Tag Archives: Kazakhstan

London shell company takes over Kazakh miner

OCT. 26 2021 (The Bulletin) — London-listed shell company East Star Resources agreed a deal to buy Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan (DVK) in a reverse takeover. It said that DVK shareholders will be issued with 45m East Star shares, with another 75m on offer depending on performance. DVK owns the right to gold and silver prospects in Kazakhstan.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Almaty and Nur Sultan taken off coronavirus red list

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OCT. 26 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh health officials moved Almaty and Nur Sultan out of their red risk zone for the coronavirus because the infection rates in both cities had dropped. The cities had been classified as red zone since the start of the summer when Kazakhstan faced a spike in infections. This has now eased off, thanks, Kazakh officials have said, to a relatively successful vaccination programme. Around 40% of the population have received two coronavirus vaccinations.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan says it wants to boost surveillance cameras

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OCT. 26 2021 (The Bulletin) — The Kazakh government wants to boost its surveillance network by introducing 2.8m more video cameras and face recognition technology. At a briefing Saken Sarsenov, Kazakhstan’s deputy interior minister, said that there were now only 625,000 video cameras in Kazakhstan. As for face recognition technology, Mr Sarsenov said that it wasn’t currently being used but was now “actively being discussed”.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan agree border deal

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OCT. 25 2021 (The Bulletin) — On a visit to Ashgabat, Kazakh Pres. Kassym Jomart Tokayev said that he signed several agreements that delimitinated Kazakhstan’s shared border with Turkmenistan. The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan border has been a source of tension in previous years. Mr Tokayev also said that he had also signed an agreement over fishing rights in the Caspian Sea with Turkmen Pres. Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan and Tajikistan increase interest rates

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ALMATY/OCT. 25 2021 (The Bulletin) — The Kazakh and Tajik Central Banks both raised their interest rates to try to dampen soaring inflation.

Commenting on pushing Kazakhstan’s interest rate up by a quarter of a percentage point to 9.75%, its highest level since April 2020, the Kazakh Central Bank said that annualised inflation hit 8.9% in September.

“The external inflation situation remains unfavourable. This is due to high world food prices, supply disruptions, rising costs of transportation, raw materials and energy, as well as the recovery of domestic demand,” it said.

On a more positive note, the Central Bank said that retail had started to recover after an easing off of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Dushanbe, the Central Bank raised its interest rate to 13.25% from 13%. It also said that inflation measured 9.6%, double its official target.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kaspi.kz posts record profit

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OCT. 25 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kaspi.kz, the Kazakh technology company that owns Kaspi Bank and its super-app that is dominating the Kazakh mobile payments sector, said that its Q3 net income nearly doubled compared to the same period in 2020. Its share price on the London Stock Exchange was up 25% at $117. Kaspi.kz also said that it had bought BTA Bank Ukraine in order to secure a banking licence.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Nazarbayev quit after spine injury

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OCT. 22 2021 (The Bulletin) — In an interview with Kazakh media released through his foundation, former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev described how he decided to retire after he needed to have an operation on his spine to stop a disease that was hindering his mobility. Mr Nazarbayev resigned without much warning in March 2019 after nearly 28 years as Kazakhstan’s first post-Soviet leader.

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— This story was published in issue 505 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Oct. 28 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Iran talks up trade deals with the EEAU

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JULY 21 2021 (The Bulletin) — Iranian diplomats are talking up a trade agreement with the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEAU) which they hope will create a series of free trade zones that will spur joint projects. The EEAU includes Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Media reported that a group of 40 Iranian businessmen had flown to Bishkek to look at potential investments in Kyrgyzstan.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Putin wants more aviation cooperation with Central Asia

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JULY 20 2021 (The Bulletin) — In a clear pitch for Russia’s aviation business, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin said that he wanted to deepen Russia’s cooperation in the aviation sector with other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Mr Putin was speaking at the opening of the MAKS 2021, air show in Zhukovsky, Russia. The EAEU includes Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan agrees deal with OPEC to increase oil production

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JULY 19 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan said that it had agreed a deal with OPEC to allow it to increase its oil production quota from August. Although not part of OPEC, Kazakhstan, with Russia and Azerbaijan, had agreed to go along with oil output cuts that OPEC set early in 2020 to try to push up depressed oil prices. From August, Kazakhstan will produce 1.491m barrels of oil per day, up by 16,000 barrels. This is still below its benchmark November 2018 levels.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021