26 Jun 2024

@CASIAN INFO

Central Asia, Tajikistan Local Politics, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Business Economy, Business & Economy

The Government of Tajikistan and FLSmidth to Cooperate in Mining

Sherali Kabir, Minister of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan, and Peter Flanagan, representative of the transnational company FLSmidth have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the mining sector.

FLSmidth is one of the world’s leading mining equipment suppliers.

During their meeting, the parties exchanged views on priority areas of cooperation in the mining sector and the development of joint projects in the mining industry and under the memorandum, will form a working group to instigate plans.

It was noted that 93% of Tajikistan’s territory is occupied by mountains possessing essential breakthrough minerals, including lithium, copper, antimony, and others.

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Times of Central Asia

Askar Alimzhanov graduated from the journalism department of the Kazakh State University named after S. Kirov, then worked as a correspondent for the daily republican newspaper Leninskaya Smen. He then moved to the United States to be a reporter for the daily newspaper "Cape Cod Times" in Hayanis, Massachusetts, (USA) under the journalist exchange program between the Union of Journalists of the USSR and the New England Society of News Editors. Since then, he has helped build transparency and understanding of Central Asia region in various executive level positions at esteemed media organizations including "Akbar"(Alma-Ata) international center for journalism, the Khabar News agency, the Television and Radio Corporation "Kazakhstan" JSC, and MIR- Kazakhstan.

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26 Jun 2024

@Inbusiness.kz

Central Asia, Home, International Affairs, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Features

Kazakhstan Stock Exchange Set to Recoup Shares from Moscow Exchange

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has approached the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) with an offer to buy back its shares. The move was prompted by the US sanctions imposed on MOEX, Russian publication Frank Media reported, citing sources close to the Russian trading floor.

Moscow Exchange presently owns 13.1% of KASE shares. It acquired the first part of this stake (3.3%) in early 2020 and increased it to the current level at the end of the same year. The KASE shares were obtained as part of a strategic partnership for the Russian side’s technology. The stake has a market value of KZT 12.1 billion, equivalent to RUB 2.2 billion ($25.9 million).

In mid-June 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) included the Moscow Exchange in the SDN list and issued a license to curtail operations with MOEX until August 13. The UK has joined the sanctions against MosBirch.

“KASE will consider continuing business relations with MOEX taking into account the sanctions restrictions,” stated the Kazakh exchange, the day after sanctions against Mosbirzhya were imposed.

Timur Suleimenov, chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, who has repeatedly mentioned the possible buyout of MOEX’s stake in KASE, was vague however, when citing various options.

“The National Bank has 47% in KASE. We have our funds, so we will buy out [Moscow Exchange’s stake if such a decision is made],” he said on June 13, immediately after the sanctions against the Russian exchange were imposed.

The head of the republic’s regulator also said that KASE is negotiating with MOEX and considering various options, including possibly buying back shares.

Some indirect data point to the preparation for the buyout. In the middle of last week, KASE announced the convocation of the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in a month, at which the only question to be discussed is the methodology change for determining the cost of shares of Kazakhstan exchange at their redemption.

According to the FM interlocutor close to the Russian Central Bank, Mosbirzha may agree to sell its stake in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange under these conditions. In the past, entering the capital and providing technologies to KASE had a strategic goal—to leave it in the zone of Russian influence, he noted. In particular, American Nasdaq could provide technologies for the Kazakhstan stock exchange. South Korea has  likewise expressed interest in KASE .

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Times of Central Asia

Askar Alimzhanov graduated from the journalism department of the Kazakh State University named after S. Kirov, then worked as a correspondent for the daily republican newspaper Leninskaya Smen. He then moved to the United States to be a reporter for the daily newspaper "Cape Cod Times" in Hayanis, Massachusetts, (USA) under the journalist exchange program between the Union of Journalists of the USSR and the New England Society of News Editors. Since then, he has helped build transparency and understanding of Central Asia region in various executive level positions at esteemed media organizations including "Akbar"(Alma-Ata) international center for journalism, the Khabar News agency, the Television and Radio Corporation "Kazakhstan" JSC, and MIR- Kazakhstan.

