Articles by Kseniya Voronina

ASTANA – Kazakh airline Air Astana was named the most dynamically developing carrier of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the Pulkovo Saint Petersburg Airport in its LED Together competition. The sixth annual ceremony LED Together brought together representatives of airlines, tourism and cultural industries of Saint Petersburg and North-West Russia. Pulkovo is the…

ASTANA – Kazakh citizens used electronic government services nearly 40 million times in 2016, with the total number of services rendered at 160 million, according to the National Information Technologies company. The most popular services provided by eGov.kz in 2016 included address references, a fact sheet of registrations, creation of charges on real estate and…

ASTANA – Air Astana recently won the Sheremetyevo Airport Award for the first time in the category “Best Foreign Airlines – Passenger Choice.” The award was based on votes cast via the airport’s social media, according to the press service of the airline. Sheremetyevo Airport’s SVO Awards was established two years ago to encourage the…

ASTANA – More than 10,000 vehicles valued at 61.5 billion tenge (US$185 million) were produced in Kazakhstan during the first 11 months of 2016. The government aims to achieve 50-percent localisation in vehicle production and increase the export of Kazakh cars to 40 percent of total production volume by 2018. “Technically, Kazakhstan’s car industry is…

ASTANA – The presentation of existing facilities and launch of the largest projects as part of the Industrialisation Map programme were held during a Dec. 6 teleconference with the participation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Twenty-three industrial projects have been launched, including modernised blast furnace number 4 at the ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the second route on the…

ASTANA – The National Bank of Kazakhstan has reduced the base interest rate to 12 percent with a corridor of plus or minus 1 percentage points, according to its Chairman Daniyar Akishev. The liquidity provision operations rate is now 13 percent with the liquidity withdrawal operations rate at 11 percent. The Bank lowered the rate…

ASTANA – Finnair, the national flag carrier and largest airline of Finland and member of the Oneworld international alliance, has announced it will offer direct flights from Helsinki to Astana in time for the opening of EXPO 2017. “Adding the Helsinki – Astana route will be a great asset to our growing network for summer…

ASTANA – Twenty-two billion tenge (US$63.7 million) was invested in Almaty’s city leisure infrastructure in the first nine months of this year, according to Energy.kz. The biggest investment attractions for the southern capital were real estate operations and trade and transport infrastructure, which make up 51 percent of the city’s entire investment portfolio for nine…

ASTANA – Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana Alikhan Baimenov recently met with Jorge Chediek, Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation to discuss cooperating in the field of public service, according to the press service of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana. During…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is working to increase the volume of container shipments along the Western Europe – Western China route and through the country’s territory. Up to 800,000 containers are to pass through Kazakhstan in 2020, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Investment and Development Zhenis Kassymbek announced at a Nov. 1 government meeting. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National…

ASTANA – Individuals connected with EXPO 2017 unveiled the designs of the Kazakh, German and Chinese pavilions as the buildings were transferred to the participating countries on Oct. 31. Chairman of Astana EXPO 2017 national company Akhmetzhan Yessimov noted construction of the main pavilion, informally known as the “Ball” or “Sphere,” will be finished by…

ASTANA – Chamberlain club hosted the first International Horse Exhibition KazEqui-2016 and a horse show Oct. 8-9 in Almaty. The show promotes the “soft method” of working with animals, which means training without violence and force. “Interest in the event is high, and it is not a coincidence, because Kazakhstan is a country with a…

ASTANA – A phased increase of excise duties on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products to strengthen the fiscal functions of excise duties will be introduced. This was announced by Kazakh Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev at the recent presentation of the draft law “On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of Kazakhstan on…

ASTANA – Astana EXPO 2017 organisers predict that the exhibition will receive approximately 5 million visits over three months. The organisers offer Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs the opportunity to take part in the selection of commercial services for the event in Astana. It is planned to organise the following services and sell the following products: pharmacy, excursions…

