Kazakhstan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 43 - 48 of 1656

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...

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...

Middle Corridor

Middle Corridor Debate Shifts From Geopolitics to Commercial Viability

For several years, interest in the Middle Corridor has risen sharply amid the war in Ukraine, tensions around Iran, sanctions, instability on maritime routes, and governments’ efforts to diversify supply chains. The route runs through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus. The way the issue is framed is now changing. The debate over whether this route is needed is moving into the background. A more important question is whether the Middle Corridor can develop from a politically attractive alternative into a sustainable transport and economic system that businesses will use not because of geopolitical circumstances, but because it is competitive. In this context, the 7th Caspian Business Forum, held in New York on September 22 and organized by the Caspian Policy Center (CPC), provided a useful snapshot of this shift. Representatives of the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and major businesses took part. The discussions focused on the Middle Corridor, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), energy, critical minerals, and attracting private capital. Freight volumes on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route rose from 0.8 million tons to 4.5 million tons in the seven years to 2025, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport. The route carried about 77,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of containerized cargo in 2025, and Kazakhstan aims to raise that total to 300,000 by 2029. These volumes are substantial, but they show the limits of the Middle Corridor’s current capacity. It has not yet become a replacement for all traditional overland routes between China and Europe. The World Bank has noted that the Middle Corridor is more than a transit bridge between China and the European Union (EU). Growth in trade among the countries along the route, as well as their trade with Europe, could be equally important. With the necessary investment and organizational reforms, it estimates, trade flows could triple and transport times could roughly halve by 2030. The route passes through several countries, crosses the Caspian Sea, requires transfers between different modes of transport, and depends on coordination among railway operators, ports, customs services, and tariff policies. A study of transport connectivity between Europe and Central Asia by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, at the request of the European Commission, identified 33 priority investment needs in physical infrastructure and seven soft-connectivity measures, ranging from the digitalization of transport documents to the harmonization of tariffs, customs, and border procedures. The CPC forum addressed these issues as well. CPC President Efgan Nifti put it this way: “For the Corridor to reach its full potential, it must increasingly function as one integrated system – with harmonized border procedures, coordinated ports and railways, and digitalized documentation.” Kazakhstan’s position reflects this approach. The country’s presidential representative for negotiations with the United States, Erzhan Kazykhan, called the Middle Corridor a “strategic investment in the future” connecting Kazakhstan with the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe. He said Astana views TRIPP as a logical extension of the system that could shorten the route to European markets...

Mining Investment

Kazakhstan’s Solidcore to Invest $25 Million in Japan Gold Exploration

Solidcore Resources, a leading Kazakhstan-based gold producer, is expanding into exploration in Japan. The company will invest $25 million in gold exploration across five project areas on the islands of Hokkaido and Kyushu, with the option to acquire interests of up to 80% in individual projects if exploration proves successful. Solidcore has partnered with Canada-based Japan Gold Corp., a company focused on mineral exploration in Japan. It has also acquired an 18.81% stake in Japan Gold for $6.85 million. If it exercises warrants allowing it to buy additional shares, its interest could rise to 19.9% on a partially diluted basis. Solidcore produces gold in Kazakhstan, and its shares are traded on the Astana International Exchange. In 2025, the company produced 395,000 ounces of gold equivalent, 19% less than a year earlier. Higher gold prices nevertheless pushed revenue up 13% to $1.5 billion. The partnership covers Hakuryu, Bajo, Mizobe, Ryuo, and Aibetsu, five of Japan Gold’s project areas. Three are on Hokkaido and two on Kyushu. Several are close to historic gold mines, while much of the surrounding territory remains underexplored using modern methods. At Hakuryu, drilling has already identified zones of high-grade gold mineralization. Geophysical surveys at Bajo detected anomalies interpreted as possible extensions of mineralized structures, with strike lengths of more than one kilometer. Mizobe lies in an area with geology similar to Hishikari, Japan’s largest commercially operating gold mine, which produced around 9 million ounces of gold between 1985 and 2025. Ryuo and Aibetsu include areas of historic mining. The Tokusei mine within Aibetsu produced 39,000 ounces of gold and 473,000 ounces of silver between 1930 and 1942. Solidcore CEO Vitaly Nesis said the company was attracted by the potential for large-scale gold discoveries and Japan’s relatively limited modern exploration. “Japan Gold’s license portfolio stands out to us. It has the makings of a large-scale, generational gold district with a distinctive style of geology that we have been historically successfully working with, in a stable, well-regulated, developed and notably under-explored jurisdiction,” Nesis said. Japan Gold holds mineral rights covering more than 3,000 square kilometers. In addition to the five project areas included in the agreement, it retains another 22 projects. The $25 million will fund drilling and other exploration work over three years rather than the purchase of developed deposits. After completing the program, Solidcore will be able to select the most promising areas and earn a 49% direct interest in one or more of them. If further studies indicate that mining could be economically viable, Solidcore will have the option to increase its interest first to 70% and then to 80%. To do so, it will have to fund a pre-feasibility study and then a bankable feasibility study for each selected project. Japan Gold Chairman and CEO John Proust said Solidcore’s strategy of expanding its reserves through geographic diversification fits with his company’s work building an exploration portfolio in Japan. The deal marks an overseas expansion for a major Kazakhstan-based gold producer. Within Kazakhstan, exploration and reassessment...

