EU delegation Kazakhstan

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

EU Project SCAFFOLD Set to Empower Central Asian Educators

Over 250 educators from five Central Asian countries are currently participating in training events organized by the European Union in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Running from 15 – 19 April, the event organized by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan, and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan, focuses on SCAFFOLD, an EU-developed tool that assists educators in creating effective learning activities. The innovative tool comprises a deck of 102 cards, available in all Central Asian languages, aimed to enable educators to design and implement learning activities from planning to assessment.

The initiative is part of DARYA (Dialogue and Action for Resourceful Youth in Central Asia), the EU’s flagship regional project to support education, youth employment, and inclusive skills development in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Opening the week’s events, Ms Arai Urazova, Vice-Minister of Education of Kazakhstan, stated: “We would like our young people to have competences for life and the labour market. DARYA and SCAFFOLD can support this. Let us create a better future for our young people and our educational community. We are confident that our joint work and dialogue will lead to concrete action plans and measures that will help make our education system more effective, accessible, and adapted to the needs of our time.”

In his welcome speech, Mr Kestutis Jankauskas, EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan, stated that the “DARYA programme is the European Union’s investment in the human capital of Central Asian countries and the future of their young generation. From now on, educators of VET schools in Central Asian countries will have access to the newest and most modern teaching methods, such as SCAFFOLD. Dynamically developing relations between the European Union and Central Asia and potential investment projects will require qualified workforce. In turn, these investments will contribute to mutual prosperity and economic development.”

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

@uzreport.news

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy, Business & Economy

Uzbekistan Aims to Become One of World’s Largest Producers of Olefins

Uzbekistan’s largest private oil and gas company, Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg) will build a gas chemical plant to produce olefins from methanol. The work will be done in partnership with the Chinese state-owned energy giant, Sinopec. The complex will utilize natural gas from the Mubarek fields.

Olefins are raw petrochemical materials used for a range of polymer products, such as plastics and films. The $3.3 billion plant will be able to process 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2026. About 44% of the production will be exported, mainly to China and Turkey. In addition, the project will make it possible to produce value-added products from natural gas rather than simply burning it for energy or exporting it. The construction of the complex will also stimulate the development of related industries. The Karakul free economic zone in the southeastern Bukhara region will house plants producing textiles, carpets, footwear, plastic pipes and fittings, and other polymer products.

“Uzbekistan’s gas-chemical complex plans to produce 300,000 tons of polyethylene terephthalate annually, 350,000 tons of polypropylene, and other materials. This is expected to reduce the country’s imports of polymers by $500 million a year and attract $350 million a year from their exports,” said Bakhodyr Khafizov, director of the Karakul free economic zone.

Saneg representatives said that, according to a marketing study, annual polymer consumption in Uzbekistan is now 5.5 kilograms per capita, far below that of other developing economy peers. For example, that figure in Turkey is 23 kilograms, meaning that the Uzbek domestic market shows significant room for expansion. However, there may be problems with exporting polymers abroad, as Uzbekistan has no direct access to the sea. In this regard, production will require additional investments taking into account overland logistics.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

akorda.kz

16 Apr 2024
Business & Economy, International Affairs, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan and Armenia Negotiate on Trade and Transport Cooperation

Following negotiations on 15 April in Yerevan, with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that with regard to furthering cooperation, the countries enjoy “unshakable friendship and mutual support.”

With reference to developing a more comprehensive partnership, he cited their common goals as expanding and activating bilateral ties, and strengthening regional and international security.

Negotiations also focused on enhancing cooperation in economic and investment and the Kazakh president reported, “We – both agreed – that it is necessary to look for new directions that will give impetus to the growth of trade turnover. Kazakhstan is ready to increase its exports to Armenia to $350 million.”

Tokayev stressed that development of the transport and logistics sector is key to strengthening Kazakh-Armenian cooperation and hailed Armenia’s readiness to restore transit communications in the South Caucasus under the ‘Crossroads of Peace’ initiative. Aimed at developing communications between Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran, the Armenian-proposed initiative includes renovating, building, and operating roads, railways, pipelines, cables, and electricity lines. In addition, the Kazakh president welcomed proposals for the operation of direct flights between the countries’ capitals and other cities.

