Articles by Assel Satubaldina

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…

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…

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…