ASTANA – Proposals to introduce 234 amendments to the law “On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of Kazakhstan on issues of taxation and customs administration” include 207 amendments on tax administration and 27 on fiscal policy, said Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev at the recent governmental meeting. The changes aim to create…

ASTANA – With the support of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE), the Committee of State Revenues launched a campaign Oct. 1 called “Ask for a receipt – win a prize!” Like last year, the main prize is a Kazakh-produced car, announced committee spokesman Murat Zhumanbai. Receipts are accepted in electronic format via the…

The head of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev suggested introducing irrevocable deposits for Kazakh citizens during a recent session of the government with the participation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. According to Akishev, the second half of the current year will showcase a gradual recovery of the lending process. “We can see some positive…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently ordered the government and National Bank of Kazakhstan to get rid of so called “bad” debts. “We have learned from the bad experience we had in 2007-2009. We have to be strict with banks to make them responsible for all financial institutions they manage. We have to inform…

ASTANA – National Bank of Kazakhstan Chairman Daniyar Akishev announced the total amount of foreign investments in the Kazakh economy during the current year so far was $5.7 billion. The statement was made at the Sept. 9 enlarged session of the government with the participation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In his report on the GDP…

The Kazakhstan Stock Market (KASE) Board of Directors recently approved the inclusion of commercial bonds on the exchange. In accordance with the rules, starting Sept. 5, a new sector called Commercial Bonds will launch. The sector is meant for short-term bonds of companies that participate in KASE listings and whose security papers are included on…

Serik Kozhaniyazov, deputy akim of Kyzylorda region and the President’s special representative at the Baikonur launch site, spoke about the region’s preparations in light of the upcoming international exhibition at the third meeting of the Astana EXPO 2017 public council. “The Kyzylorda region is preparing to greet a lot of tourists who will come to…

The Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev commented on the recent decision made by the bank management concerning the base rate. It was decided to reduce it from 15 percent to 13 percent. He also stressed some positive trends related to a number of external macroeconomic indicators that, ultimately, influenced the base…

Kazakhstan will be exempted from customs duties on titanium oxide import starting Sept.  1 until Aug. 31, 2021. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), reported the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. The EEC board members discussed custom and tariff regulation issues, related to the decrease…

ASTANA – Young policeman Murat Baltabek became a victim of the unlawful actions by Ruslan Kulekbaev and was shot through the shoulder in the July 18 Almaty attacks. The road patrol policeman was discharged from hospital on July 25. “The patient was delivered to us with a gunshot wound in the right shoulder having traumatic…

ASTANA – One third of Kazakh buyers in June chose cars made in Kazakhstan, and official sales of new cars in the country increased by 9 percent in June when compared with May. The Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Businesses reported that 3,880 units were sold in June, while authorised dealers sold 3,573 units in May.…

President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited socially and economically important enterprises in Astana on June 30. The head of state inspected Astana Transport and Logistics Centre, where he toured the simplified customs clearance area and became acquainted with its work. He also talked with employees, emphasising the key role of transport and logistics services for the country’s…

Zero to One, a Kazakh mobile app company, has announced plans to train no fewer than 1,000 professional developers and create at least 1,000 iOS and Android mobile apps. The ambitious goal is expected to be reached with the help of several start-up projects which have already launched this year. Summer Start Up School (www.thesummerstartupschool.com)…

ASTANA – National Bank Chairman Daniyar Akishev recently spoke at a government meeting about using pension assets to stimulate economic growth and employment in 2016 and 2017. “The National Bank is the co-executive in two directions related to the allocation of funds from the Single Accumulative Pension Fund (SAPF). In 2016, there are plans to…

ASTANA – Thirty-five-thousand tonnes of oil will be produced at the Kashagan field in December, announced Kazakh Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev during a recent public briefing. “The launch of the Kashagan field is expected by the end of 2016, as we planned it. We expect the initial volume of production at Kashagan at the…

Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev recently announced the bank has introduced a new basic interest rate, which is an important tool for monetary policy and an indicator for market conditions. “The reduction of the basic rate from 17 percent to 15 percent means the reduced volatility of market rates. This measure…

Astana Cards, which will be used to pay for public transportation in Astana, became available May 4. These cards are part of the new Astra Plat payment system for public transport, which is going to be introduced on May 31 for express and suburban routes and by the end of the summer for all city…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has taken comprehensive measures to develop domestic transplantation surgeries, which increase the number of organ transplants. For comparison, in 2009-2010 there were nine transplantations and in 2015 – 204. “Only two technologies were introduced in 2011,four in 2010, seven in 2012, and 10 in 2015. These include operations for heart transplant, liver,…

Switzerland is going to demonstrate its innovative solar panels for the first time at EXPO 2017 in Astana, announced representative of the Swiss national pavilion Philippe Roesle. “We will start working and equipping our pavilion in November this year. Kazakhstan gives us more than enough time to realise all our ideas. As for content, it…

The Rosatom press service recently announced that two joint ventures Karatau and Akbastau together with Kazatomprom and Uranium One are working on a unique technique to extract uranium by in-situ recovery method (ISR) in alkaline soil. This method is going to help extract more uranium, which was technologically unreachable. “For the first time in world…

ASTANA – All eight target indicators have been achieved during the implementation of the Salamatty Kazakhstan initiative. Vice Minister of Health and Social Development Alexei Tsoi announced that the World Bank gave a positive assessment of the implementation of all areas of the state programme on health for 2011-2015. According to the vice minister, measures…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the county’s national railroad and logistics company, is planning a decline in domestic freight traffic by 16 percent in 2016 compared to 2012. Timely selection of a strategy aimed at gaining positions in the transcontinental transit traffic market, however, has simultaneously enabled the company to increase container traffic volume…

The initial capitalisation of the Kazakh-Hungarian Direct Investment Fund totalled $40 million, according to an official announcement during the fund’s recent advisory board meeting in Astana, reported kazpravda.kz. The corresponding communique was signed by KazAgro Chairman of the Board Nurlybek Malelov and Hungarian Eximbank Deputy General Director Andras Puskas. “The initial capitalisation of the Kazakh-Hungarian…

Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev, speaking at a recent forum on corporate governance and new perspectives for the investment attractiveness of the state, stressed that the bank plans to offer a series of options for stock market development. He also questioned the reason for the existence of the stock market and…

Eureka, a new interactive sci-fi park for children with more than 60 exhibits showcasing the laws of physics, has opened in Kostanay, Kazpravda.kz reported. All items are available to touch and use for experiments and tests. According to Director of the sci-fi park Vyacheslav Timakov, the interactive area was created with the help of professors…

ASTANA – Kazpochta has introduced online money transfers allowing Kazakh holders of Visa payment cards to carry out money transfers through the Salem, Tenge! system to get cash in any branch of Kazpochta, the company recently announced. “Now clients of the company can carry out money transfers from a payment card to any department of…

ASTANA – The Telegraph has named the 10,000 tenge banknote (2003 series) one of the most beautiful currencies of the world. “The 10,000 tenge banknote issued in Kazakhstan in 2003 features a snow leopard against a background of mountains,” according to the Telegraph. The tenge has repeatedly been honoured with professional awards. In 1994, the…

Secretary of State of Kazakhstan Gulshara Abdykalikova paid a visit to the KazTexExpo automated trade-industrial complex to assess its work in meeting domestic demand for textiles and the role it plays in Kazakhstan’s growing system of vocational orientation and education. Member of the Council of Business Women of the Astana Chamber of Entrepreneurs Saule Shauenova,…

ASTANA – Atameken Council of Business Women of Kazakhstan Chairperson Lyazzat Ramazanova recently spoke about women’s entrepreneurship in the nation, as well as the possible financing of women’s business projects through various financial institutions, during a Central Communication Service press conference. “There are several financial channels for development of female entrepreneurship, including the EBRD (European…

