenge or US$70.57 million) of all investments in this field, while Astana comprises 13.5 percent or 5 billion tenge (US$13.62 million).
Kazakhstan’s banking sector recorded a profit of 418.6 billion tenge (US$1.14 billion) during the period from January to August of 2018, against a loss of 160.3 billion tenge (US$436.02 million) in the same period in 2017. In general, over the past five years, the profit of banks has increased by 2.5 times, amounting to 249.4 billion tenge (US$678.37 million). The share of the top five most profitable banks is 77.1 percent of the total profit of the sector, or 322.6 billion tenge (US$877.47 million). Halyk Bank leads by the share of profits with 43.9 percent, which is 183.7 billion tenge (US$499.66 million). Kaspi Bank’s share was 16.1 percent of profit, while Sberbank contributed 7.4 percent.
The total market value of the investment portfolio assets of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) was 8.8 trillion tenge (US$23.94 billion) by the end of August 2018, which is 12.7 percent higher than in 2017. The highest percentage growth in market value among financial instruments was in the Central Bank of non-residents issuers of Kazakhstan, which saw growth of about 128.6 percent. The Central Bank of foreign countries grew 20.7 percent and government securities of Kazakhstan grew 19.9 percent. In monetary terms, the increase in these assets amounted to $1 trillion.
The preparation of the power complex of Astana for the upcoming heating season is proceeding as planned, according to the Astana Akimat (city administration), as reported by inform.kz. As of October 2, the readiness of energy sources is 96 percent, heating networks 90 percent, electricity networks 99 percent, and water supply 94 percent. Fuel resources available amount to 332,606 tonnes of coal and 5,770 tonnes of fuel. In addition, over the past two days, 28 wagons with 1,942 tonnes of coal, have arrived in the capital.
The total amount of assets in Kazakhstan’s insurance sector reached 995.2 billion tenge (US$2.71 billion) at the end of August 2018. Although the average growth has slowed down, the sector still demonstrates a positive trend over the past five years. The largest insurance companies are Eurasia, the assets of which reached 249.5 billion tenge (US$678.64 million). The fastest growing company is Asia-Life, whose assets doubled over the year from 9.3 billion (US$25.29 million) to 19.1 billion tenge (US$51.95 million).