Migration

Lithuania Closures Highlight Limits of Central Asia’s Migration Shift Away From Russia

Lithuania will close external service provider centers that accept migration documents in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on November 1. A day before the announcement, Lithuania’s Migration Department said external service centers in Central Asia had stopped accepting new applications from residents seeking to come to the country for work after receiving a very high volume of employment applications. Lithuania had also exhausted its annual quota for foreign workers earlier in September. Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said the November 1 closures were prompted by security risks and the threat of terrorism. The centers act as intermediaries, accepting applications for Lithuanian residence permits and initiating migration procedures Lithuania’s State Security Department has previously reported identifying individual members of the Central Asian community with radical views or links to terrorism. In its annual threat assessment, the agency also said that Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has been recruiting followers within Central Asian diaspora communities in Europe. However, the agency said it considers it unlikely that Lithuania itself will become a direct target for Islamist terrorists in the near term. The security decision comes as Lithuania has also reached its annual foreign-worker quota. The country set a quota of 24,706 foreign workers for 2026, which was officially declared exhausted on September 7. Once the quota is reached, a temporary residence permit based on employment remains available if the worker meets a higher salary threshold or belongs to certain high-value professions that are in shortage and meets the separate salary requirement for those professions. As of September 1, nearly 227,000 foreign nationals held valid residence permits in Lithuania. They included around 13,000 Uzbek citizens and 7,400 Tajik citizens. Demand for Lithuania has grown alongside broader interest in the European labor market. Between 2018 and 2024, the number of valid EU work permits held by Uzbek citizens increased roughly eightfold, those held by Kyrgyz citizens more than sevenfold, and those held by Tajik citizens more than fourteenfold. Poland has become one of the main destinations, Germany is expanding organized recruitment, and the UK has become an important source of seasonal work, while labor mobility programs are also emerging elsewhere in Europe. Conditions are also changing in Russia, which for decades has absorbed most of the region’s labor migrants. Following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, the authorities tightened migration rules, expanded registration requirements, and introduced greater digital monitoring of foreign workers. In the first half of 2026, citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan made around 1.9 million entries into Russia declaring work as the purpose of their trip, down from more than 2.3 million a year earlier. The decline does not mean that there is no longer dependence on the Russian labor market. In the first quarter of 2026, Russia accounted for 72.4% of cross-border remittances to Uzbekistan. In Kyrgyzstan, a March 2025 estimate put the number of citizens living abroad at roughly 600,000; around 380,000 were registered with Russian migration authorities at the end of 2024. For Central Asian migrants, European migration...

NVIDIA

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Set for First Visit to Kazakhstan in October

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang is set to make his first visit to Kazakhstan on October 23, as the country expands its artificial intelligence infrastructure. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development announced the visit on September 23. Huang is scheduled to hold a fireside chat with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev at the alem.ai International Center for Artificial Intelligence in Astana. The event will close Kazakhstan’s AI Month program. The ministry said the discussion will cover developments in artificial intelligence, technology trends, the training of AI specialists, and Central Asia’s role in the global technology sector. The visit comes amid rapidly expanding ties between NVIDIA and Kazakhstan. In June, Kazakhstan announced agreements worth up to $10 billion connected to the Data Center Valley project under development in Ekibastuz. U.S.-based Firebird is developing the project using NVIDIA technology. NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan took part in talks with Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. The project is planned to include a computing cluster of around 100,000 advanced GPUs, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin systems. Kazakh officials initially allocated 300 megawatts of power capacity for the development, while the wider site is designed to scale to as much as one gigawatt. The first Data Center Valley facility is scheduled to begin operating in June 2027. The initial facility is planned at 50 megawatts, with the larger campus expanding in stages as additional customers and investment are secured. In July, the government said partners were rolling out 250 megawatts of infrastructure at the Ekibastuz project. Kazakhstan is already operating NVIDIA-based high-performance computing infrastructure. Two Kazakh systems appeared on the June 2026 TOP500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Alem.Cloud ranked 104th and AI-Farabium 122nd, with both systems using NVIDIA H200 accelerators. Kazakhstan has also announced a separate $2 billion sovereign AI hub to be operated by Freedom Holding using NVIDIA technology. The planned project would occupy a site with 100 megawatts of available power, with Freedom Holding as the principal financing and implementation partner. Visit Caps AI Month Huang’s visit is scheduled to conclude a month of AI-related events beginning September 23. The program includes HackAlem AI, the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 forum, and a meeting of Kazakhstan’s Council for the Development of Artificial Intelligence. Lebaredian is expected to participate in the AI Council meeting on October 1. Huang’s visit comes as Kazakhstan accelerates an AI infrastructure buildout already spanning NVIDIA-powered supercomputers, large-scale data centers, dedicated power capacity, and plans for tens of thousands of advanced processors.