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Commercial Aviation

Kyrgyzstan’s Asman Airlines Considers COMAC Jets

Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned Asman Airlines is considering C909 and C919 jets from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) while pursuing separate plans to add Airbus A321 aircraft for international routes. Under the proposed cooperation, COMAC will provide technical and commercial information on the two aircraft, while the sides assess whether they would be economical to operate on Asman’s existing and planned routes. Airline representatives will also visit COMAC’s production facilities in Shanghai. The talks will also cover certification. Before Asman could operate either jet, Kyrgyzstan’s State Civil Aviation Agency is expected to help validate its type certificate, the safety approval for the aircraft design. The C909 is a regional jet seating 78 to 97 passengers, with a range of about 1,380 to 2,300 miles. COMAC says it is suited to short and narrow runways and high-altitude airports, a feature that could be useful in mountainous Kyrgyzstan. The C919 is a considerably larger single-aisle jet seating 158 to 192 passengers, with a range of about 2,530 to 3,450 miles. It competes in the same broad market as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. Both models are already in commercial service. COMAC said in February that more than 200 C909 and C919 aircraft had been delivered in total. The C909 has also entered service with airlines in Southeast Asia. The C919’s expansion outside China has been slower. It is certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, while European certification remains incomplete. In January, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency confirmed that its pilots had conducted validation flights of the C919 in Shanghai. Asman Airlines currently operates three Canadian-built Dash 8 Q400 turboprops, each seating up to 80 passengers, primarily on domestic and short regional routes. In July, the airline resumed seasonal flights between Almaty and Issyk-Kul. Asman’s parent company, Airports of Kyrgyzstan, signed a deal with BBAM Aircraft Leasing & Management in March to acquire two Airbus A321 aircraft for the carrier. The airport operator said in July that Asman plans to add eight A321s over five years, with the first two forming the initial stage. The European Commission removed all airlines certified in Kyrgyzstan from the EU Air Safety List in June, ending restrictions imposed in 2006. Removal from the list does not automatically authorize flights to the European Union; carriers still need suitable aircraft and the necessary operating approvals. Kyrgyzstan has also been restoring regional airports and domestic routes. Between 2021 and 2025, passenger traffic at the country’s airports increased by 52%, while the number of flights rose by 53%. Five airports were operating in 2021; the government said in March 2026 that all 11 were operational.

ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026

What We Found at ICT Week Uzbekistan: Startups, Robots and the Next Wave of Digital Innovation

ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026 filled Tashkent’s Central Asian Expo with everything from biometric payment systems and health-monitoring AI to experimental satellites and drone football. Held from September 22 to 25, the annual technology event brought together more than 300 exhibitors from 51 countries, according to the organizers. Walking through the exhibition, The Times of Central Asia spoke with developers and startup founders from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan about the latest generation of Central Asian tech products, and attempts to bring engineering education beyond the region’s largest cities. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/document_5309977585415922252.mp4"][/video] Paying with a Palm or a Smile At the BRB Tech stand, the Uzbek fintech company demonstrated products that it has developed for the banking sector, including biometric payment systems that use a customer’s palm or face. The idea is straightforward: instead of taking out a card or phone at a shop or coffee shop, a customer could authorize a payment using biometric data. [caption id="attachment_57065" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] A representative of BRB Tech presents the company's smile payment and palm payment solutions for shops and coffee shops.[/caption] Company representative Muratbek Azamkulov told TCA that Smile Payment was undergoing testing and had achieved 99.9% accuracy. Palm Payment is initially being developed for Uzbekistan's Business Development Bank, but Azamkulov said the company plans to offer the technology to other banks as well. On a nearby stand, IT Park Dushanbe was trying pitch the Tajik capital as an attractive destination for technology companies. Hilola Safarova, head of marketing and public relations at the park, said it now has more than 100 residents and over 50 partners. The park offers technology companies tax benefits and customs preferences, including exemptions for qualifying imported equipment. [caption id="attachment_57064" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Hilola Safarova, Head of Marketing and Public Relations at IT Park Dushanbe, presents the park's services and opportunities for IT companies.[/caption] A Startup Trying to Make Banks Compete for Borrowers One of the smaller Uzbek startups at the exhibition was FINKO, founded by Jaloliddin Ibodov. Its model reverses the usual process of looking for a loan. Instead of approaching banks one by one, an individual or business submits information through FINKO. The application can then be sent to several banks and microfinance organizations, allowing the borrower to compare offers. The cheapest interest rate is not necessarily the only consideration. "One borrower may want a lower monthly payment, while someone else might prefer a longer loan. Another person will look for the cheapest interest rate," Ibodov said, adding that FINKO currently works with five banks and ten microfinance organizations and has around 30,000 registered users. The platform charges users 10,000 Uzbek soums, about $0.80, to submit an application and receives a commission from a partner bank when a loan is issued. For about a year, the founders financed development themselves. Ibodov said the startup has begun approaching venture capital firms as revenue starts to appear. From Robotics Clubs to Satellites A large part of the exhibition was aimed at a younger generation of engineers. Diyorbek Kodiraliyev of the...

