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Kyrgyz Servicemen Will Be Allowed to Buy Their Military Housing

A new law in Kyrgyzstan allows military personnel who have served in the Kyrgyz army for more than 20 years to purchase their government-issued housing for temporary use. Additionally, families of servicemen killed in the line of duty -- and former members of the military themselves -- can submit claims for housing. The state-assigned apartment can be bought out, or, under certain conditions, can be obtained free of charge. "To military servicemen, dismissed to the reserve or retired by age, health, redundancy or family and other important circumstances and having a length of service of 20 calendar years or more, as well as family members of a serviceman who died or died in the performance of military service, occupied or provided them with service apartments at their chosen place of residence are transferred to personal ownership free of charge," reads the text of the law. The issue of service housing had previously been raised by the Ministry of Defense. The ministry believed that employees should be able to own their state housing during their service, and not only upon retirement. The ministry says it believes the legislative changes will raise the status of the Kyrgyz army. According to official data, more than 3,000 military personnel live in cramped conditions in the country. The authorities pay rent compensation to such service members in the amount of $100 per month.

Kazakhstan Economy Export/import China Central Asia Investments Finance

Kazakhstan Has Become Main Trade Partner of China’s Xinjiang Province

According to Chinese Customs Service data from the first quarter of 2024, Kazakhstan became the main trade partner of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Since the beginning of the year, Xinjiang has conducted trade with 193 countries and regions of the world. The volume of imports and exports with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in currency terms has increased by 58.8% and 1.9% respectively. The volume of foreign trade originating from Xinjiang since the beginning of 2024 has increased by 42.7% year-on-year and reached about $13.2 billion. That puts Xinjiang in second place in China in terms of trade growth at the provincial level. Imports of agricultural products specifically increased by 36%. According to the General Customs Administration (GCA) of China, last year the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang increased by 63% and reached $20.3 billion. In the first half of 2023 China became Kazakhstan's main trading partner, displacing Russia. China supplies the country with cars, computers and laptops, plastics and plastic products -- and from Kazakhstan imports oil, natural gas, uranium, ferroalloys, mined ores and concentrates and oilseeds.

Finance Central Asia Economy Uzbekistan Loans & Grants World Bank

World Bank Helps Uzbekistan With Digital Inclusion Project

The World Bank has given Uzbekistan a soft loan of $50 million to grow its digital economy. The loan will help employ about 9,000 young people -- including 4,500 women and 360 persons with disabilities -- in IT-related services. The funds will also be used to create 11 IT service centers, and train 6,200 people in digital skills, communication and foreign languages. The program, which will run until 2029, foresees the creation of a legislative framework in the IT sphere. The IT sector's contribution to Uzbekistan's GDP remains insignificant -- it was just 1.9% in 2022.

Banking Finance European Union Russia US Kazakhstan Central Asia China Economy

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Debt Increases by $4 Billion in Five Years With Russia Growing as Creditor

According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, at the beginning of 2024 the external financial obligations of the republic reached almost $163 billion, whilst in 2019 this figure stood at $158.8 billion. The Netherlands are Kazakhstan's largest creditor with $42.6 billion owed, followed by the U.K. with $13.8 billion, and then Russia at $12.95 billion. Over five years, Kazakhstan's debt to Russia (+47.1%) and multilateral organizations (+28.5%) increased significantly. At the same time, the amount of debt held by legacy creditors decreased, including that held by the Netherlands (-12.9%), the U.K. (-37%), the U.S. (-7.4%), France (-4.3%), China (-20.7%) and Japan (-17%). Last December, the Asian Development Bank approved a $350 million loan to Kazakhstan. This was allocated to reform the country's financial management and increase the economy's resilience against external shocks. In February of this year, the World Health Organization, with the support of the World Bank, launched a Pandemic Fund project in Kazakhstan. For this purpose, the republic was allocated a grant totaling $19 million, as well as a multilateral grant of $27 million for three years. Earlier, former chief auditor of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunova, criticized the use of international funds by government agencies, saying that the procedure is inefficient.