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26 Jun 2024

@med.kg

Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Local Politics, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics

Kyrgyzstan Raises Doctors’ Salaries

The First Deputy Minister of Health of Kyrgyzstan, Mederbek Ismailov has newly announced that medical workers’ wages will be raised by 10 -50 percent from September this year.

Selected specialists will also receive bonuses of up to 20,000 KGS ($220).

“The ministry will work directly to raise medics’ salaries. We will review tables of staffing and workloads over the past two years and depending on results, may raise salaries,” commented a ministry spokesman, adding that the average doctor’s salary will rise to 35,000 KGS ($400) after the increase.

Local MPs, however, expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s decision, deeming the rises in medical workers’ salaries inadequate.

“The health minister promised us that doctors would receive 80,000 KGS ($900) each,” complained MP Vinera Raimbachayeva.

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Times of Central Asia

Askar Alimzhanov graduated from the journalism department of the Kazakh State University named after S. Kirov, then worked as a correspondent for the daily republican newspaper Leninskaya Smen. He then moved to the United States to be a reporter for the daily newspaper "Cape Cod Times" in Hayanis, Massachusetts, (USA) under the journalist exchange program between the Union of Journalists of the USSR and the New England Society of News Editors. Since then, he has helped build transparency and understanding of Central Asia region in various executive level positions at esteemed media organizations including "Akbar"(Alma-Ata) international center for journalism, the Khabar News agency, the Television and Radio Corporation "Kazakhstan" JSC, and MIR- Kazakhstan.

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26 Jun 2024

photo: akorda.kz

Central Asia, International Affairs, Business & Economy

EDB Annual Meeting and Business Forum to Focus on Eurasian Transport Network

The Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Annual Meeting and Business Forum, to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 27-28 June, is to focus on cross-border transport corridors in Eurasia.

The EDB is a multilateral development bank serving Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

According to the EDB press service, this year’s forum session, “The Eurasian Transport Network: Potential, Challenges and Solutions” will analyse a report on the development of cross-border transport corridors crucial to the region’s economies.

The report highlights the significant constraints in economic development posed by the remoteness of Central Asian countries from global markets and their landlocked status. According to EDB estimates, trade costs in some Central Asian nations are 40% higher than those of coastal states. Overcoming the lack of transport connectivity is key to unlocking the strong economic potential of all Central Asian countries.

The concept of the transport network is based on the premise that linking East–West and North–South transport corridors generates synergies, creating new routes, logistics opportunities and better through tariffs.

The EDB projects that freight traffic along the three main corridors crossing Central Asia (Central Eurasian Corridor, TRACECA and North–South) could potentially increase by almost two-thirds to 1.7 million containers (TEU) by 2030. Implementing this objective will require concerted efforts from all participating countries.

 

 

Times of Central Asia

Times of Central Asia

Laura Hamilton MA, is the former Director of the Collins Gallery at the University of Strathclyde. She first visited Kyrgyzstan in 2011 to research and curate a major exhibition of contemporary textiles and fashion. Since 2012, she has worked as an editor on over thirty translations of Central Asian novels and collections of short stories. In more recent years, her work has focused on editing translations of Kyrgyzstan's great epics -'Ak Moor', Saiykal', Janysh Baiysh', 'Oljobai and Kishimjan', 'Dariyka', 'Semetey' and 'Er Toshtuk' for The Institute of Kyrgyz Language and Literature, and the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.

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26 Jun 2024

Chinese investment in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Home

Chinese Investment in Deep Processing Grain Plant in Kazakhstan

On 25 June, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Chairman of the Board of National Company Kazakh Invest Yerzhan Yelekeyev met the leadership of CITIC Construction in China, to discuss the construction of a plant for deep processing of grain.