ASTANA – Chairman of the KAZNEX INVEST National Agency for Export and Investment Borisbiy Zhangurazov called on enterprises to develop promising export destinations during a recent press conference at the Central Communications Service. “Today, we have more than 20 different commodity items demanded on the  Chinese market, including pastry, rice, soft drinks, turkey meat as…

How do economic difficulties impact the choices of Kazakhs regarding travel destinations? What are the prospects for stronger domestic tourism development? What are attractive elements of visiting Kazakhstan for foreigners? Which destinations are expected to increase in popularity with Kazakh vacationers this year? First Vice-Minister of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhenis…

ASTANA – Experts commented on the promotion of sports and show business stars to the Nur Otan party list for the upcoming election during a Jan. 29 Central Communications Service press conference. “One of the important issues discussed during the 17th congress of the Nur Otan Party was the approval of the list of candidates…

The press service of the national company KazTransGas recently announced that Kyrgyzstan has paid off its debt to Kazakhstan for natural gas consumed after 2004. The total amount of $41.6 million includes the gas supply prices, as well as unauthorised gas pickup between 2004 and 2014. KazTransGas was facing the problem of delayed payments coming…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has approved a new list of privatisations in the public and quasi-public sectors, including shares of the 65 largest national companies that are part of holdings such as Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, Baiterek and KazAgro. The decision was announced during the so called government hour, a report by the cabinet to…

Talking with journalists for an interview televised Dec. 13, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev explained the reason for the transition of the United Accumulated Pension Fund to the private sector, saying that Kazakhstan has joined international best practice by introducing three categories of pension payers: taxpayers, employers and the state. Before that the only payer was…

ASTANA – Vice Minister of National Economy Kairbek Uskenbayev announced at a recent Central Communications Service (CCS) briefing amendments made to the Land Code of Kazakhstan and a government plan to sell agricultural lands for 600 billion tenge (US$1.9 billion). “We can say that 97.4 million hectares (98.8 percent) of lands are leased. According to…

ASTANA – During the official visit of the Kazakh delegation led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to London on Nov. 3, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote access by investors and issuers to the capital markets of Kazakhstan and Great Britain as well…

ASTANA –A special Islamic financial company is to be established in Kazakhstan to issue sukuk – Islamic bonds, according to interfax.kz. “The National Bank has developed amendments to the legislation of Kazakhstan with provisions to improve the terms for issuing state Islamic bonds,” the National Bank reported. Development of the amendments is due to the…

ASTANA – Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Kairat Kelimbetov believes the tenge will stabilise in the next three to five months, according to Interfax. “Once the tenge stabilises, I think in the coming three to five months, it is quite evident that we would need to expand credit to achieve high levels of…

The new State Loan Office, which is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, started operations on Oct. 1 and is now accepting personal credit reports as part of its lending operations. Since April last year, the organisation has been preparing to bring information systems in line with Kazakh laws concerning the operation…

“Do good things and post them on social media” is the motto of Acts of Kindness, a social action programme presented Oct. 6 in Astana. Initiated by the National Volunteer Network and supported by the Seventh TV channel, organisers believe the measure will help them achieve several goals at once: helping those in need, spreading…

ASTANA – Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov recently announced that the government will continue subsidies for healthy agricultural businesses, but will no longer support non-competitive agricultural enterprises. “The concern about further farming subsidies is growing. I can say that the agricultural sector will receive governmental support. As stated in our development programme, we are going…

Seven hundred websites and 21 religious organisations have been banned in Kazakhstan in reaction to extremist ideas and terrorist threats in the country, announced Kazakh Prosecutor General Askhat Daulbayev during an Aug. 27 meeting of attorneys general organised in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana. “Apart from organisations, whose activities were…