Pashinyan likewise emphasized the significant headway made during the negotiations, saying, “We have identified further prospects for strengthening our cooperation, including – transport and logistics. We agree that despite the constant growth in trade turnover, there is still unrealized potential for the development of trade and economic cooperation.”

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

@nationalbank.kz

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Debt Increases by $4 Billion in Five Years With Russia Growing as Creditor

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the beginning of 2024 the external financial obligations of the republic reached almost $163 billion, whilst in 2019 this figure stood at $158.8 billion.

The Netherlands are Kazakhstan’s largest creditor with $42.6 billion owed, followed by the U.K. with $13.8 billion, and then Russia at $12.95 billion.

Over five years, Kazakhstan’s debt to Russia (+47.1%) and multilateral organizations (+28.5%) increased significantly. At the same time, the amount of debt held by legacy creditors decreased, including that held by the Netherlands (-12.9%), the U.K. (-37%), the U.S. (-7.4%), France (-4.3%), China (-20.7%) and Japan (-17%).

Last December, the Asian Development Bank approved a $350 million loan to Kazakhstan. This was allocated to reform the country’s financial management and increase the economy’s resilience against external shocks. In February of this year, the World Health Organization, with the support of the World Bank, launched a Pandemic Fund project in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, the republic was allocated a grant totaling $19 million, as well as a multilateral grant of $27 million for three years.

Earlier, former chief auditor of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunova, criticized the use of international funds by government agencies, saying that the procedure is inefficient.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

@iStock

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Home, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan

Over 90% of Economically Active Kazakhstanis Have Loans

Lyazzat Usenbekova, director of consumer protection at the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, conducted calculations to find out what percentage of Kazakh citizens have debt obligations, concluding that “more than 90% of those who actively participate in the economic life of the country bear the burden of credit obligations on their shoulders.”

Usenbekova specified that this percentage applies to those who are indebted to credit organizations. At the same time, the structure of loans reveals interesting details: according to her data, almost a third of citizens take out loans for relatively small amounts, meaning no more than 500,000 tenge ($1,115). However, they account for only 1.7% of the total loan portfolio of individuals. Meanwhile, 5% of Kazakhs have debts over 10 million tenge ($22,290), and their share in the total volume of loans accounts for 42.3%.

“It may seem that loans for large sums are a cause for concern, but before issuing such loans, clients are carefully checked for their ability to pay, their debt load and other aspects,” Usenbekova emphasized.

Usenbekova also looked at the category of loans under 300,000 tenge, suggesting they are probably for consumer needs. “Such loans are often interest-free and, with proper borrower discipline, should not cause serious difficulties with repayment,” she explained. But there is no perfect picture yet, Usenbekova stated, stressing the need to improve people’s financial literacy and their responsibility to their debts.

Majilis (lower chamber of parliament) representative, Tatyana Savelyeva assessed the prospects of enacting changes envisaged by the draft law on minimizing risks in lending and protecting borrowers’ rights. “We are likely to see real results in a few years, when these innovations begin to operate. For example, in debt regulation. By then we will be able to objectively assess their effectiveness,” Savelyeva opined.

The proposed bill to protect the rights of borrowers provides for a ban on the transfer of debts to collection agencies within 24 months of the start of delinquency and for debt settlement procedures that exclude fines, penalties and commissions.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia

@nationalbank.kz

16 Apr 2024
Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan to Spend 500 Billion Tenge to Buy Domestic Bank Bonds

According to a document on asset management from the Unified National Pension Fund (EPPF), the Times of Central of Asia has learned that the National Bank of Kazakhstan is ready to invest 500 billion tenge ($1.1 billion) of pension funds in bonds issued by Kazakhstan’s second-tier banks (BVU). According to the EPPF, this step is necessary to support entrepreneurship and give businesses the opportunity to obtain loans.

However, as always, there are conditions. The funds will be directed to financial institutions that meet certain requirements. For example, the bank’s credit rating should be no lower than “B,” and its equity capital no less than 60 billion tenge ($134 million). Also, loans will not be issued to replenish working capital or refinance current loans. And that’s not all; wholesale and retail trade, construction, real estate operations and even financial consultations are also not eligible for lending.

And the National Bank is not going to stop there. In 2024, it will continue work on improving the management of pension assets. Last year, the same idea was raised by the head of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, Elena Bakhmutova, who about the need to provide access to longer-term funding through BVU.

Avatar

Times of Central Asia