Digital Economy

How Kazakhstan Became Central Asia’s Digital Hub

From October 1 to 3, Astana will host the AI & Digital Bridge conference, which is expected to draw more than 20,000 participants and over 100 technology companies. The wider AI Month begins on September 23 with HackAlem AI powered by OpenAI. Earlier editions of Digital Bridge have drawn a total of more than 127,000 participants from over 100 countries. Kazakhstan can bring such a gathering together because two decades of development have created the institutional and commercial base for its present AI strategy. Advanced computing capacity and large-scale technological investment now reinforce that base. Building the Digital Base Well before artificial intelligence became a central policy concern, Kazakhstan began building the digital-state capacity that underpins its current position. The e-government program dates from the mid-2000s. The 2017 Digital Kazakhstan program broadened that effort by linking the transition to a digital state with four other priorities: digitalization of economic sectors, development of the Digital Silk Road, human-capital development, and the creation of an innovation ecosystem. Startup formation thereby entered policy not as a one-off technology initiative but as part of a wider program of institutional and economic digitization. Kazakhstan ranked 24th globally in the UN E-Government Development Index in 2024. By 2025, about 90% of public services were available online. By then, the eGov portal had more than 15 million registered users, while its mobile application had more than 11 million. Large-scale digital interaction between citizens and the state had thus become a daily fact of life before the present AI push began. Public services inhabit the same digital environment as ordinary commercial transactions. Kaspi.kz reported 15.7 million average monthly active users in Kazakhstan at the end of 2025 and about 764,000 active merchants. Its Super App integrates payments with finance and commerce; it also carries government services. Digitalization has become part of everyday consumer behavior. In July 2026, internet and mobile banking accounted for 77.6% of non-cash transactions by number and 89.6% by value. Commercial adoption has accustomed much of the population to carrying out both routine transactions and more significant business transfers through digital systems. Infrastructure spending alone would not have produced the same result without the surrounding policy and commercial environment. Almaty supplies the financial and corporate side of the ecosystem, complementing Astana’s policy and startup institutions. Together, the two cities anchor an economy accounting for more than half of Central Asia’s GDP. Kazakhstan also holds roughly two-thirds of the region’s inward foreign investment stock, according to TCA’s Central Asia Balance Sheet. Institutional Concentration These developments acquired an institutional center through Astana Hub, established in 2018. It brings firms and founders into the same network as investors. Participation brings concrete operating advantages, including tax preferences and simplified arrangements for hiring foreign specialists. Companies may hire such specialists without a numerical limit, with work visas available for up to five years. They can also enter incubation or acceleration programs and obtain access to financing mechanisms. A 2026 World Bank appraisal described Kazakhstan as having built a credible technology-driven...

Capital Markets

Kazakhstan Capital Market Law Set for Major Overhaul

Kazakhstan is preparing to rewrite the rules governing its securities market for the first time in more than two decades. The draft Capital Market Law aims to make it easier for businesses to raise money on the stock market while strengthening protections for investors. The new law is intended to replace the Securities Market Law adopted in 2003. The draft was published for public discussion in September 2026. Kazakhstan’s stock market has expanded significantly in recent years. As of July 31, equity market capitalization on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) stood at KZT 47.7 trillion, or about $100.5 billion, while corporate debt in circulation had reached KZT 16.8 trillion, or about $35 billion. Despite that growth, state-owned and quasi-state companies and banks remain the main borrowers in the bond market. Private businesses rarely raise money through the exchange, while turnover in already-issued shares remains low. A Law That Grew Along With the Market Over more than two decades, the Securities Market Law has been amended by more than 60 legislative acts. The regulatory framework was built around individual financial products and procedures, and the regulatory policy consultation paper underpinning the reform proposes changing more than half of the existing provisions. Rather than introduce another large package of amendments, the authorities have decided to replace the law. More technical rules would instead be set out in secondary legislation, allowing them to be adjusted without going through the full legislative process. SMEs, the Exchange, and the Liquidity Shortage One of the main aims of the reform is to make the market more accessible to smaller businesses. Around 90% of financing for small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan is linked to the banking sector, according to reform documents citing the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund. KASE sought to make the market more accessible to smaller companies as early as 2017 by introducing less stringent listing conditions. But while the exchange could change its own requirements, it could not simplify the state procedures governing securities issuance. A company seeking to sell shares or bonds must prepare legal and financial documentation, register the issue, and comply with disclosure requirements. For a small business, the cost of lawyers, auditors, and other advisers can be disproportionate to the amount it hopes to raise. The draft would therefore allow a separate category for SMEs with simplified listing, delisting, and disclosure rules. Smaller issuers would also be able to use an abbreviated securities prospectus, the document setting out financial information about the company, the terms of the offering, and the risks. Companies making repeat issues would no longer have to prepare the entire set of documents from scratch. Registration is also expected to be digitized and transferred from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) to the Central Securities Depository, which maintains records of securities ownership. The limited role of private companies is also visible in the bond market. At the end of 2025, outstanding corporate debt totaled KZT 16.2 trillion, or about $34 billion. According...

