Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 625 - 630 of 1126

Production of Granulated Gold and Silver Launched in Uzbekistan

On July 16, Uzbekistan’s Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex announced it would start producing gold and silver granules. The Almalyk plant will also begin production of granulated copper and plans to produce granules from other non-ferrous metals. The equipment for producing granulated gold, silver, and copper was purchased in Italy. According to the Almalyk Complex’s press service, the new products will prove convenient for jewelers. In jewelry production, losses occur during the re-melting of ingots and other means of mechanically processing metals. Gold and silver granules will reduce the cost of jewelry products and improve their quality. At a government meeting about Uzbekistan’s jewelry industry last month, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that just 6% of the gold mined in Uzbekistan is processed within the country, and exports of finished products from gold amount to only $78 million. The president emphasized the importance of creating jewelry zones equipped to attract entrepreneurs and reviewing raw materials that are supplied to the industry. In January-March 2024, Uzbekistan exported gold worth $2.6 billion, with revenue from gold exports comprising 41.7% of the country’s total export revenue.

Central Asia International Affairs Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

EDB Forecasts Slowdown in Kyrgyzstan’s Economic Growth

Analysts from the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) have updated the bank's economic forecast for Kyrgyzstan. Despite high performance in the first half of the year, the country's GDP growth may slow in the second half of this year. In the first six months of this year, the growth of the Kyrgyz economy remained at 8.1%. The majority of this growth was due to domestic trade and the construction sector (50%). However, industrial production dynamics remained restrained (0.9%) against a background of declining production in extractive industries and zero growth in manufacturing output. At the same time, production in agriculture increased by 3.3%. According to the EDB analysts, "Despite the strong performance during the first half of the year, we believe that GDP growth will slow down in the second half of 2024. The pace of consumer lending in the current year is lower than in the previous year." They also noted that real wages in the first quarter of 2024 grew by 5.3%, compared to 24% the previous year. "These factors will restrain consumer activity, which will be reflected in a slowdown in GDP growth to 5.5% by the end of this year," the EDB forecast reads.

Central Asia Home Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy Features

Kazakhstan Reports Steady Economic Growth in First Half of 2024

On July 15, the Ministry of the National Economy of Kazakhstan announced the result of the country’s economic development for the first half of 2024. In the period January-June, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.3%, compared to 3.2% in the same period last year. The production of goods rose by 3.6%, and the services sector grew by 3.3%. Compared to last year, the economic growth rate slowed in H1 of 2024. This was caused by the economic impact of extreme flooding during the spring, which had a limiting effect on the development of most sectors. The floods resulted in reductions in trade, transport and logistics in ten regions. Oil production also decreased by 1.6%. In the first half of this year, industrial production was one of the main engines of economic growth, the volume of which increased by 2.8%. There was steady growth in multiple sectors of industrial production. Mechanical engineering grew by 9.4%, metallurgy by 8.3%, the chemicals industry by 5.3%, pharmaceuticals by 14.8%, and the furniture industry by 28.3%. The volume of construction work also increased by 8.6%. In January-June, 4.6 million square meters of housing in new apartment complexes were commissioned, 5.9% more than in the same period last year. Agricultural production increased 3.4% in January-June, and transportation and warehousing services grew 7.3%. Investments in non-resource sectors of the economy were also on the rise. Fixed capital investment increased in the manufacturing industry (by 9.4%), information and communications (2.4-fold), scientific and technical activities (58%), transport (33.7%), education (24.1%), financial operations (22.1%), and real estate transactions (4.5%). In June, annual inflation fell to 8.4% compared to 9.5% in January. In the period January-May, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $55.3 billion. Exports grew by 1.8% to $32.5 billion, including exports of processed goods, which increased by 0.8% to $10.5 billion. Imports amounted to $22.9 billion, down 7.2%, meaning the positive trade balance was $9.6 billion, an increase of $2.3 billion or 32.4% year-on-year. Since the beginning of the year, Kazakhstan’s international reserves have also increased by $5.4 billion and exceeded $101.3 billion as of July 1. This includes the assets of the National Fund, which increased by $1.4 billion to a total of $61.4 billion. The gold and foreign currency reserves of the National Bank also increased by $4 billion to $39.9 billion.

Central Asia Tajikistan International Affairs Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Turkmenistan International Affairs Tajikistan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kazakhstan International Affairs Kazakhstan Business & Economy Uzbekistan International Affairs

Henley Passport Index 2024: Kazakhstan Again the Strongest Central Asian Passport

This year's Henley Passport Index, a ranking that shows how many countries citizens of each country can visit without a visa, has been announced. The rating is compiled using information from the International Air Transport Association. It covers 199 passports and 227 countries. The Singaporean passport again takes first place in the rating. Singaporean citizens can visit 195 countries without a visa. In joint second place, able to freely enter 194 countries, are passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. Kazakhstan ranks 67th in this year's Index: holders of a Kazakhstani passport can enter 79 countries without a visa. Next in Central Asia is Kyrgyzstan, in 78th place, whose citizens can freely visit 65 countries. Uzbekistan is 79th in the ranking (64 countries), Tajikistan is 82nd (60), and Turkmenistan is 90th (52) The world's weakest passport is the Afghan passport. Citizens of Afghanistan can only visit 28 countries without a visa.

Central Asia Tajikistan International Affairs International Affairs Tajikistan Tajikistan Business Economy Business & Economy

Chinese Company Plans to Produce Solar Panels in Tajikistan

A Chinese company plans to set up an enterprise to produce solar panels in the south of Tajikistan. This was announced during a meeting between the head of the country's Khatlon region, Davlatali Said, and Wang Hao, the general director of China's Datang Corporation in Central Asia. Wang Hao commented: "We intend to establish an industrial enterprise in the Khatlon region to produce solar panels. Our corporation has been on the Fortune Global 500 list for 14 consecutive years, which shows the result of our good work." Mr Said supported the proposal, noting that all issues would be resolved after visiting free economic zones and other regions in the country.

Central Asia Uzbekistan International Affairs Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Business & Economy Kazakhstan International Affairs Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy Uzbekistan International Affairs

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Set to Expand Economic Cooperation

On July 12, the 21st meeting of the Kazakh-Uzbek Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation was held in Almaty, co-chaired by the Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Olzhas Bektenov and Abdulla Aripov. As reported by the Kazakh prime minister’s press service, the parties exchanged views on their bilateral agenda ahead of the upcoming visit of Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Kazakhstan. The prime ministers discussed joint projects in trade, the economy, investment, water and energy sectors, transport, industry, agriculture, ecology, and digitization. It was noted at the meeting that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for 57% of all trade in Central Asia. Last year, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.5 billion; during the first four months of 2024, the figure exceeded $1.2 billion. The industrial cooperation portfolio of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan includes 69 projects worth $3.1 billion, which have created more than 14,000 jobs. Furthermore, twelve joint projects worth $217 million have been successfully implemented, creating another 4,500 jobs. The ongoing construction of the International Center for Industrial Cooperation, "Central Asia," in a border area between the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan and the Syr Darya region of Uzbekistan will create additional opportunities for joint projects. Kazakh Prime Minister Bektenov emphasized that Uzbekistan is one of the largest trading partners of Kazakhstan, adding that the heads of the two states have set the task of increasing bilateral trade to $10 billion in the medium term. Uzbek Prime Minister Aripov, meanwhile, stated that relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have rapidly developed in the spirit of strategic partnership in recent years. Still, he noted, there is enormous potential for their further strengthening.