AIFC, NASDAQ ink technology agreement for AIFC Exchange
ASTANA – The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and NASDAQ Inc. signed a technology agreement May 29 that will allow the AIFC Exchange to use the NASDAQ matching engine. “The matching engine will be implemented and go through several rigorous testing and acceptance stages before official deployment,” note NASDAQ officials on its website. “The NASDAQ…
Central Asian integration: more real than ever?
ASTANA – Numerous international leaders, experts, and environmentalists have been promoting Central Asian integration for decades. However, all such initiatives, one way or another, have not come to fruition. Until now. To many observers, the election of the new President in Uzbekistan last December and a diplomatic outreach he made to the neighbouring states in…
Thai embassy highlights diplomatic relations with evening of thrilling Muaythai boxing
ASTANA – The Royal Thai Embassy in Kazakhstan staged the Ambassador’s Cup, a friendly Muaythai boxing competition held at the Radisson Hotel May 25 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Thai-Kazakh relations. “When we were thinking about what could interest Kazakhs, we thought boxing was one of the areas where we could connect and this…
EXPO 2017 opening creates big expectations
ASTANA – A little less than two weeks are left before EXPO 2017 kicks off in the Kazakh capital and the whole country is anticipating the grand event. Photo credit: expoandwomen.com The exhibition area is almost ready, as the decorative works are being carried out – some parts of the exhibition look perfectly ready, while…
Astana Art Fest 2017, “Nomad Energy,” to Be Largest Yet
ASTANA – Astana’s traditional Art Fest, this year titled “Nomad Energy,” is to kick off June 17 on the Nur Zhol boulevard. According to its organisers, the 90-day event will be the biggest Art Fest yet. “At the moment, we are preparing for the grand opening and this year we received the most applicants ever…
EXPO caravan stops in Berlin as part of promotional tour through Europe
ASTANA – A mobile EXPO caravan, which started its tour through Europe Feb. 28 in Madrid, is now headed from Berlin to the Baltic States. The promotional roadshow is hoping to raise awareness about the upcoming specialised international exposition in the Kazakh capital. The opening ceremony in the German capital was attended by representatives of…
EXPO caravan stops in Berlin as part of promotional tour through Europe
ASTANA – A mobile EXPO caravan, which started its tour through Europe Feb. 28 in Madrid, is now headed from Berlin to the Baltic States. The promotional roadshow is hoping to raise awareness about the upcoming specialised international exposition in the Kazakh capital. The opening ceremony in the German capital was attended by representatives of…
Kazakh archers beat South Korean Olympic champions in first stage of 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup
ASTANA – Kazakh archers, heavy underdogs who have never been on the podium at the World Cup or World Archery Championships, beat an Olympic trio from South Korea May 21 to win its first-ever 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup stage in Shanghai, reported worldarchery.org. Kazakh Denis Gankin (ranked 43rd before the stage final and climbed…
Four Kazakh singers to participate in Placido Domingo Operalia during EXPO 2017
ASTANA – The prestigious Operalia, the world opera competition founded by Plácido Domingo, will take place in the capital July 24-29 as part of EXPO 2017. A total of 40 contestants from 17 countries, including four from Kazakhstan, are scheduled to participate. This will be the 25th season of the prestigious event. The host country…
Authorities in Karaganda region using all available tools to battle corruption
ASTANA – Last year, Kazakhstan was ranked 131st of 176 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. This, among many other factors, prompted government officials to develop various tools to battle the low rating in the hope of promoting a transparent Kazakhstan open to foreign businesses. The country has been struggling with ongoing corruption issues…
Kazakhstan’s open investment policy, EXPO, attract foreign investors to do business
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s efforts to draw foreign investors have marked the country as the “foreign investors’ haven” in Central Asia. For U.K.-based Aggreko, a supplier of temporary power generation equipment and temperature control equipment, this was one of the main reasons to enter the local market. “Aggreko provides flexible mobile scalable power, industrial cooling and…
Astana launches tri-lingual electronic library at bus stop to spread reading culture
ASTANA – The first electronic library in the capital has been installed at the Khan Shatyr bus stop, said Akim (Mayor) Asset Issekeshev in a May 1 Facebook post. Books can be downloaded via the QR code in three languages: Kazakh, Russian and English. “We wish Astana residents would read more. Happy holidays!” he said…
Foreign experts address biodiversity needs at Almaty gathering
