Kazakhstan holds free digital literacy courses
NUR-SULTAN – The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry and Zerde Holding, the national information and communication technology (ICT) company, have launched digital literacy training programmes throughout the regions. The courses will develop human capital as part of the Digital Kazakhstan state programme, which includes achieving 80 percent digital literacy in the country.…
Kazakhstan’s digitisation generates $578 million for economy in 2018
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s digitisation efforts generated $578 million for its economy in 2018, said Kazakh Vice Minister of Digital Development, Defence and Aerospace Industry Ablaikhan Ospanov at the June 12-14 International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Summit in Nur-Sultan. IDC forecasts that 30 percent of Global 2000 companies will allocate at least 10…
Tokayev set to win Kazakhstan’s presidential election with 70 percent, exit poll predicts
NUR-SULTAN – Incumbent President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to win the June 9 presidential election receiving the support of 70.13 per cent of the voters who cast their ballots, results of a nation-wide exit poll suggested. The results, released immediately after midnight of June 10, suggest that Tokayev won a clear victory over…
Kazakh Housing Construction Savings Bank completes 2019 plan for issuing military personnel mortgages
NUR-SULTAN – The Housing Construction Saving Bank of Kazakhstan (HCSBK) has fully disbursed funds for the 2019 military personnel housing programme. The programme started May 2 and ended May 27, as the bank announced it was completed ahead of schedule. The bank issued 680 loans worth 10.7 billion tenge ($US27.9 million). Another 3,143 loan applications…
Kazakhstan launches ‘Single Window’ process for all import-export documents
NUR-SULTAN – All import and export documentation in Kazakhstan can now be obtained through Single Window, according to the State Revenue Committee press service. The change, implemented by this Ministry of Finance committee and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), is part of a larger initiative to promote operations and make them more…
Kazakh athletes pave way for Summer Olympics by participating in licensed competitions through June 2020
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh national teams will take part in 28 licensed world championships, 19 Asian championships and 12 world-qualifying tournaments this year to secure their Olympic quota. Individual athletes will participate in three world championships, 19 Asian and 18 world-qualifying tournaments and more than 50 competitions as part of the World Cup to win licensing…
“Aladdin” film in Kazakh draws record attendance in Nur-Sultan premiere
NUR-SULTAN – The film “Aladdin” directed by Guy Ritchie was released May 23 in Kazakh in the capital and a record 3,000 viewers watched the film in Kazakh during its first weekend. The figure doubled the performance of the film “Dumbo” released in Kazakh. The Meloman Company, the largest home entertainment company in Kazakhstan, stressed…
Kazakh National Bank presents investment activities overview
NUR-SULTAN – As of May 1, the portfolio of pension assets of the Single Accumulated Pension Fund (SAPF) was 9,761.9 billion tenge (US$25.5 billion). Cash and financial instruments denominated in tenge amounted to 6,613.1 billion tenge (US$17.3 billion) or 67.7 percent, denominated in foreign currency – 3,148.8 billion tenge (US$8.2 billion) or 32.3 percent, according…
Authorities seek to provide housing for large families in capital
NUR-SULTAN – Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) issued certificates for 150 apartments for rent to large families in the capital’s housing queue June 4 as part of the Berekely Baspana rental housing programme and to mark the Day of Kazakh State Symbols, reports its press service. There are more than 46,000 people in the capital’s housing…
Kazakhstan’s remaining second-tier banks continue mergers as field reforms
NUR-SULTAN – After the National Bank’s purge of what it identified as bad actors in 2018, Kazakhstan’s remaining second-tier banks are now undertaking mergers and acquisitions to ensure financial stability, reports Finprom.kz. The Kazakh National Bank’s measures were intended to remove unscrupulous financial institutions from the banking sector and support those that conducted a “healthy…
Kazakhstan to build 5G infrastructure in three largest cities, plans to expand to other population centres
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government plans to build the infrastructure necessary to support 5G networks in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent by the end of the year. The projects will serve as models for 5G infrastructure development in all population centres with more than 50,000 residents, the prime minister’s press service reports. Kazakh Prime Minister Askar…
Kazakh swimmer takes bronze in breaststroke at Champions Swim Series’ second stage
NUR-SULTAN – Rio 2016 Olympic champion and Kazakh swimmer Dmitriy Balandin won a 200-metre breast stroke bronze medal May 12 in the Champions Swim Series’ second stage in Budapest, Hungary. The International Federation of Water Sports (FINA) organised the Champions Swim Series for the first time this year. The tournament gathers the best swimmers, who…
French author presents comic book featuring Kazakh traditions and culture
