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ASTANA (TCA) — The rapid growth and development of Kazakhstan’s capital Astana has been achieved largely at the expense of other regions of Kazakhstan and due to internal migration. We are republishing this article on the issue, written by Rafis Abazov*, originally published by the CACI Analyst: Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — As Kazakhstan’s capital city has lavishly celebrated its 20th-birthday, some in Kazakhstan argue that the festivities were ‘a feast in time of plague’. We are republishing this article on the issue, written by Joanna Lillis, originally published by Eurasianet: The capital of Kazakhstan has just enjoyed a 20th-birthday blowout costing more than $55 million. July 6 was not just a national holiday to celebrate the anniversary of Astana’s elevation to capital status – it was also President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 78th jubilee. This extravagant and highly personalized state-funded partying is provoking mixed sentiments. “We are having a great celebration. We love Astana, and it’s Nazarbayev’s birthday today,” said Marua Zhanuzakova, an elderly woman sitting on a bench at the foot of the Baiterek Tower, a white and golden lollipop-shaped Astana landmark that served as a focal point for festivities. There is muted discontent from others, however, at the sense of waste in celebrations for a city whose patina-deep slick modernity has been funded at the expense of development elsewhere in the country. Such cynicism was far from view on July 6. Throngs of locals and visitors, some of whom had travelled thousands of kilometers to attend, milled around Astana in the muggy conditions of the day. Indeed, the appeal of the city is so strong that many continue to flow into it for good, despite the inhumanly cold and windy weather in winter. Zhanuzakova recently moved to the capital from the city of Semipalatinsk, just ahead of her 80th birthday later this month. “She said: ‘I want to live out my life in Astana,’” said her daughter Raushan Ramazanova. “All her grandsons and granddaughters and great-grandchildren live here. So we moved here.” Astana has become indelibly associated with President Nazarbayev, who is cast in state encomiums as the originator of the idea of relocating the capital away from Almaty. The site chosen for Astana – named after the Kazakh word for capital – could not have been less promising. A dismal, snow-whipped, boggy, mosquito-infested backwater, the town then known as Akmola – “white grave” in Kazakh – was home to around 200,000 people. In the past 20 years, it has become a playground for architects and their quirky designs and the population has more than quintupled. In formal terms, the capital moved in 1997. But the official unveiling happened in June 1998. And then in 2006, in a reflection of the incipient cult being erected around Nazarbayev, the city anniversary was moved to July 6. The final touch, timed for Astana’s 10th anniversary in 2008, was to make the day a national holiday. For the president’s admirers, the notion that Nazarbayev would have agreed to have his birthday turned into a national festivity is accepted as a matter of course. “Happy birthday to Nazarbayev and happy birthday to Astana!” said Tazhegul Abdurakhmanova, a 75-year-old woman who travelled 1,200 kilometers from the southern town of Turkestan to join the celebrations. There is even a whispering campaign underway to have...
ASTANA (TCA) — In an attempt to bolster the country’s role as a major financial hub in Central Asia and along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative the government of Kazakhstan has officially inaugurated the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in the capital today, July 5. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a major partner in the initiative and longstanding investor in Kazakhstan, was represented by Natasha Khanjenkova, Managing Director, Central Asia, and Agris Preimanis, Director, Head of Kazakhstan. The AIFC development plays an important role in the overall reform agenda of the country: it will help channel domestic and foreign investment to Kazakhstan, stimulate growth, set new standards of corporate governance, and promote skills transfer and green innovation. The Centre is expected to attract international investors to finance large-scale infrastructure projects and will play a vital role in the privatisation of large blue-chip companies – one the country’s key reform challenges. The AIFC will be governed by English law and subject to international arbitrage, a precedent both for the country and the region. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the AIFC and the EBRD in 2016, the Bank supported the introduction of green financing under the AIFC and helped review the exchange rules for the Astana International Exchange (AIX). In particular, these rules will govern the establishment and operation of the AIX, set the fundamental principles for market transactions and rules of trading on the exchange. Natasha Khanjenkova said: “I am sure that the development of the AIFC will help create a competitive, efficient and transparent financial market in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the wider region. We at the EBRD are particularly pleased with the level of understanding and partnership between the two institutions and the commitment of the AIFC management.” In 2017, the EBRD approved its new country strategy for Kazakhstan and signed a three-year Enhanced Partnership Framework Arrangement with the country aimed at the modernisation and diversification of the national economy. To date, the EBRD has invested over US$ 8.7 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan.
ASTANA (TCA) — On July 4, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev took part in the international forum Astana Finance Days. At the plenary session, the issues of development of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), regulation of financial technologies and protection of investments were discussed, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reports. Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — Governor of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) Kairat Kelimbetov on July 2 announced which companies were first to register in the Financial Center, which will be officially opened in Kazakhstan’s capital this week, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported. Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — The second Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable will take place on July 3 in Astana under the chairmanship of the Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev. Continue reading