ASTANA – The current global financial needs for biodiversity management are $150-440 billion per year, while expenditures are estimated at $52 billion, said Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) senior technical advisor Dr. David Meyers addressing a crowd April 25 at the BIOFIN regional workshop in Almaty. “This significant finance gap underpins the need to find new…
EBRD updates Kazakh strategy to reflect green economy transition
ASTANA – The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is updating its Kazakhstan strategy to highlight Kazakhstan’s Green Economy Transition as an example for other countries. Energy, resource efficiency and climate change mitigation will remain EBRD’s focus for the next four years. “The priorities of EBRD in Kazakhstan for 2017-21 period reflect a significant…
Kazakh TV productions to be broadcast in Kyrgyzstan
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s leading producer of television miniseries, the National Tele-Radio Corporation Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan TV), has agreed to broadcast its work on the Kyrgyz tele-radio broadcasting corporation, the Kazakhstan TV press service said recently. The agreement was concluded during a presentation of a Kazakhstan TV-produced mini-series in Bishkek between Kazakhstan TV Chairperson Yerlan Karin and…
WorldSkills Kazakhstan regional contest winners determined in Taldykorgan
ASTANA – A regional practical stage of the two-day contest for professional skills was held recently at the Taldykorgan College of Service and Technology and the College of Industrial Industry and New Technologies. The contest included students in such specialties as welding, cooking, hairdressing, modeling and clothing design. “In the conditions of building an innovative…
Kazakhstan to increase lamb exports to China
ASTANA – Kazakh authorities are planning to increase the volume of lamb exported to China by the end of April, said Vice Minister of Agriculture Gulmira Issayeva at a recent government meeting. “Kazakhstan’s bid was shortlisted and the Main Directorate for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China (MDQSIQ) decided to combine two inspection stages…
PwC director explains new Kazakh work permit rules for foreign citizens
ASTANA – Last year, the Kazakh government issued more than 36,000 work permits for foreign nationals, according to the prime minister’s official website data. Around one-third, or slightly more than 12,500, were issued to specialists from China and 3,500 to Turkish nationals, while Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom and India were also among the top inquirers.…
Secret weapons of Uzbek businesswomen
ASTANA – Uzbekistan’s mostly male-dominated entrepreneurial arena is slowly being populated by women. According to the Uzbek statistics committee, the number of businesswomen in small and private entrepreneurships grew 1.6 times in the past decade – more than 40 percent are successful managers and directors of small businesses. The Astana Times wanted to learn what…
Kazakh farmers face challenges in production and exporting wheat, yet opportunities are vast
ASTANA – The demand for Kazakh wheat will fall in the near future, said Nurlan Dautkanov, an expert in the field of industrial wheat processing, mainly because importing countries are gradually moving away from grain dependence to ensure their food security. For Kazakhstan, a country that was considered the largest grain exporter even in the…
Prosecutor General’s Office proposes new ways to combat theft
ASTANA – Two million thefts were committed in Kazakhstan in a span of 25 years, of which about 1.5 million remain unsolved, said Kussain Igembayev, head of the Prosecutor General’s Office second department, during the March 27 meeting of the coordinating council on ensuring the rule of law, law and order and combating crime and…
Dimash Kudaibergen wins Best Asian Singer in China’s Top Music Awards
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s new singing star Dimash Kudaibergen continues buzzing in China. Recently, he won the top award in the China Top Music Awards in the category Best Asian Popular Singer for his outstanding performances in the television show “Singer 2017,” which will broadcast April 8 – 15 during the grand finale of the season.…
Astana raises a pint to pub culture
ASTANA – No matter what is happening in Kazakhstan – financial crisis, political uncertainty or Barys bowing out of the Continental Hockey League’s (KHL) playoffs, pubs in the capital are crowded and busy come Thursday, Friday and Saturday. “People will always be going to bars and pubs, because it’s become a culture to have a…
Festival of Disney films in Kazakh underway in Almaty
ASTANA – A festival of the best Disney films in the Kazakh language is taking place in Almaty until the end of March with the possibility of prolonging it until the mid-April, the Almaty city Akimat (city administration) reports. According to local media, the festival was organised for the Nauryz celebrations. The festival is open…
Being a woman and doing business in Central Asia
ASTANA – Being a businesswoman and a housewife at the same time is really arduous – in a society in which most household chores are still the province of women, a working mom must juggle cooking a meal for the kids, planning business meetings and keeping in mind what to put on the grocery list.…
