Central Asia - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 31 - 36 of 5762

Banking

Kyrgyz Banks Hold $1.3 Billion in Liquidity, but Businesses Lack Long-Term Financing

Kyrgyzstan’s banking sector holds a substantial volume of liquidity, yet small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to face a shortage of development financing, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank. The ADB estimates that the system has accumulated around $1.3 billion in excess liquidity. At the same time, more than 45% of bank loans, and a similar share of microloans, are directed toward consumer needs, while lending to industry has steadily declined. Representatives of the banking sector say they are familiar with the report’s findings but consider them only partially accurate. “Commercial banks in Kyrgyzstan do indeed have sufficient funds, but the bulk of these deposits are short-term. The figures mentioned in the report mainly refer to balances on corporate accounts that are not time-bound, they are demand deposits and can be withdrawn at any moment. As for long-term funding for large-scale projects in industry and agriculture, banks lack such resources,” Anvar Abdraev, President of the Union of Banks of Kyrgyzstan, told The Times of Central Asia. According to Abdraev, this helps explain the perception that banks are reluctant to lend to industry and SMEs. He added that large businesses generally do not face financing constraints, as they tend to secure funding from international financial institutions and intergovernmental funds on concessional terms, often bypassing commercial banks. Banking sector representatives also point to structural challenges on the borrowers’ side, including underdeveloped business plans, which increase credit risk. In addition, a significant share of applications comes from startups, which banks classify as high-risk projects. Another limiting factor is the lack of sufficient liquid collateral among entrepreneurs. Banks also emphasize that non-performing loans in their portfolios are maintained at around 5-6%, prompting stricter borrower assessment criteria. As a result, the loan approval process for businesses can be lengthy, and rejection rates remain high. “The growth rate of consumer lending does indeed exceed the volume of loans directed toward business development. This is primarily because consumer loans are much easier to obtain today. This has largely been made possible by new banking technologies. Consumer loans can be issued online using remote identity verification. Moreover, the average size of such loans is significantly smaller than that of business loans,” Abdraev added. Thus, despite the high level of liquidity in the banking system, the shortage of long-term funding, combined with borrower-related risks, continues to constrain lending to Kyrgyzstan’s real sector.

Animal Rights

Animal Euthanasia in Kazakhstan: Cruelty or Necessity?

In early April 2026, Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, the Mazhilis, approved in the first reading amendments to the law “On Responsible Treatment of Animals.” The key proposed change is a shift away from the policy of returning vaccinated and sterilized dogs to their habitats, toward the legalization of euthanasia. The decision has triggered a sharp public divide: supporters cite safety concerns, particularly for children, while critics view the amendments as a rollback of the humane principles enshrined in the 2021 law and an attempt to compensate for institutional shortcomings through the mass culling of stray animals. Background: From Reform to Reversal In 2021, Kazakhstan sought to overhaul its approach to managing stray animal populations, aligning it with international practices. This led to the adoption of a dedicated law, which formalized a transition from culling to the CNVR model (capture, neuter, vaccinate, and return). The reform was presented as a compromise between humane treatment and public safety. The shift was driven by both civic activism and political momentum. In 2020, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described attitudes toward animals as a benchmark of societal development, acknowledging systemic shortcomings in the country. He later emphasized that state protection should extend to both people and animals. The initiative received support both domestically and internationally. Authorities pledged a systemic approach, including the creation of a national animal registry, mandatory microchipping, expansion of shelters, and tighter regulation of pet ownership. The expectation was that these measures would gradually reduce the stray population in a humane and sustainable manner. The Case for the Amendments: Safety and Cost The amendments, introduced in 2024, propose a transition to a no-return capture model. Despite criticism from animal welfare groups, the bill passed its first reading on April 8, 2026, and was forwarded to the Senate eight days later. Lawmakers, including Mazhilis committee chairman Yedil Zhanbyrshin, argue that the CNVR model has failed to deliver results under Kazakhstan’s conditions. They cite an increase in the stray dog population from 207,000 in 2022 to 247,000 in 2023. Another factor highlighted is the unintended consequence of mandatory microchipping introduced in 2023. According to lawmakers, the cost of registration and sterilization, averaging around 27,000 KZT (approximately $54), led some owners to abandon their pets. This, they argue, is reflected in the sharp decline in registered dogs, from 28,000 in 2022 to just 961 in 2024. Public safety remains the central argument. According to the Ministry of Health, Kazakhstan records an average of 105 animal attacks per day. Fiscal considerations are also significant. A full CNVR program is estimated to require annual spending of 14-15 billion KZT (approximately $28-30 million). Against the backdrop of competing budget priorities, including education and healthcare, lawmakers consider such expenditures excessive. They also point to practices in countries such as the United States and Japan, where euthanasia is used as a population control measure. Under the proposed model, captured animals would be held for a limited period, 15 days for unchipped dogs and 60 days for those with identified owners....

