Viewing results 1261 - 1266 of 2003
On February 12th, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, and the national welfare fund Samruk-Kazyna, signed an agreement with Presight aI Ltd., a United Arab Emirates-based software and artificial intelligence (AI) company. The parties will join together for a project to create a supercomputer and build a data processing center in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s Minister for Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Musin, earlier spoke about the importance of creating Kazakhstan’s own LLM (large language model) for introducing AI into all spheres of the economy, as well as into e-government. He also commented that AI will significantly boost the development of the financial services, healthcare, energy and manufacturing industries. It is hoped that the launch of a supercomputer will consolidate Kazakhstan’s place as Central Asia’s AI leader, and will make it possible for the country to rent computing power to its neighboring states.
The Eurasian Development Bank’s annual investment in Kazakhstan's economy has exceeded $1bn for the second consecutive year, the chairman of its management board Nikolai Podguzov said during a February 12th meeting with Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution with member states including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The bank’s investment in 2022 and 2023 amounted to $4.2bn, with the share of Kazakhstan-based projects in the bank’s portfolio steadily increasing and reaching 59% by the end of 2023. The value of potential EDB projects under consideration for Kazakhstan for 2024 exceeds $3.5bn. These investments are planned for the country’s strategically important sectors such as transport infrastructure, thermal and renewable energy, industrial production, agriculture, and water management. Podguzov emphasized that this year the EDB intends to foster the growth of Kazakhstan’s financial market, including the implementation of new instruments to fund infrastructure projects. He also informed Tokayev about the EDB’s research on the Central Asian water and energy complex. Podguzov said that his bank plans to promote the advancement of Kazakhstan as a driver of efficient water use, and stands ready to offer grants totaling up to $10m to develop regional centers of expertise in water conservation and energy-efficient technologies – and to allocate up to $400m for projects involving digital water-metering technologies, laser land levelling for irrigated areas and the establishment of a regional production and service cluster for state-of-the-art irrigation equipment.
Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Georgia, Malik Murzalin recently visited olive plantations in the Georgian region of Kakheti. Olive tree seedlings from this region are to be planted in several regions of Kazakhstan, the Foreign Ministry has reported. Georgian businessman, George Svanidze, who was the president of the International Olive Council in 2020, showed Murzalin the olive production and processing industry in Georgia, and spoke about plans to develop an olive industry in Kazakhstan with the support of Georgian specialists. These plans include planting the best varieties of olive trees, creating plantations, launching a processing plant, and obtaining an international certificate necessary for exporting Kazakh olives abroad. To date, an experimental planting of olive tree seedlings has been completed in Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu and Mangistau regions. This year, it is also planned to send Georgian olive tree seedlings to the Turkestan region. Svanidze stated that Georgia is ready to share its knowledge, experience and innovations in growing olives in Kazakhstan. He also promised to assist Kazakhstan in obtaining membership of the International Olive Council, the organization that controls 90% of the world's income from olive oil and 74% of its trade.
Early trading in shares of Kazakhstan's air carrier, Air Astana, began today on securities exchanges in Astana and London as part of an initial public offering (IPO). Trading in Air Astana's global depositary receipts (GDRs) -- a tool used by foreign investors to trade local shares of a company -- also started using the company's common shares on the Astana International Exchange (AIX), priced in U.S. dollars. Price quotes are published on the AIX's website. "Freedom Broker acted as a market-maker on [the AIX]. Early trades turned into main trades after completion of settlements and distribution of securities to investors' accounts in the depository system, in accordance with the applications submitted during the IPO period," reads an official statement. According to the results of early trading, the final price of Air Astana's initial public offering was 1,073.83 tenge per share and $9.5 per GDR, putting the estimated market capitalization of the company at about $847 million at the start of trading. As part of Air Astana's IPO, shareholders BAE Systems of the U.K. sold 7,533,109 GDRs and Kazakh national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna sold 60,393,877 shares (with an additional issue). BAE Systems sold 14,187,643 GDRs on the international market . Gross proceeds from the offering are estimated at about $350-370 million -- of which about $120 million will be used by the airline itself to finance its growth strategy. The main public auction for Air Astana securities is scheduled for February 15 and will be held on the AIX, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE, Almaty), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
China has lifted restrictions on the import of poultry from Kazakhstan, as well as removing import restrictions related to foot-and-mouth disease in cattle, the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture has announced. China’s ban on Kazakh poultry has been in place since 2005, and restrictions on the import of Kazakh meat due to foot-and-mouth disease concerns were introduced in 2022. The lifting of the restrictions allows exports of frozen beef and pork from the southeastern regions of Kazakhstan to resume, as well as of a wide range of poultry products. The decision to lift the ban comes as a result of president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to China last year, during which he raised this issue in talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. During 2023 China conducted a risk assessment for avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease in Kazakhstan. In December, specialists from the Chinese customs service and Ministry of Agriculture visited Kazakhstan to assess the country’s veterinary service, to make sure that it provides sufficient control over foot-and-mouth disease. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, between January and October 2023 agricultural trade between Kazakhstan and China increased by 70% and exceeded $1bn, with Kazakh exports amounting to $811.1m.
Kazakhstan and Great Britain will sign a Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (SPCA) in the near future, it was announced after a February 8th meeting between Kazakhstan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Roman Vassilenko, and the British ambassador to Kazakhstan Kathy Leach. Mr. Vassilenko commented that the SPCA will contribute to the further growth of Kazakh-UK strategic cooperation, and pave the way for new trade and investment links. The deputy minister and the British ambassador pointed out the positive evolution of political dialogue between the countries, growth in trade and economic relations, as well as cultural ties. They also spoke of their progress working together in the fields of science and education, including in attracting British universities to take an interest in Kazakhstan. The United Kingdom is one of Kazakhstan’s most important trade partners and investors, with bilateral trade turnover in 2023 amounting to $1.2bn.