As reported by Kazakh Invest, CITIC Construction is one of China’s leading construction and engineering companies, with a turnover of $2.5 billion. In 2023, the company implemented a similar project in Belarus.

In Kazakhstan, the Chinese company plans to implement the project, primarily located in the Almaty region and with the creation of 2,000 jobs, in several phases.

With a total capacity to process up to 1 million tons of wheat per year, the plant will produce fructose syrup, crystalline fructose, allulose, crystalline dextrose, sodium gluconate, gluten, and feed.

It is anticipated that the cost of the build will exceed $1 billion.

“We are ready to provide comprehensive support for the implementation of the project,” stated Yelekeyev. “Deep processing of grain is one of the priorities and promising areas in the strategic development of the economy of Kazakhstan. Our country is one of the largest wheat producers in the world and is ready to contribute to ensuring food security in the region, as the area of land for crops cultivation and livestock grazing exceeds 200 million hectares.”

 

Times of Central Asia

Times of Central Asia

Laura Hamilton MA, is the former Director of the Collins Gallery at the University of Strathclyde. She first visited Kyrgyzstan in 2011 to research and curate a major exhibition of contemporary textiles and fashion. Since 2012, she has worked as an editor on over thirty translations of Central Asian novels and collections of short stories. In more recent years, her work has focused on editing translations of Kyrgyzstan's great epics -'Ak Moor', Saiykal', Janysh Baiysh', 'Oljobai and Kishimjan', 'Dariyka', 'Semetey' and 'Er Toshtuk' for The Institute of Kyrgyz Language and Literature, and the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.

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26 Jun 2024

photo: primeminister.kz

Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Home

A Million New Jobs on the Horizon in Kazakhstan

At a meeting on sustainable employment on June 25, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov tasked his government to create employment for around a million citizens this year.

Referencing the initiative, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Svetlana Zhakupova reported that in 2024, the government plans to ensure employment for 948 thousand Kazakhstan citizens. To date, about 353 thousand people, including 148 thousand youths, have found work, representing 37% of the target.

Since the beginning of the year, 137 thousand people have secured state-subsidized jobs. Over 97 thousand have found employment under the Head of State’s initiative “100 new jobs for every 10 thousand people”; over 103 thousand have filled employers’ vacancies, and some 16 thousand have been employed by national project programs.

Prime Minister Bektenov announced that the concept behind “Development of the Labour Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2024-2029” is to create a maximum number of permanent jobs, including those for young professionals.

Today, up to 25 percent of graduates of technical and vocational educational institutions, work outside their professions. To address the issue, Bektenov stressed the importance of establishing interaction with employers through means such as digital monitoring of employment which tracks projects requiring new labour.

In theory, the implementation of measures to ensure employment will create 3.8 million quality jobs by 2029.

The meeting also addressed issues concerning the employment of Kazakhstan citizens abroad and the protection of their rights.

Regarding the above, the Prime Minister warned, “We are aware of situations where their salaries were not paid, medical services were not provided, contracts were grossly violated. Work is therefore underway to conclude relevant intergovernmental agreements -and-  to systematize the work of private agencies that employ our citizens abroad. Kazakh citizens should receive reliable guarantees under the contract.”

 

 

Times of Central Asia

Times of Central Asia

Laura Hamilton MA, is the former Director of the Collins Gallery at the University of Strathclyde. She first visited Kyrgyzstan in 2011 to research and curate a major exhibition of contemporary textiles and fashion. Since 2012, she has worked as an editor on over thirty translations of Central Asian novels and collections of short stories. In more recent years, her work has focused on editing translations of Kyrgyzstan's great epics -'Ak Moor', Saiykal', Janysh Baiysh', 'Oljobai and Kishimjan', 'Dariyka', 'Semetey' and 'Er Toshtuk' for The Institute of Kyrgyz Language and Literature, and the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.

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