Digital Economy

Kazakhstan Aims to Boost IT Services Exports to $5 Billion by 2030

Kazakhstan plans to increase its IT services exports nearly fivefold, to $5 billion by 2030, officials and industry participants said at a roundtable focused on positioning the country as a regional hub for international tech talent and digital nomads. According to official data, Kazakhstan exported IT services worth $471 million to 95 countries in the first nine months of 2025. In the final quarter of the year, that figure more than doubled, reaching $1.142 billion as of January 1, 2026. Export revenues also exceeded spending on imported digital solutions by more than 2.6 times, with imports totaling $429 million. The new export target is expected to be supported by workforce expansion and talent attraction initiatives. Representatives of Astana Hub said the country plans to train 10,000 specialists in AI by 2030. At the same time, Kazakhstan is promoting its Digital Nomad Residency program, launched in January 2025, aimed at attracting foreign IT professionals. To date, more than 700 applications from 30 countries have been submitted under the program, with over 120 specialists granted residency status. “Human capital development is the foundation on which Kazakhstan’s growth as a digital hub is built,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev. “We aim to make the Digital Nomad process fully digital, transparent, fast, and convenient. The arrival of highly qualified professionals is not just a statistic, it brings international experience, new competencies, and links to global markets. Our goal is to create conditions where talented IT professionals can realize their potential here and contribute to Kazakhstan’s economy.” Participants at the roundtable, including engineers and analysts from international companies, also shared their relocation experiences and proposed improvements to digital services. Following the meeting, stakeholders agreed to continue work through a permanent working group to better adapt the program to the needs of the IT community. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed establishing a regional center for cooperation with Japan in digital transformation and artificial intelligence in Astana.

Economy

Kazakhstan Freezes Projects with Iran Amid Military Conflict

Kazakhstan has suspended several joint projects with Iran amid ongoing military hostilities in the country, Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Issetov has announced. The decision effectively puts on hold plans to expand trade and economic cooperation between Astana and Tehran, despite previously stated ambitions to significantly increase bilateral trade. On December 11, 2025, during the Kazakhstan-Iran business forum in Astana, Tokayev said bilateral trade had exceeded $340 million the previous year. The two sides set an initial goal of raising trade to $1 billion, with a longer-term aim of doubling that figure. However, the escalation of military activity in Iran has forced both sides to reconsider these plans. “The situation is currently very complicated. At this point, many of our projects with Iran have been frozen due to the country being in a state of war. As a result, our businesses and entrepreneurs are now in a wait-and-see position,” Issetov said. “Kazakhstan is not suffering major losses, as the volumes were relatively small and did not significantly impact the national economy. Nevertheless, given our strong partnership with Iran, there is an effect, though not a substantial one,” he added. Despite the growth in trade, Iran’s share in Kazakhstan’s foreign economic relations remains limited. According to the Ministry of National Economy, exports to Iran in 2025 amounted to $239.3 million, while imports totaled $191 million, equivalent to roughly 0.3% of the country’s total foreign trade turnover. The agricultural sector accounted for the bulk of trade: approximately 90% of Kazakhstan’s exports to Iran consisted of wheat and barley. In the first ten months of last year alone, grain shipments reached $280 million, exceeding the total agricultural trade volume for 2024 ($220 million). Government officials believe these volumes can be redirected to alternative markets if necessary. From a logistics perspective, Iran is not considered a critical transit route for Kazakhstan. This was previously confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin. “I don’t think the conflict will have any impact on our logistics. Shipments through the Persian Gulf were never dominant for us,” he said. Despite its currently limited role, Iran had been viewed as a promising direction for the development of transport corridors. In December 2025, Tokayev announced plans to build a transport and logistics terminal at Shahid Rajaee Port, which was intended to provide direct access for Kazakh exports to global markets. Plans also included strengthening links between Kazakhstan’s ports of Aktau and Kuryk and Iran’s ports of Amirabad and Anzali, as well as integrating Bandar Abbas and Chabahar into regional logistics chains. “It is important for us to develop multimodal corridors connecting Central Asia with the Persian Gulf, and the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway plays a key role in this,” Tokayev previously stated. According to his estimates, cargo traffic along this route could have doubled by 2030. For now, those plans are effectively on hold.

