Climbers to conquer 20 Kazakh peaks to celebrate Astana’s 20th anniversary
ASTANA – Famous international climbers are going to conquer 20 peaks of Kazakhstan as part of celebrating the 20th anniversary of Astana, Board Chairman of Kazakh Tourism National Company Rashid Kuzembayev said during a recent press tour for journalists. “Numerous events are prepared to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the capital. We initiated an activity…
Astana-Shchuchinsk toll road collects $4.7 million in 2017
ASTANA – Approximately 1.5 billion tenge (US$4.7 million) was collected on the Astana-Shchuchinsk toll road in 2017. According to the information provided by the press service of KazAvtoZhol national company, the money was used to maintain and modernise the road and toll management systems. The total vehicle traffic for 2017 was 2,757,857 cars. Since 2016,…
Kazakh National Bank issues alert on cryptocurrency boom
ASTANA – The Kazakh National Bank recently published an alert concerning the risks of using cryptocurrency. “Advertising agencies have recently been actively involved in promoting investments in cryptocurrencies. Such websites promise high earnings at minimum costs and there’s an information about the creation of local cryptocurrency with the participation of private individuals as well as…
Kazakhstan to attract tourists from Russia and China
ASTANA – The Kazakh Tourism national company will be designing tours attractive to travellers from Russia and China. The promotion will focus on the Internet. The company recently held a press tour for journalists in the capital, where board chair Rashid Kuzembayev announced plans for 2018. “Our target groups are tourists from the Russian Federation…
Kazakhs spent more than $1 billion on new cars in 2017
ASTANA – Kazakhstan citizens spent more than $1 billion for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2017. One third of the purchased vehicles were made in Kazakhstan. “In 2017, the automotive market of Kazakhstan made a reversal to growth after a long decline in 2014-2016. I recall that in this difficult period for…
New Astana pay-to-park system will increase available parking, decrease traffic, says passenger transport department chief
ASTANA – A new pay-to-park system to be launched in Astana this month should increase access to parking spaces, improve traffic flow and help create a culture of legal, systematic parking, said head of the city’s Passenger Transport Department Bekmyrza Igenberdinov. Nearly 9,000 toll parking spaces have been put into operation Jan. 15 across two…
Wireless service providers to be prevented from imposing unnecessary services
ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Information and Communications recently announced plans to change the rules regulating telecommunication services to prevent wireless communications services from imposing unnecessary services for users. “The ministry is making changes in the rules. We believe that the amendments are designed to solve many problems that cellular communication subscribers have faced…
Almaty resident invents Kazakh-style Game of Thrones board game
Almaty resident Kobylanda Zhanabekuly has brought “Game of Thrones” to his own country as the inventor of the board game Kazakh Khanate. It has been patented and is unique to the nation. Kazakh Khanate has 40 different tribes across a field representing the three zhuzes (the three largest conglomerations of tribes in the Kazakh nation)…
Kazakh government adopts bill to reduce transactions in foreign currency
The Kazakh government has adopted a bill developed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan to reduce transactions in the country in foreign currency. “The bill is designed to expand the coverage of statistical monitoring of foreign exchange transactions and reduce the use of foreign currency in Kazakhstan,” said bank chair Daniyar Akishev, presenting the bill…
Kazakh freestyle skier Dmitry Reiherd wins silver at World Cup
Kazakh freestyle skier Dmitry Reiherd took the silver in moguls at the World Cup stage in Deer Valley, Utah (USA). He scored 83.66 points, second only to Canadian Mikael Kingsbury (88.80), whose victory was his 13th in a row at the World Cup stages. Australian Matt Graham (82.37) closed the top three. The showing…
Team Astana completes Peruvian stages of Dakar Rally
ASTANA – The final stage of the Dakar 2018 rally on the sandy paths of Peru ended Jan. 10. The route of the fifth stage of the marathon brought racers to the city of Arequipa. For the next stage, the caravan of Dakar racers will travel to Bolivia for routes over 3,000 meters high. According…
Kazakh motor pool is aging
ASTANA – Kazakh vehicles are aging, with the largest share more than 20 years old, according to the 2017 report on vehicle registration dynamics. Two thirds (66 percent) of vehicles re-registered last year were more than 10 years old, while the largest share of registered vehicles (36.2 percent or 398,152 units) is more than 20…
Real estate prices to hold steady, experts say
ASTANA – Representatives of the United Association of Realtors of Kazakhstan said prices for real estate in the country will not show significant changes in 2018, according to inform.kz. “There were no seasonal price changes for several years. The price changes depend on the economic factors of demand. When considering the trends in these factors,…
