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Air Astana Preparing for IPO

Air Astana has officially confirmed its participation in the listing of securities on the London Stock Exchange, the IFCA Stock Exchange (AIX), and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). This was first announced at a briefing on January 19th, which was attended by Dastan Adikhodzhaev, the director of privatization and restructuring of assets of Samruk Kazyna JSC, and Peter Foster, the president of Air Astana JSC. Adikhodzhaev noted that this decision was taken to support the instructions of the President of Kazakhstan, and to maintain a comprehensive plan for privatization for 2021-2025. "Privatization of part of state blocks, especially by bringing our largest companies to IPO, SPO is an important part. Tasks are being solved progressively, and in recent years we have made significant progress in this direction," said Adikhodzhaev. At the upcoming IPO it is planned to sell common shares in the national currency, as well as global depositary receipts in U.S. dollars. For the realization of the local offering, the company has attracted Halyk Finance JSC as joint bookrunner, Freedom Finance Global PLC as lead manager, as well as BCC Invest JSC, SkyBridge Invest JSC and Jusan Invest JSC as co-managers. The IPO is scheduled to begin on January 29th. "On behalf of the Company, I am pleased to officially confirm our intention to take Air Astana Group public,"President and CEO of Air Astana, Peter Foster commented. "As the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus, we believe that our industry status, market position and growth profile represent an attractive investment opportunity. This is an important milestone in our long-term strategy and we look forward to welcoming new Kazakhstani and international investors as shareholders of the group. The Company intends to raise an additional $120 million." According to the Skytrax World Airline Awards, Air Astana was the Best Airline in Central Asia and the CIS in 2023, the eleventh time the company has won this title. Air Astana also has a five-star rating in the category of the largest airlines by APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association).

The Senate of Kazakhstan approves an agreement with France on fighting climate change

Kazakhstan has signed an agreement with France concerning issues related to climate change. This agreement helps Kazakhstan to contribute to the fight against climate change, and provides for joint efforts to implement major projects in the field of renewable energy and sustainable development in the country. One of the biggest initiatives envisaged under this agreement is the Mirny project. Its main goal is to create a hybrid power plant with a total capacity of 1 GW, which will operate using wind energy. This power plant is planned to be located in the Zhambyl region, close to the town of Mirny. This project will be vital in developing energy sources that do not harm the environment.

Infrastructure development: Qatari investors see prospects in Tajikistan

During a state visit to Qatar, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon met with Ahmad Muhammad Tayyib, the head of investment at the Qatari company Diyori, to discuss the implementation of the ‘Diar Dushanbe’ construction project. Qatari companies see prospects for investing in Tajikistan’s tourism infrastructure and social facilities. During the meeting with Mr Rahmon the parties expressed the need for timely realization of the next stages of construction of the project. The Diar Dushanbe project was identified as a “5-star multifunctional complex", which emphasizes its importance for the development of the region. Diar Dushanbe will have an autonomous system for water and energy supply. It will also include business and shopping centers, restaurants, cafes and apartments.

Year of Kazakhstan Tourism in China to Begin in March

On January 22nd, Kazakhstan’s minister for tourism and sports, Ermek Marzhikpayev, discussed with his Chinese counterpart, Sun Yeli, plans for holding the ‘Year of Kazakhstan Tourism in China’ in 2024, the Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports has reported. During the meeting, the Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sports presented the concept for the Year of Kazakhstan Tourism, which includes a number of large events in major Chinese cities. This year was declared the ‘Year of Kazakhstan Tourism in China’ during an official visit to China in 2023 by Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The official opening of the Year of Tourism is scheduled for the end of March, and in total more than 25 different events are planned. “China is one of the priority tourism markets and partners for Kazakhstan. This is due to the geographical location of the two countries and deep historical ties along the Silk Road. Today, the tourist flow between our countries is returning to pre-pandemic levels,” Mr Marzhikpayev said. China was second on the list of countries whose citizens visited Kazakhstan in 2023, behind only Russia. According to official statistics, over the first nine months of last year more than 75,000 Chinese tourists stayed in Kazakh hotels, while over 200,000 visitors from China came to Kazakhstan overall. With the introduction of a visa-free regime for Chinese citizens from November 10th last year, and the planned increase in the number of direct flights between Kazakhstan and China to 30 per week this year, a further increase in the tourist flow from China is expected, the ministry said.

World Nomad Games

Kazakhstan Announces Date of 5th World Nomad Games

The 5th World Nomad Games will be held in Astana from September 8th to 14th, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan has said. It is expected that close to 4,000 athletes from more than a hundred countries will compete in the games, which will include twenty competitive and ten demonstration events, with 110 sets of medals being competed for. Equestrian sports, traditional wrestling, archery, bird hunting, and traditional intellectual games will all be included. It is also expected that more than 100,000 tourists will attend sporting and cultural events during the games. An ethno-village, “Universe of Nomads,” will be opened in Astana, where every visitor will be able to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the Kazakh people, as well as the cultures of participating countries. Up to 30,000 residents and guests in Astana will be able to visit the ethno-village daily, the ministry stated. The games will be held under the motto, “Meeting in the Great Steppe.” The World Nomad Games were initiated by the government of Kyrgyzstan in 2012 for the revival and preservation of the culture of nomadic civilizations. The First World Nomad Games were held in September 2014 in the resort city of Cholpon Ata on Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

European Parliament Condemns Repression in Tajikistan, Underlying Issues Persist

On January 18th, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights in Tajikistan which condemns the ongoing crackdown against independent media, government critics, human rights activists and independent lawyers, as well as the closure of independent media and websites. Parliament members urged the authorities to stop persecuting lawyers defending government critics and journalists, and immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained and drop all charges against them, including human rights lawyers Manuchehr Kholiknazarov and Buzurgmehr Yorov. In the resolution, the European Parliament members insisted that respect for freedom of expression in Tajikistan should be taken into account when assessing the application of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) for Tajikistan and negotiations of a new EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. In December 2023, the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Ben Cardin sent a letter to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, urging him to cease acts of domestic and transnational repression against political opponents and religious minorities. “There are persistent reports of arbitrary arrest, denial of judicial due process, as well as acts of violence including torture, assault and even instances of murder of journalists, political dissidents, as well as community and religious leaders,” Cardin wrote. In recent years, several Tajik journalists, activists, and opposition politicians have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms largely based on accusations of collaborating with organizations labelled as extremist or banned in Tajikistan.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13842" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]Still a relatively young country, the official date of the independence of Tajikistan - a front-line state facing the extremism of the Taliban - is September 9th 1991. Whilst criticisms are warranted and accurate, particularly through the prism of western democracy, the crux of the problem would appear to be endemic corruption and weak institutions propagated by kleptocratic wealth and organized crime. As to how high up the criminality goes, in 2000 the Tajik Ambassador to Kazakhstan was arrested in Almaty with 86 kilos of heroin in his car. In 2001, the Deputy Minister of the Interior was murdered, the prosecution in the case arguing he’d been assassinated for refusing to pay for a shipment of 50 kilos. A statement released by the UNDP in 2001 estimated that drug money accounted for between 30 -50% of the Tajik economy. The year Tajikistan took over policing of its border with Afghanistan from the Russians, seizures of heroin halved. Piqued by the critical international response, President Rahmon levelled counter-allegations of Russian complicity in the heroin trade. “Why do you think generals lined up in Moscow all the way across Red Square and paid enormous bribes to be assigned here?” he complained to U.S. officials. “Just so they could do their patriotic duty?”