Expats Invited to Participate in Winter Rally Sprint
ASTANA – The Samruk Winter Rally Sprint will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2017 and organisers are encouraging everybody to participate in the event. Expats are especially welcome. “Samruk Winter Rally Sprint is one of the most affordable motorsports in Kazakhstan and this is the first motorsport event which was established in the country. In…
Top Kazakh Companies to Be Privatised through IPO in 2017, 2018
ASTANA – A Kazakh government commission has approved the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund’s plan to privatise major Kazakh national companies through initial public offerings (IPOs) beginning this year, head of Samruk Kazyna Umirzak Shukeyev announced Dec. 6. “Air Astana plans an IPO in late 2017 or early 2018, depending on market conditions. The deal…
Agricultural and Chemical Investment Day Kicks off in Taraz
ASTANA – Taraz Invest – AgroChemical Day, an international forum held Nov. 25 in its namesake city, was successful in its goal of attracting foreign investment to develop the industry in the region. Memorandums and agreements worth nearly 120 billion tenge (US$354 million) were signed at the conference. “Every year, the Zhambyl region has been…
A Successful Future Kazakhstan Must Protect Secularity, Stamp out Corruption, Improve Economic Productivity, Experts Say
ASTANA – For Kazakhstan to be successful as it reaches its 50th birthday in 2041, the country will have to protect its secularity, stamp out corruption, improve economic productivity, continue building strong regional connections and overhaul its agricultural and land tenure systems, the authors of a new study say. Prominent scholars Frederick Starr, Johan Engvall…
Shares of Major National Companies to Be Listed at AIFC
ASTANA – Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev stated recently that shares of major national companies will be listed at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). He said there are several companies that will undergo privatisation, including those in the “Top 65,” which contains the largest companies of Kazakhstan, nine of which are the flagships…
Prosecutor General Offers New Methods to Fight Sexual Violence
ASTANA – Kazakh Prosecutor General Zhakip Asanov has recommended all male prosecutors finish their current rape criminal cases and not take on similar ones. He feels female prosecutors are preferable for cases involving sexually violent crimes. “We sit here and know nothing that’s going on the ground and the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not…
Green Technologies Learning Centre Kicks off to Support Transition to Green Economy
ASTANA – The Green Technologies Learning Centre, which complies with Kazakhstan’s green energy concept, opened Nov. 8 in the capital. The centre is supported by the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which are assisting the nation’s transition to a green economy model. “This pilot…
More than Half of Kazakh Citizens to Live in South by 2050
ASTANA – More than half of Kazakhstan’s citizens will live in the southern regions by 2050, a fact considered to be a problem because of the state’s regional disparities in labour forces, said Minister of Health and Social Development Tamara Duissenova. “The forecast of population growth conducted by national experts shows that the population of…
6,000 Kilometres of Highways Reconstructed, New Air Routes to Open for EXPO 2017
ASTANA – Vice Minister of the Ministry for Investments and Development Berik Kamaliyev recently updated the press on road construction and negotiations with foreign airlines to launch new routes during EXPO 2017. “We will continue to work on our projects in Centre-South, Centre-East, Beineu-Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau-Astrakhan, Almaty-Ust-Kamenogorsk, Astana-Petropavlovsk-Russian border, Uralsk-Kamenka, Uzynagash-Otar, Zhetybai-Zhanaozen. In general, it…
National Bank: Inflation Amounts to 5.6 percent since Beginning of Year
ASTANA – National Bank Chairman Daniyar Akishev reported about a 5.6 percent inflation rate since the beginning of the year at the Oct. 25 government meeting on social and economic development for the first nine months of 2016. He also discussed the results of the National Bank’s ongoing monetary policy and the situation in the…
KMG International Upgrades its European Gas Stations
ASTANA – KMG International has changed the concept of its gas stations, making them less expensive to build and maintain and offering customers more service options. The company has already built 160 such modern, modular gas stations in Europe. “A client is your first source of income. In the long run, he is who pays…
Chinese Companies Participate in 15 Agricultural Projects across Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Vice Minister of Agriculture Gulmira Issayeva briefed the annual China Overseas Investment Fair (COIFair) in Beijing on 15 major Kazakh-Chinese agricultural projects in eight Kazakhstan regions. “There are approximately 40 projects with the participation of foreign investors in the field of agriculture,” Isayeva said at the plenary session of the fair as…
Kazakhstan Ranks 30th among 144 Nations on Gender Equality