Internet service providers: parents can control children’s Internet access
ASTANA – The Internet opens wide possibilities for children, however, free access to all websites can pose hazards. While it is technically impossible to make sure a child surfs the web safely, Internet service providers can block access to sites at the request of parents, said Vice Minister of Information and Communications Alan Azhibayev during…
Club of Rome report paints dire picture of future of fossil fuels
ASTANA – The end of the fossil fuel era is inevitable, and will likely arrive sooner than previously predicted. The cost of clean energy, like solar and wind energy, decreases every year, and its production is increasing. Growth in demand for oil will stop by 2020, and if Stanford researcher Tony Seba is right, the…
Kazakh government tests GPS tracking of state-owned vehicles
ASTANA – The Information and Registration Centre is testing a system that would use GPS to track government vehicles, Inform.kz reports. The project will include the use of electronic maps from the www.gosreestr.kz project, which protect the database of information about the movement of vehicles. “If the attempt turns out to be successful, it is…
World Bank names conference hall in Washington after bank’s first female Kazakh employee
ASTANA – The World Bank recently named a conference hall in its Washington offices after the first Kazakh woman hired by the bank. The conference hall was named after Alma Ourazalinova who died in 2015 after battling an illness and who worked for the World Bank for more than two decades. Ourazalinova held a degree…
More than 500,000 Kazakh residents are on travel ban list due to unpaid debts
ASTANA – More than 500,000 Kazakh residents cannot travel overseas because of unpaid debts. As of December 13, 690,529 temporary restrictions have been imposed on travel outside the country, including 164,972 temporary restrictions in 2016 and 229,656 this year, noted a statement released by the Ministry of Justice. According to the law “On enforcement proceedings…
All Kazakh regional centres to be covered with 4G by end of 2017
ASTANA – Deputy Chairman of the State Control Committee in the field of Communications, Informatisation and Mass Media of Kazakhstan Mikhail Komissarov recently announced Kazakhstan hopes to cover all regional centres with 4G by the end of 2017. “The coverage of the population by 3G services amounted to 86.8 percent in 2016. 4G mobile services…
Bank Islam issues bank cards corresponding with Sharia law
ASTANA – Bank Islam recently presented its first cards conforming to the principles and norms of the Sharia law, to the Kazakhstan retail market. The Islamic card is distinguished by the absence of a prohibited percentage – riba, – that is, a ban on the calculation of interest on the balance of funds on the…
TV films to be produced about 100 New Faces
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces will become recognisable visages. An equal number of TV films will be made about the programme’s participants and the country’s new heroes will deliver motivational speeches at schools, colleges, universities and youth meetings, said Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev at a public council meeting dedicated to promoting…
Multiple arrests made in suspected laundering of more than $50 million
ASTANA – The interdepartmental investigative and operational group of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Security Committee apprehended Nov. 13 in Almaty Iskander Yerimbetov, Vasilina Sokolenko, Dmitriy Pestov and Mikhail Zorov on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering. The Anti-Corruption Bureau reports that pre-trial investigations were requested by BTA Bank officials about the involvement…
Kazakh ban on anonymous web comments explained
ASTANA – The bill on Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts on Information and Communications prohibiting anonymous Internet comments was explained recently by Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev. The ban is necessary to control statements that incite interethnic discord or negative comments that offend citizens. “We plan to make it possible for…
Nazarbayev discusses energy projects with Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron management
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently discussed the status of energy projects in Kazakhstan, including the Karachaganak and Kashagan fields, with Chief Executive Director of the Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Berden and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron John Watson. Van Buren noted that Nov. 18 marked the 20th…
National Chamber of Entrepreneurs head calls for limiting tax increases
ASTANA – Increases in social taxes could provoke businesses to turn to the black market to avoid payment, Chairman of Presidium of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Timur Kulibayev said at the Nov. 29 meeting of the presidium. “The government keeps raising some payments. So we have more than 40 percent of the so-called pressure,…
