Articles by ASSEL SATUBALDINA

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…

NUR-SULTAN – Hilton Group plans to expand its presence in Kazakhstan with the first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel opening its doors in Almaty in 2020. The new 112-room hotel will join 560 upscale hotels in 45 countries managed by DoubleTree by Hilton. The eleven-floor hotel will be on a 16,000-square-metre lot along at 115 Dosmukhamedov…

ASTANA – The Kazakh grain market has seen positive growth in the past year. The volume reached 10.5 million tonnes, sufficient to meet the country’s domestic demand and satisfy export needs, said Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov at a March 15 press conference. Approximately 3.7 million tonnes are stored at licensed grain collecting facilities, 462,000…

ASTANA – As the world celebrated March 8 International Women’s Day, the Almaty community had a chance to explore and promote gender equality through the prism of art, media, health, science, cinema, economics and politics during the week-long FemAgora festival. The event was designed to show different examples of women sharing their success stories and…

ASTANA – As of January, the National Social Insurance Fund has accumulated 1.4 trillion tenge (US$3.7 billion) and is reaching 6.126 million citizens, or 70.3 percent of the country’s working population, said Vice Minister of Labour and Social Protection Svetlana Zhakupova at the recent discussion by the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) of the mandatory…

ASTANA –The first phase of the 2015-2019 Nurly Zhol programme, designed to upgrade infrastructure build-up throughout the country, will be completed this year. The plan for the second phase will be presented in March. The programme received 791 billion tenge (US$2.1 billion) in 2018, including 437.2 billion (US$1.16 billion) from the national budget. The funding…

ASTANA – Using skis and ice skates, Norwegian William Byholt is in the midst of crossing Balkhash Lake in central Kazakhstan for the first time in the nation’s history. The solo expedition, supported by the Kazakh Geographic Society, started Feb. 20 and is expected to take 20-23 days, said Kazakh Geographic Society project manager Magzhan…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s rising singing stars Dimash Kudaibergen and Daneliya Tuleshova advanced to the next round in the latest episode of “The World’s Best,” the global talent competition show that premiered Feb. 3 on CBS. Kudaibergen and Tuleshova are among 24 contestants. The latest episode, which aired Feb. 20, saw them compete in the first…

ASTANA – Capital residents will have a chance to get acquainted with Japanese traditional music and classics, as the Japanese Spring Festival comes to the city Feb. 27 for its eleventh edition this year. The Organ Hall of the Kazakh National University of Arts will host the concert. The concert will feature the performance of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country by area in the world, has two and a half million hectares of unused land. Measures taken recently by the Ministry of Agriculture found 388,000 hectares in use and 804,000 returned to the state. The remaining 1.4 million hectares will be returned to the country through legal proceedings.…

ASTANA – Kazakh start-up Clockster, a clock-in, clock-out automation service powered by biometric identification, seeks to expand to Southeast Asia after selling four devices to SubicWorx in the Philippines, said CEO Yerzhan Ryskaliyev in an interview with The Astana Times. Kazakhstan is well known for its abundant natural resources, but is far less known for…

ASTANA – Kazakh national telecom operator Kazakhtelecom and national airline Air Astana will be listed as IPOs this year, Minister of Finance Alikhan Smailov said at a Feb. 11 press conference. “In 2019, we plan to list two Samruk Kazyna [Sovereign Wealth Fund] companies through IPOs. These are Kazakhtelecom and Air Astana. In 2020, the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will launch the Qazaq Epos project to encourage school students’ spiritual development through the prism of the nation’s rich ethno and philosophical legacy in folk eposes. The competition is open to sixth-tenth graders throughout the country. Participants must recite “Kobylandy Batyr,” a 107-page epos, by heart; explain the meaning of different archaisms…

ASTANA – The National Museum of Kazakhstan unveiled the “Old and New, Great and Unique” exhibition, displaying some of the world’s most prominent art pieces. Among 45 exhibits are the works of Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Albrecht Dürer, Marc Chagall, Joan Miro and Pierre Auguste Renoir. Work of well-known Kazakh artists is also on display,…

ASTANA – The newly established Turkestan region plans to create 188 development plans for settlements in the region, said Turkestan Region Architecture and Urban Planning Department Head Baktybai Duisebekov. The Turkestan region is the youngest among the nation’s 14 regions. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared the establishment of the new region in June 2018. The…

ASTANA – The Kazakh 7-20-25 affordable housing programme has approved 4,350 applications for 52 billion tenge (US137.2 million) since its launch in July, said Kazakh National Bank Chairman Daniyar Akishev at the Jan. 22 government meeting. The programme is among the Five Social Initiatives announced by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in March 2018. They also cover…