Cyber Security

Kazakhstan to Train “White Hat” Hackers and AI Engineers for the Energy Sector

Kazakhstan plans to train cybersecurity and AI specialists for the energy sector as part of its broader effort to digitally transform the industry, the country’s Ministry of Energy said. In 2026, declared the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in the electricity and heat power sector, the ministry plans to develop a professional standard titled Digitalization and the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Energy. The document envisages the creation of new professions, including “white hat” hackers and AI engineers. A “white hat” hacker is a cybersecurity specialist who legally tests IT systems for vulnerabilities with the owners’ permission. Unlike malicious hackers, such experts identify weaknesses so they can be fixed before potential attacks, thereby protecting data and infrastructure. Following a meeting of the Sectoral Council for Electricity and Heat Power Engineering under the ministry, the new standard was expanded to include the following specialties: smart grid designer, engineer for the development and implementation of AI in power systems (Smart Grid), and energy grid cybersecurity specialist (“white hat” hacker). The ministry said these professions were formulated on the basis of Kazakhstan’s Atlas of New Professions and Competencies and are intended to adapt the education system to the demands of the digital economy. The development of Smart Grid systems is seen as one of the key tasks for the next five to ten years. In the future, some energy system management functions, including dispatch control, are expected to be handed over to intelligent algorithms, requiring new competencies at the intersection of energy and IT. As part of the digitalization of the fuel and energy complex, Kazakhstan also plans to create a system of digital models and “digital twins” for facilities within the Unified Energy System as early as 2026. “Our goal is not simply to digitize processes, but to create an intelligent model of the energy system. This will improve the quality of operational management and make it possible to take strategic decisions based on precise data rather than forecasts,” Vice Minister of Energy Bakytzhan Ilyas said. According to him, the introduction of vertical online monitoring using digital twins will make it possible to track key parameters in real time from generation volumes to energy production costs. This will form the basis for tariff-setting policy and investment attraction. Kazakhstan’s energy sector is already implementing a number of projects using artificial intelligence technologies. Among them is AI-based defect detection on power transmission lines using drones, computer vision, and machine learning. The technology can identify support structure defects, overheating, and deformations using data from 4K cameras, thermal imagers, and LiDAR. Another example is robotic diagnostics of heating networks using acoustic resonance, allowing the condition of pipelines to be assessed without excavation or shutting down the system. The ministry emphasizes that the digitalization of the energy sector requires not only technological solutions, but also systematic workforce training. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan plans to expand the use of AI across various sectors from healthcare to the fiscal sphere, including early...

Agriculture

Uzbekistan Leases 4,000 Hectares in Belarus, Signs 60,000-Ton Export Deal

Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya region has agreed to lease 4,000 hectares of farmland in Belarus and signed a major export contract as part of efforts to expand agricultural cooperation between the two countries, according to Dunyo Information Agency. The agreements were reached during a working visit to Belarus by a delegation from Kashkadarya region. As part of the trip, Uzbek representatives visited livestock and retail facilities in the Vitebsk region, including the districts of Braslav, Shumilino, and Postavy, where they studied local production practices. Talks with the leadership of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee focused on strengthening economic ties and building joint production chains. One of the key outcomes was a deal between Uzbek companies “Asl Yuksalish Savdo” and “Muborak qorako‘lchilik” and the Belarusian “Sirotinsky” livestock farm. Under the agreement, the Uzbek side will lease farmland on a long-term basis to launch an agricultural project. The first stage involves breeding 1,000 head of cattle, marking the beginning of a broader investment in livestock production. At the same time, Uzbekistan is expanding its export presence in the Belarusian market. “Asl Yuksalish Savdo” signed a contract with the retail chain CJSC “Dobronom” to supply 60,000 tons of agricultural products annually. The shipments will include dried fruits, legumes, melons, and grapes. The visit also included discussions on tourism and cultural cooperation. The two sides agreed to organize study tours for tourism sector representatives to boost travel exchanges. Cultural ties are also expected to deepen, with plans for performances by the Kashkadarya Regional Theater in Minsk ahead of an upcoming high-level visit. The agreements build on broader economic cooperation between the two countries. Earlier this year, Belarus announced plans to increase bilateral trade with Uzbekistan to $2 billion by 2030. Speaking after talks with Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Belarusian Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin described the target as “ambitious but achievable,” noting that trade turnover is already approaching $1 billion.