NUR-SULTAN – French engineer Jacques Ortet presented the comic book “Les aventures de Jak et Bil au Kazakhstan: Le trésor de Gengis Khan (The Adventures of Jacques and Bil in Kazakhstan: the Treasures of Genghis Khan)” in Brussels May 19 at a meeting with Kazakh Ambassador in Belgium Aigul Kuspan. The adventures of photographer Jacques and…
Kazakhstan Science Fund seeks to act as investor in its commercialisation projects
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s Science Fund would be able to expand its sources of finance and improve its profitability and innovation if it is able to function as an investor in its commercialisation projects, said Kazakh Senate Speaker Dariga Nazarbayeva during her May 14 visit to the organisation. She also advised the organisation to advertise its…
Kazakhstan installs tourism police at popular attractions, hopes increased security will boost tourism
NUR-SULTAN – Tourist police units were recently added to attractions in Almaty, Nur-Sultan, the Akmola Region, the Almaty Region, the East Kazakhstan Region and the Turkestan Region by an April 10 order of the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs, said Nur-Sultan Police’s Migration Service Department Head Arman Baimukhamet at a May 20 tourist police demonstration…
Tenge projected to become stronger, National Bank says
NUR-SULTAN – Internal and external currency value factors including oil prices, foreign investments and international reserves indicate that the tenge will become stronger, the Kazakh National Bank has announced. “Fundamental drivers of the exchange rate add up favourably. So, since the beginning of the year, oil prices have risen from $54 to $70 per barrel.…
Thirteen Kazakh banks to launch mobile phone payments by end of 2019
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Bank in cooperation with 13 banks is developing instant payments to boost the country’s e-commerce industry. By the end of the year, the banks will be connected to a mobile phone payment system. “The National Bank has introduced a project that allows using a mobile phone as a means of…
“Muzbalak” to screen at Zlin Film Festival in Czech Republic
NUR-SULTAN – “Muzbalak,” a film by Kazakh artist-animators Turdybek Maidan and Tlek Toleugazy, will participate in the out-of-competition programme at the 59th Panorama International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlin, the Czech Republic. The event will run from May 24-June 1. “The time has come when Kazakh animation dynamically makes its way into…
Kazakh government launches system allowing citizens to provide certain documents online
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government recently launched a system which allows citizens to provide employers and government agencies documents via an online system, rather than the citizens having to collect and deliver those documents in person, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security Digital Office reported May 3. “Within the framework of already existing mechanisms,…
Yerevan hosts Qazaq Kuresi Championship, next competition scheduled in Poland
NUR-SULTAN – The first Armenian Qazaq Kuresi Championship, organised with the support of the Qazaq Kuresi International Federation, was held recently in Yerevan. The second European Qazaq Kuresi Championship will be held June 16 in Wrocław. Qazaq Kuresi, a traditional Kazakh style wrestling, is included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)…
Kazakh government kicks off campaign to encourage participation in June 9 presidential election
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the June 9 presidential election and to encourage voter turnout. The Heart of the Country Votes campaign includes Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as public events. The social media posts will encourage voter participation. The Facebook Elorda Live page also allows…
New website makes volunteering easier in Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Information and Social Development and National Volunteer Network presented April 29 in the capital the qazvolunteer.kz website for the development of the Kazakh volunteer movement. The website seeks to coordinate communications among more than 200 volunteer organisations and 50,000 volunteers simplifying their communication. “Currently, more than 200 volunteer organisations…
Kazakhstan quadruples construction of student housing, will build dorms for 9,200 students this year
NUR-SULTAN – Twenty-nine dormitories with spots for 9,196 students will start operating this year, said Education and Science Vice Minister Bibigul Assylova at an April 29 press conference after the government meeting. Although the overall number needed is 91,000, the 2019 figure is four times more than previous years. “This has not happened in the…
Fish to EU, grain to Afghanistan: Kazakhstan exports continue to grow in 2019
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh agricultural exports totalled $610.2 million in January-February, a 12.9-percent increase compared to the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Agriculture press service. The bulk of the exported goods were plants and their processed products ($579.8 million); the balance ($30.4 million) was livestock and its processed products. Afghanistan, China, Iran, Russia,…
Electronic railway ticket sales increase eightfold in five years
NUR-SULTAN – Electronic tickets sales for Kazakh railway transportation have increased eightfold in the last five years. The system eases the purchase process and reduces illegal re-sales. Online sales were introduced in 2014, when 2.55 million tickets were sold. Purchases increased to 6.7 million the following year, then nearly doubled to 11.6 million in 2016.…
