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The international rating agency S&P Global Ratings confirmed Dec. 22, 2016 the long-term credit rating of TengriBank at B+, which reflects the bank’s stable financial status, provided also due to high quality of the loan portfolio and high level of the capital adequacy. Enjoying the unconditional support of Punjab National Bank, the assets of TengriBank as…

EVAK, the Kazakh national emergency call system in case of accidents and catastrophes, began operation Jan. 1.   The developers of the device, from the Institute for Space Applications and Technologies, reduced the time on alert rescue services for accidents to 20 seconds. In late December, First Vice Minister for Investment and Development Albert Rau…

ASTANA – A pilot project on utilising old cars or those unfit for use was successfully realised in several of the country’s regions. Aktobe residents gave away 448 cars, receiving 150,000 tenge (about US$451.90) for each vehicle. “A person who has an old or perhaps unusable vehicle should come to a registration and examination subdivision…

ASTANA – Ten Kazakh school students were invited to participate in the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Programme in Science (SAKURA Exchange Programme in Science) Jan. 22-28 in Tokyo. The Kazakh school students are winners of various international competitions. The SAKURA Exchange Programme in Science is an international academic project implemented and supported by the Japanese Ministry…

ASTANA – The gross grain harvest in Kazakhstan this year was 23.7 million tonnes, almost 4 million tonnes more than last year’s yield. Kazakh farmers have also harvested 3.6 million tonnes of vegetables and 2.2 million tonnes of melons, exceeding last year’s produce yield by 511,000 tonnes. First Vice Minister of Agriculture Kairat Aituganov reported…

ASTANA – Foreign direct investment in the country increased 4.7 percent to 6 trillion tenge (US$18.12 billion) in the first 11 months of 2016, according to Kazakh Minister of National Economy Kuandyk Bishimbayev. “Realisation of industrial-innovative and infrastructural projects within the state programme Nurly Zhol and the anti-crisis programmes contributed to the growth. Since the…

Kazakh programmers recently created an intellectual quiz mobile application “Smart Country.” The application is for all ages and offers the opportunity to play against people from all over the world: the opponent is determined randomly. The idea is to demonstrate your knowledge of an opponent’s country better than he knows yours. According to Talgat Taiymov,…

Kazakhstan’s economy has adapted to new exchange rate conditions, said National Bank Chairperson Daniyar Akishev Dec. 20 at a governmental meeting. The annual inflation rate fell to a single-digit value. Akishev cited data on inflation, according to which by the end of November, inflation was at 1.2 percent and, since the beginning of the year,…

ASTANA – Kazakh alpinists raised Kazakhstan’s state flag at the peak of Antarctica on the country’s Dec. 16 Independence Day, according to the Kazakh Geographic Society. “A special gift was made to all Kazakh people for Dec. 16. The state flag was set at the highest point of Antarctica – Mount Vinson (4,892 metres) for…

ASTANA – Central Asia’s largest bridge crossing held its official opening Dec. 14 in Pavlodar to mark the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence, KazAvtoZhol press service reported. “Today we are witnessing a historic day. We are opening this important facility. I congratulate all residents on this significant event,” Pavlodar Region Akim (Governor) Bolat Bakauov told…

ASTANA – A new high-voltage Ekibastuz-Shulbinskaya-Ust-Kamenogorsk power line will cover the electricity needs of eastern Kazakhstan. Implementation of a large-scale project titled “Construction of 500 KW North-East-South Transmission Grid” began in 2014. It was launched by President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the Dec. 6 annual teleconference on the Industrialisation Day. The project seeks to create a…

ASTANA – A new high-voltage Ekibastuz-Shulbinskaya-Ust-Kamenogorsk power line will cover the electricity needs of eastern Kazakhstan. Implementation of a large-scale project titled “Construction of 500 KW North-East-South Transmission Grid” began in 2014. It was launched by President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the Dec. 6 annual teleconference on the Industrialisation Day. The project seeks to create a…

ASTANA – Both houses of the Kazakh parliament have passed a draft law on amnesty initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Mazhilis voted in favour on Dec. 7 and the Senate on Dec. 9. Presenting the bill in both houses, Prosecutor General Zhakyp Asanov commented on the amnesty marking the 25th anniversary of the country’s…

Kazakhstan will nominate the Assyk and Heritage of Korkyt games and other examples of Kazakh culture for acceptance to a UNESCO cultural heritage list. Kazakh officials announced the submissions during the Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 11th session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative…

A new Customs Union law will require certain cars in Customs Union countries to be equipped by Jan. 1, 2017 with a device to assist emergency responders. The ERA-GLONASS device is able to call emergency services and provide location, direction and speed information after the emergency button is pressed. It also sends an emergency signal…

ASTANA – Drone Racing Kazakhstan dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Independence will be held for the first time in Kazakhstan Dec.16. The championship will include racers from all regions of the country and feature a one million tenge (US$2,938) prize. The event is being sponsored by Kazakhstan Engineering and will be at the Barys…

ASTANA – The Astana akimat (city administration) has adopted a new concept for tourism development that will focus on events and business and health travel, according to the press service of the akim (mayor) of the city. According to Marat Igaliyev, director of the Kazakh Ministry for Investments and Development’s Department of Industry and Tourism,…

ASTANA – Kazpost is offering new services to residents of rural settlements that will allow them to purchase electronic tickets for domestic flights and spare parts for cars made in Kazakhstan online. Customer can get their goods in any of Kazpost’s 2,000 post offices. “Kazpost is actively diversifying its portfolio of services. More than a…

ASTANA – Some of the world’s leading surgeons recently held a master class for their Astana counterparts, which involved advanced techniques and reconstructive surgery to restore natural heart valves for six patients. The operations were carried out in the framework of a master class named “Modern Cardiac Reconstructive Surgery.” Leading cardiac surgeons from the U.K.,…

ASTANA – More than 350,000 tonnes of oil from the Kashagan field has been transported through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline system this year. More than 450,000 tonnes of raw materials have been produced in this field as of Nov. 19, according to the Ministry of Energy. The Kashagan field reached 90,000 barrels per…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower chamber of Parliament) approved Nov. 2 the draft law “On ratification of the agreement between the Kazakh government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on establishing the low-enriched uranium (LEU) bank in Kazakhstan.” Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev said that the IAEA LEU Bank will provide a supply of…

ASTANA – Austria is readying to showcase its latest developments in clean and alternative energy at the next international exhibition to take place next year. The nation is one of the world’s recognised leaders in developing clean energy, with two-thirds of its total electricity generation coming from alternative sources. Thus, Austrian officials have enthusiastically accepted…

ASTANA – A Trampoline and Amusement Park recently opened in Almaty providing residents a new venue for leisure activities. The Trampoline Park is recognised as the largest in the country. Its area is 1,650 square metres. The new facility offers such entertainments as free jump zone, dodgeball area (game in which players on two teams…

India got its freedom from 200 years of British rule after a very long and arduous struggle on Aug. 15, 1947. Before the achievement of independence, the country had 562 princely states, which were ruled by independent rulers. It was extremely important to bring all these states under the unified rule so as to achieve…

ASTANA – The Kazakh capital has entered the world’s top 21 intelligent communities according to the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), the akimat (city administration) press service reported. The Smart21 Communities of 2017 is comprised of seven cities and counties in Canada, five cities and counties in Taiwan, four cities in Australia and one city each…