Articles by Assel Satubaldina

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government recently adopted an action plan to implement the election platform of recently elected President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The platform focuses on continuing to have existing policies, ensuring justice and progress. Tokayev stressed during his campaign that if elected he would continue the political course of the country’s founding President Nursultan Nazarbayev. …

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh IT startups have attracted nearly 29 billion tenge (US$76.3 million) since 2018.  Astana Hub, the capital’s international technopark of IT startups, contributes to the country’s Digital Kazakhstan programme designed to build secure digital infrastructure, incorporate digital technologies into the country’s economy, digitise government services and train Kazakh specialists,  noted Minister of Digital…

NUR-SULTAN – Tin One Mining, the mineral exploration and development company co-owned by Lancaster Group and Samruk Kazyna Invest, has started exploration at Central Asia’s largest and Kazakhstan’s only tin field in Syrymbet village in the North Kazakhstan Region. Syrymbet is the world’s largest undeveloped tin and complex rare earth polymetal deposit. It was discovered…

NUR-SULTAN – Penal Reform International (PRI) is seeking to assist Kazakhstan in reforming its penal system, step up efforts to prevent torture and update detention facilities in line with international standards, said PRI Central Asia Director Azamat Shambilov. The organisation has been working for 30 years across 90 countries worldwide.   “There was one person,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh GDP growth, calculated at 4 percent from January-May, is maintaining positive dynamics, noted Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov. “The dynamics in investments outpace GDP growth rate. The growth advanced from 7.8 percent against 6.7 percent within four months. Investments in agriculture and construction rose one and a half percent. Investments in…

NUR-SULTAN – SCAT, Kazakhstan’s second largest airline, launched direct flights to Prague and Ulaanbaatar from the nation’s capital June 2 in an effort to boost tourist flow and make use of the country’s strategic location. The Nur-Sultan – Prague and Nur-Sultan – Ulaanbaatar flights will be operated Thursdays and Sundays on Boeing 737s. The airline…

NUR-SULTAN – More than 30,000 people took the opportunity to learn more about the cultural heritage and traditions of the Kazakh people during Nur-Sultan’s open-air ethnofest May 31 to June 2. The festival was organised by the Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) and the Kazakh Ethno Sport Association. The festival also coincided with the city’s June…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government adopted the latest package of amendments May 28 to the programme supporting domestic production of daily consumed goods and services, known as the Economy of Simple Things. The proposed measures include cutting the interest rate for end borrowers with a fixed state-subsidised share, introducing a preferential period for a maximum…

NUR-SULTAN – Amirzhan Kossanov, 55, considers himself the opposition candidate in the upcoming June 9 presidential elections in Kazakhstan, he told The Astana Times in an exclusive interview. This year’s election ballot will feature seven candidates and for the first time in the history of Kazakhstan, founding President Nursultan Nazarbayev is not a candidate. Kossanov…

NUR-SULTAN – Astana Motors, Kazakhstan’s leading car distributor, will build a Hyundai car assembly plant in Almaty, with the first cars slated to roll off its production line in 2020. The Hyundai Trans Plant will stretch across 25 hectares in the city’s special economic zone. Founded in 1992, Astana Motors is Kazakhstan’s first company in…

NUR-SULTAN – Amirzhan Kossanov, 55, is among the seven candidates running in Kazakhstan’s June 9 presidential election. In his platform, Kosanov, who positions himself as an opposition candidate, promises political freedoms, protecting the country’s and people’s interests, tougher measures to curb corruption and a course towards European standards. A Kyzylorda native, he was nominated April…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) generated more than 28 trillion tenge (US$73.8 billion) in 2018, said Vice Minister of National Economy Yermek Alpysov at a May 22 press briefing. The number of SMEs also grew 8.3 percent to 1,241,328 compared to 2017, with the most in Almaty, the capital and the…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh officials say e-commerce friendly legislation and increased agricultural sales have the potential to push e-commerce sales in Kazakhstan to 15 million buyers annually by 2025. E-commerce sales in Kazakhstan increased 1.5 times in 2018 over 2017 to $707.4 million and the number of buyers doubled over 2017 to 2.3 million people. The…

NUR-SULTAN – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) will loan $16.7 million to China’s Universal Energy to build a 30 MW solar power plant in Zhangiztobe in the East Kazakhstan region. The agreement was signed during the recent Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh ruling Nur Otan party congress unanimously nominated April 23 Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the party’s candidate for Kazakhstan’s June 9 presidential election. The nomination was supported by 600 delegates at the congress and was announced by former President and current party Chair Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev has described Tokayev as a “close…

NUR-SULTAN – More than 3,000 domestic and international economists, political leaders and civil society representatives are expected to gather May 16-17 in the Kazakh capital for the annual Astana Economic Forum (AEF). Approximately half the participants will be foreign delegates from more than 100 countries. The forum will address changes in global economies, the social…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan exported $68.3 billion in goods and services in 2018, a 24.2-percent growth compared to 2017, said Minister of Finance Ruslan Dalenov at the April 16 government meeting. Exports accounted for 40.1 percent of Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) and contributed 0.5 percent to the country’s GDP growth. “The growth is primarily due…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan plans to boost salaries for education system workers from 10-30 percent starting in June in conjunction with the new system of coefficients to be launched that month, said Kazakh Minister of Education Kulyash Shamshidinova at an April 15 press conference. The new set of coefficients for calculating salaries applies to state workers,…

NUR-SULTAN – The Rakhat Shymkent confectionery company plans to launch new product lines to produce marmalade by 2019 and sugar biscuits by 2020, said Rakhat Shymkent Director Zhyldyz Rahipbekova. South Korean Lotte Group, which owns 92.44 percent of Rakhat Shymkent’s shares, will invest five billion tenge (US$13.1 million) in the product lines. Rakhat has been…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s GDP rose 3.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019, said Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov at an April 10 meeting of the Kazakh Security Council chaired by the country’s First President, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Smailov noted a 4.8 percent decrease in inflation. Investments in fixed capital…

NUR-SULTAN – The virtual and augmented reality laboratory NurLab recently opened in the 73rd lyceum in the Kazakh capital. The lab gives students there the opportunity to interact with augmented or virtual reality content and create multi-dimensional environments for learning. The laboratory is a joint project of Kazakhstan’s STEM Academia and the Bolashak Association. “This…

NUR-SULTAN – Norwegian explorer William Byholt recently crossed Balkhash Lake in central Kazakhstan during a 23-day solo expedition. He covered 570 kilometres using skis and ice skates, becoming the first person to cross the waterway. The Feb. 20-March 15 expedition added to the 27-year-old traveller and mountaineer’s vast experience. Byholt has summited peaks such as…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will establish molecular genetic laboratories in its effort to boost support for early cancer diagnosis and treatment, said Minister of Healthcare Yelzhan Birtanov at the recent Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) meeting. This year, the nation will allocate an additional 309 million tenge (US$817,287) to conduct molecular genetic testing of lung, breast,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Egypt, celebrating 27 years of diplomatic relations, recorded $83.9 million in trade turnover in 2018, a 29-percent increase compared to the previous year. The countries noted huge untapped potential during the Kazakh-Egyptian business forum hosted March 5 in the capital and involving business and government representatives. Egyptian Deputy Minister of Trade…

ASTANA – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently signed a $11.5 million loan agreement with Baikonur Solar to provide the loan in tenge to build a 50 MW solar power plant in the Kyzylorda Region in southern Kazakhstan. Baikonur Solar, owned by United Green Energy and Baiterek Venture Fund, a subsidiary of Baiterek Holding, is…