ASTANA – Kazakhstan was recently ranked 30th out of 144 countries in gender equality, according to a new report by the non-profit Save the Children. The ranking places Kazakhstan ahead of countries such as the U.S., Japan, Hungary, Slovakia and Montenegro. The rating estimates situations in different states of the world that impact the wellbeing…
AIFC, Nasdaq to Cooperate on Trading Infrastructure
ASTANA – Chairman of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Kairat Kelimbetov and President and Chief Operating Officer of Nasdaq Adena Friedman recently met and signed a memorandum of understanding concerning a new exchange in Astana. “The new exchange, which will be established in Astana and start trading in the second half of 2017, will…
First Charity Shop Launched in Astana
ASTANA – Riza Charity Shop, the capital’s first thrift shop, opened in early September to collect used clothes, footwear and electronics from locals. Its owner ships up to 90 percent of the goods to charitable funds and organisations free of charge. The remainder is sold and the money is used to cover expenses and finance…
Kazakh Airlines Overview Shows Four Major Airlines Dominating Market
ASTANA – Twenty-one airlines operate in Kazakhstan, only four of which are really big enough to be called national carriers and compete in the Kazakh market of passenger air travel services. Air Astana, SCAT, Bek Air and Qazaq Air are the leaders in the Kazakh skies, annually transporting thousands of people and thousands of tonnes…
New Study Highlights Global Trends in Civil Service
ASTANA – The Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana and the United Nations Development Programme Global Centre for Public Service Excellence in Singapore recently presented a large-scale study called Global and Regional Trends in Civil Service Development. The study is a unique summary review, which combines theory and expertise from leading international experts in…
Petrochemical Day Invest 2016 Kicks off in Atyrau
ASTANA – Atyrau, the oil capital of Kazakhstan, held its inaugural regional investment forum gathering experts of the petrochemical industry on Sept. 30. The event sought to attract small and medium businesses to the industry to operate in the special economic zone (SEZ). “The region has been a leader in attracting investments over the last…
Kazakh President Visits Pavlodar Region, Launches Mining Plant
ASTANA – Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited agricultural and industrial complexes, launched the Bozshakol mining and processing plant and met with local farmers during a Sept. 29 visit to the Pavlodar region. “A 7,000-kilometre-long highway will be constructed for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in five years. Government helps its citizens during economic crisis.…
One and a-Half Million Ethnic Kazakhs Live in China
ASTANA – China is home to nearly 1.5 million ethnic Kazakhs, reported the Chinese State Committee for Nationalities during a meeting of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Board. “As of today, 1.46 million ethnic Kazakhs live in China. At that, 1.42 million live in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous…
Evidence of Ancient Assyrian Church Discovered in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – The ancient city of Ilyn Balik is well known from pilgrims’ travels. Recent excavations in Usharal village have uncovered an ancient city and cemetery with eight Nestorian gravestones and the markers prove Christianity was present in Kazakhstan long before Western imperialism. Information about Ilyn Balik, situated 60 kilometres from the Chinese border, can…
Int’l Experts Gather in Astana to Help Design Capital’s Public Transportation System
ASTANA – The world’s leading experts in the development of public transport systems will gather in Astana Sept. 25-26 to help design the capital’s transportation systems for decades to come. The event, called Trends in the Development of the Transport Complex of Astana, is being organised by Astana LRT and the International Association of Public…
HeartStitch and Nazarbayev University Open Innovative Medical Production Facility
ASTANA – Nazarbayev University and the HeartStitch company opened a “clean room” for the production of medical devices in Astana Sept. 20. The company is one of the first projects of the Astana Business Campus and is closest to commercialising some of its projects in the field of biomedicine. By producing high-tech medical products in…
Almaty Celebrates 1,000th Birthday
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s former capital and current financial centre, Almaty, is celebrating its 1,000-year anniversary with gala concerts and a number of other events organised by the city administration. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, attending the concert marking the millennium on Sept. 18, congratulated the country on the birthday of its beloved and beautiful city.…
Kazakh Universities Enter World’s Top Universities
ASTANA – QS World University Rankings, designed to help prospective students choose the school to continue their education, presented its rankings of the best universities in the world. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University took first place among the nation’s universities and entered the list of the 250 best universities of the world. The rating takes into…