ASTANA – A systematic and comprehensive analysis of the legislative work of the Kazakh Parliament has begun in the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) and its structural and its structural divisions. “The first results of this work for the session in the new format are published for general use. The publication contains a QR code…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s rate of inflation slowed to 3.9 percent in June as a result of joint actions by the National Bank and government. “Annual inflation at the end of 2014 was 7.4 percent. In June 2015 it was 3.9 percent in annual terms. Inflation was 6.1 percent in early February of this year,” said…

Kazakhmys Corporation and the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan recently announced the winners of the Balausa competition to select the best literary work in the Kazakh language for children of preschool age. Two-hundred-fifty works from 210 participants were received for the competition. The jury consisted of famous children’s writers YeskenYelubai, Sultan Kaliyev, BeibitSarybay as well…

In an effort to encourage conscionable entrepreneurs, the Kazakh Ministry of Finance will be developing the institute of authorised economic operators. The announcement was made during the recent briefing dedicated to interaction issues within Eurasian integration. “We will continue working in support of conscionable entrepreneurs. We have already made the appropriate changes to the legislation…

A new report shows that Astana’s city hospital is the country’s highest rated multidisciplinary medical institution followed by Kostanai city hospital and Rudny city hospital. Tekeli hospital of the Almaty region was rated lowest in this category. The report was compiled by the National Centre for Health Development, which rated 94 multidisciplinary medical institutions in…

ASTANA – A 2014 ranking by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) placed Kazakhstan 101st of 135 countries on the World Giving Index. As a result, participants at a recent meeting concluded the need for the nation to develop and adopt a draft law on charity, according to the Nur Otan party press service. “Of course society…

Confederation of Combat Sports and Powerlifting Chairman Timur Kulibayev directed members of the confederation during a March 12 confederation meeting to intensify their preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games. New Confederation Director General Daniar Abulgazin was also introduced at the meeting. He took the position after the resignation of Saken Musaibekov, who was appointed by…

A delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by General in Chief of the Iranian Naval Forces Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made an official visit to Astana on March 2, reported the press service of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. “Today’s visit by Rear Admiral Sayyari is another step in…

ASTANA –Secretary of State of Kazakhstan Gulshara Abdykalikovaand Antonio Somme, head of the Eurasian Competitiveness Programme of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), met Feb. 27 to discuss increasing the involvement of women in the Kazakh economy. “A special issue of the meeting was the initiative of the OECD aimed at improving the…

ASTANA – According to Kazakh Minister of Education and Science Aslan Sarinzhipov, 506 new kindergartens will begin operating in the country this year. The announcement was made during a Feb. 16 briefing at the Central Communications Service. “This year we will continue developing the pre-school and education infrastructure in the country. Seventy-five out of the…

An historical and archaeological museum, as well as a centre for visitors built on the site of the ancient city, will be opened in Taraz this year. The decision was announced by the head of the Department for Culture and Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Sports Aktoty Raiymkulova during a briefing recently in…

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have submitted 12 applications for grants to solve environmental issues in the Mangistau region, said Director of Eco Mangistau Kirill Osin on Jan. 29. Announced in November, the deadline for filing applications to the small grants programme in the region was Jan. 31. During this time, a dozen applications were received. The…

As per the forecasts, Kazakhstan experienced a 4.3 percent gross domestic product (GDP) increase during 2014, according to the Chairman of the Statistics Committee of the Ministry of National Economy Alikhan Smailov. A short-termeconomic indicatoramounted to 102.8 percent from January–December 2014. The fixedasset formation was 574.7 billiontenge (US$3.1 billion), which means that the investment volume…

Almaty City Akim (Mayor) Akhmetzhan Yessimov said during a Dec. 19 Central Communications Service briefing that hosting the Winter Olympics in Almaty in 2020 would be profitable for the city and that only one new structure would have to be built if the city is chosen to host the 2020 games. Yessimov said that unlike…