Business News in Brief
Max Petroleum Plc, an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Kazakhstan, has started two new wells in the Zhana Makat field and Uytas field, the company reported earlier in July. In particular, the company has commenced drilling the ZMA-A21 development well on Block E of the Zhana Makat field. The well will…
Economy News in Brief
Kazakhstan’s economy received a record $22.5 billion in foreign investment in 2012, First Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan Albert Rau said at a government meeting on July 16. He noted that the investment structure had changed over recent years and that more than 40 percent of the investments were in the…
External News in Brief
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in the beginning of July conducted an International Radiological Assistance Programme Training for Emergency Response (I-RAPTER) training in Almaty. The training, held at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty, included using radiation detection equipment to locate hidden radioactive sources during a practical exercise. “Over many years, NNSA…
Domestic News in Brief
On July 22, nominations for mayoral candidates of rural districts were completed in Western Kazakhstan. Overall, 473 candidates for 149 rural counties, two towns and one city district were nominated, with three or four candidates contending for each seat. According to the Regional Election Commission, the nomination of candidates for mayors in rural areas was…
Business News in Brief
The Hyundai AutoTrans company entered the Customs Union market. In 2012, about 250 trucks were exported to Belarus; this number will double in 2013. The company is supported by state programmes aimed at assisting small and medium businesses. The main goal of Kazakhstan’s State Programme of Industrial-Innovative Development is ensuring sustainable and balanced economic growth…
Economy News in Brief
Cooperation with more than 400 investors planning to finance several projects in Kazakhstan worth over $15.7 billion is being established presently in the country. The following projects are planned to be implemented in Kazakhstan: construction of Boehmer GmbH’s ball valve plant in Karaganda, construction of Linde AG’s air separation block in the oxygen section of…
External News in Brief
Defence ministers and security officials of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) gathered in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, to discuss regional security issues. Reports from the June 26 talks said the ministers focused on strengthening military cooperation as international combat forces leave Afghanistan by the end of next year. Kyrgyz Defence Minister Taalaybek Omuraliev said the…
Domestic News in Brief
At an urgent meeting on July 2, Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov ordered the establishment of a government commission headed by Minister of Environmental Protection Nurlan Kapparov to study the environmental impact of the crash of Russia’s Proton-M rocket in the area adjacent to the territory of Baikonur cosmodrome. Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Bozhko and…
Domestic News in Brief
On June 18, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law “On amendments and additions to the National Budget for 2013-2015,” the Akorda’s press service reported. The law is aimed at specifying the macro-economic indicators of the country’s development in 2013. According to information provided by the head of the media group on preparing and…
External News in Brief
The international seminar for civil servants’ advanced training on the subject of Strategic Planning held at the Academy of Public Administration ended June 14. The seminar was attended by civil servants of central and local executive state agencies. The lecturers were Matthew Stafford, dean of the Federal Executive Institute (FEI), and Rebekka Ayers, senior official…
Economy News in Brief
On June 19, President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved amendments to state budget for 2013-2015. The head of state signed the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Introduction of Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the National Budget for 2013-2015,” aimed at clarifying the macroeconomic development of the country this…
Business News in Brief
The Akmola region will implement one of the largest projects in Kazakhstan within the framework of EXPO 2017. This was reported by the press service of the Akim (Governor) of the Akmola region. Construction of the Samal wind farm in the Yereymentau district of the Akmola region will be one of the largest foreign investments…
Business News in Brief
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to assist in financing innovation projects of small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan, bank head Sir Suma Chakrabarti told a plenary session of the Council of Foreign Investors under the President of Kazakhstan on May 22. “After restructuring the largest banks in Kazakhstan, the system…
Domestic News in Brief
On June 8, Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov of Kazakhstan held a meeting on the implementation of the instructions given to the government by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev on June 7. “The president returned to the Parliament the draft law on pension reform for additional discussion and voting on the term of the introduction of the…
External News in Brief
One of the biggest mosques in Asia has been built in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KZHF) announced.The Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque, which can accommodate 6,000 worshippers, was inaugurated by Dr. Hadef Bin Jua’an Al Daheri, minister of justice, as a cluster of projects funded by the foundation.…
Economy News in Brief
An IMF mission led by Hossein Samiei, Division Chief at IMF visited Almaty and Astana on May 22-June 3 to conduct the 2013 Article IV consultation. The mission met with government and central bank officials, as well as representatives of the private sector and civil society organizations. The authorities’ vision of Kazakhstan developing into a…
Economy News in Brief
On May 23, President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with Nobel Prize winners in economics, physics, and physiology and medicine at the sixth Astana Economic Forum. The state of the international financial and economic system and Kazakhstan’s initiatives for developing design solutions for the world economy to transition to a path of sustainable development were discussed at…
Business News in Brief
In Kazakhstan, the prices for industrial products fell 2.3 percent in April, according to Kazakhstan’s Statistics Agency. The prices in the mining industry decreased by 3.2 percent and manufacturing prices fell 0.6 percent. The prices for gas condensate decreased by 4.1 percent, oil by 4 percent, liquefied propane and butane by 3.9 percent, natural gas…
External News in Brief
On May 27, Kazakhstan’s foreign minister Erlan Idrissov, defense minister Adilbek Zhaksybekov and Security Council Secretary Kairat Kozhamzharov took part in the meetings of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) statutory bodies – Council of Foreign Ministers, Council of Defense Ministers and Security Council Secretaries Committee – in Bishkek. Participants discussed topical issues of the…
Domestic News in Brief
The Karaganda and Schuchinsk resort area in the future will be part of the Astana agglomeration. This was announced at the IV International Investment Forum Astana Invest 2013 by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov. In this regard, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has urged the government’s foreign partners to invest more actively in the development of Kazakhstan’s…
Economy News in Brief
Speaking at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’s 22nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors and Business Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, finance minister of Kazakhstan Bolat Zhamishev announced on May 10 that the country will raise funds by issueing a Eurobond worth €1 billion. “In 2013 we would like to go back to…
Economy News in Brief
The Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund is considering launching 83 new investment projects worth $51.7 billion, the fund’s managing director Berik Beisengaliyev told a meeting discussing investment results for 2012 and plans for 2013 on April 17. “Today the investment portfolio of the fund includes 100 projects worth $81 billion and, 27 projects that have…
External News in Brief
President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan signed a law ratifying the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Korea in the field of development, financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of Balkhash Thermal Power Plant, the presidential press service reported. The intergovernmental agreement is aimed at the…
Domestic News in Brief
The Government of Kazakhstan has adopted a comprehensive plan to promote employment of persons older than 50 years (50+ Initiative), developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in the framework of the modernization of the country’s pension system. The plan provides for the creation of jobs in the framework of the currently implemented…
Economy News in Brief
A regular meeting of the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission on economic, scientific and technical, and cultural cooperation will be held soon in Ashgabat, the government of Turkmenistan announced on April 20. The meeting will discuss implementing current intergovernmental agreements and expanding bilateral cooperation. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have signed more than 60 agreements including an agreement on…