Venture Investment

Agrobank Venture Fund Launches With $6.1 Million to Support Startups in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s Agrobank has launched a $6.1 million venture fund that plans to invest in up to 75 startups, with agricultural technology and artificial intelligence among its main targets. AgroVentures was presented on September 23 during ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026, held from September 22–25 at CAEx in Tashkent. The fund plans to invest between $25,000 and $500,000 in 60–75 companies. Its main focus will be agricultural technology and artificial intelligence, although it will also consider startups in areas including fintech, healthcare, education, and logistics. AgroVentures is aiming to more than double the value of its investments and eventually exit between eight and 12 companies, with those exits projected to be worth a combined $15–18 million. Zohidjon Yusupov, a venture capital specialist at Agrobank, told The Times of Central Asia that the fund would look at the strength of a startup’s team, the problem it was trying to solve, the size of its potential market, and whether its business model could be expanded. Agriculture will be a particular focus, with AgroVentures looking at technologies that could help farmers monitor crops to predict yields and use water more efficiently, as well as gain better access to markets and financing. “For example, AI-based monitoring can help farmers identify crop stress or diseases earlier, while smart irrigation technologies can help reduce water consumption,” Yusupov said. The fund’s first initiative is the Agrobank Corporate Accelerator, developed with Tashkent-based AI Station under a partnership signed on September 15. The 12-week program will select up to 20 startups to test their products with Agrobank and its business clients, with successful participants potentially securing investment or commercial partnerships. Applications are open until October 23 through the accelerator’s website.

Uranium Supply

Kazatomprom Secures New Uranium Block as Nuclear Demand Expands

Kazakhstan has granted its state-controlled uranium producer Kazatomprom six-year exploration rights to the Kyzyltu block in the Kyzylorda region, where preliminary resources are estimated at around 10,000 metric tons. Kazatomprom announced the exploration license on September 21 and said geological exploration would begin shortly to determine the block’s commercial potential. Kazakhstan remains the world’s largest uranium producer, accounting for roughly 40% of global mine production. Kazatomprom reported output of 25,839 metric tons in 2025 on a 100% basis, including its partners’ shares. The new exploration rights follow a wider effort by Kazatomprom to replenish its resource base. In March, the company outlined six prospective exploration areas covering more than 1,000 square kilometers, with planned exploration spending through 2030 of $155 million to $176 million. The company is also pursuing longer-term supply agreements with overseas buyers. An August outlook from Bloomberg Intelligence expects Kazatomprom and Canada’s Cameco to provide much of the increase in global uranium mine production during the remainder of this decade. Bloomberg estimates mined supply could rise 23% from 2025 levels to around 193 million pounds of U₃O₈ annually during 2028–2031. It estimates Kazatomprom could reach around 80 million pounds of U₃O₈ annually if sufficient sulfuric acid is available. In this base scenario, the uranium market could remain in surplus through 2031 before moving into deficit from 2032, as demand rises and depletion of low-cost reserves in Kazakhstan and Canada constrains supply. New mines generally require long development periods, limiting the ability of supply to respond quickly to higher demand. China is the largest near-term source of additional demand, accounting for 45% of nuclear capacity currently under construction or planned and has set a target of 110 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2030. The United States and European Union are also major markets for Central Asian uranium. U.S. civilian reactor operators purchased 46.9 million pounds of U₃O₈ equivalent in 2025, with Kazakhstan accounting for 28% of deliveries and Uzbekistan 7%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EU utilities purchased 14,678 metric tons of natural uranium in 2025, with Kazakhstan accounting for 20.3% of deliveries and Uzbekistan 10.4%, according to the Euratom Supply Agency. The European Commission’s nuclear investment assessment projects EU nuclear capacity rising from 98 gigawatts in 2025 to around 109 gigawatts by 2050. Kazakhstan also retains a production-cost advantage. Bloomberg attributes this largely to the widespread use of in-situ recovery, which allows uranium to be extracted without conventional open-pit or underground mining. Sulfuric Acid Supply Remains a Constraint Kazatomprom’s September 21 announcement also addressed Russian sulfuric-acid deliveries, an important issue because the chemical is used extensively in Kazakhstan’s in-situ uranium operations. The company said Russian measures introduced on September 12 had changed export approval procedures through the end of 2026, but had not prohibited exports. Russian suppliers had confirmed their intention to fulfill existing 2026 contracts and were seeking the necessary approvals. Kazatomprom said it did not expect the changes to have a material effect on its 2026 operations or production guidance. Talks over supplies...