Kazakhstan Banking Central Asia Economy Strategy Finance

Over 90% of Economically Active Kazakhstanis Have Loans

Lyazzat Usenbekova, director of consumer protection at the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, conducted calculations to find out what percentage of Kazakh citizens have debt obligations, concluding that "more than 90% of those who actively participate in the economic life of the country bear the burden of credit obligations on their shoulders." Usenbekova specified that this percentage applies to those who are indebted to credit organizations. At the same time, the structure of loans reveals interesting details: according to her data, almost a third of citizens take out loans for relatively small amounts, meaning no more than 500,000 tenge ($1,115). However, they account for only 1.7% of the total loan portfolio of individuals. Meanwhile, 5% of Kazakhs have debts over 10 million tenge ($22,290), and their share in the total volume of loans accounts for 42.3%. "It may seem that loans for large sums are a cause for concern, but before issuing such loans, clients are carefully checked for their ability to pay, their debt load and other aspects," Usenbekova emphasized. Usenbekova also looked at the category of loans under 300,000 tenge, suggesting they are probably for consumer needs. "Such loans are often interest-free and, with proper borrower discipline, should not cause serious difficulties with repayment," she explained. But there is no perfect picture yet, Usenbekova stated, stressing the need to improve people's financial literacy and their responsibility to their debts. Majilis (lower chamber of parliament) representative, Tatyana Savelyeva assessed the prospects of enacting changes envisaged by the draft law on minimizing risks in lending and protecting borrowers' rights. "We are likely to see real results in a few years, when these innovations begin to operate. For example, in debt regulation. By then we will be able to objectively assess their effectiveness," Savelyeva opined. The proposed bill to protect the rights of borrowers provides for a ban on the transfer of debts to collection agencies within 24 months of the start of delinquency and for debt settlement procedures that exclude fines, penalties and commissions.

Kyrgyzstan Economy Finance Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kazakhstan Banking Central Asia China Uzbekistan

ADB Forecasts Faltering Economic Growth

The People's Republic of China (PRC) will remain the engine of growth for the world economy, even despite some slowdown. That forecast has been made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) specialists in their report, Asian Development Outlook. Inflation is expected to decline in 2024 and 2025 after the increase in food prices in many countries over the past two years - and developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region will grow by an average of 4.9%, according to the ADB. Experts predict the highest economic growth for India: where the economy will grow by 7% this year and 7.2% next year. As for China, experts are more reserved in their forecasts: China's growth will slow to 4.8% this year and 4.5% next year. "Obviously, China will play an important role for some time to come. It still accounts for almost half of the GDP [gross domestic product] in the Asia-Pacific region," said ADB chief economist ,Albert Park. At the same time, economists also warned of possible risks: supply chain disruptions, uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy, the effects of extreme weather, and volatility in the PRC's real estate market. Inflation in developing Asia-Pacific economies is expected to fall to 3.2% this year and 3% next year as global price pressures ease and monetary policy remains tight in many countries. However, inflation in the region, with the exception of China, is still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the bank's forecasts, economic growth in Uzbekistan will slow this year and grow slightly next year. This is because higher state-regulated prices will limit the growth of real household incomes, thus reducing demand. Economists expect a lower growth in services and agriculture. Lower remittances, fiscal space constraints, and lower global demand for Tajikistan's main exports will cause Tajikistan's economic growth to slow slightly in 2024 and 2025, the ADB said. "Tajikistan faces serious climate challenges and risks that could lead to irreversible economic, social, and environmental damage," said the ADB 's resident representative in Tajikistan, Shanny Campbell. The ADB says developing a green economy is key to the country's sustainable growth. As for its nearest neighbor, Kazakhstan, the ADB has lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2024 to 3.8%, down from 4.3% in the previous review. In 2025, the figure is expected to be 5.3%. Actual GDP growth at the end of 2023 was at 5.1%. "The growth rate of Kazakhstan's economy in 2024 will decrease against the background of slowdown in industrial growth due to stagnation in oil production and then recover in 2025 due to the growth of resource extraction at the Tengiz field and investments. Prospects for Kazakhstan's economic growth in the medium term look positive," ADB analysts said. As for developed economies globally, their growth will slow down this year: GDP growth in the U.S. will fall to 1.9% from last year's 2.5%, and in Japan, GDP will grow by 0.6% compared to 1.9% in 2023.