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Samsung TVs to Be Produced in Kazakhstan

Silk Road Electronics and Samsung Electronics have signed an agreement to launch TV manufacturing in Kazakhstan. The partnership will manufacture Samsung's latest range of televisions, including premium models, to cater to demand in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The new production line will be established at Silk Road Electronics' facility in Sarani, located in the Karaganda region. “Samsung Electronics, as a long-standing technology leader, is committed to being closer to its consumers. The launch of production in Kazakhstan will increase the availability of our products for the local market,” said Jong Yujin, President of Samsung Electronics Central Eurasia. The localization of production is expected to deliver significant benefits, including developing industrial infrastructure and creating new jobs. “We will provide world-class products at affordable prices for Kazakhstani consumers,” added Alexander Kritsky, Director of Silk Road Electronics, emphasizing the importance of the collaboration. The project, supported by the Industry Development Fund, is set to commence operations in the second quarter of 2025, with Kazakhstani-made TVs expected to hit the market in the latter half of the year. Silk Road Electronics operates on the premises of the former Karagandarezinotechnika plant, which spans over 61,000 square meters. Approximately 25 billion tenge was invested in modernizing the facility. The plant’s primary owner is the Uzbek company Artel, known for producing various household appliances under its brand, including TVs, washing machines, and stoves. Artel partners with Meridian Company and SPK Saryarka. Meridian Company is owned by Andrei Lavrentiev, who also leads Qarmet. Previously, Samsung Electronics announced its plans to establish the production of washing machines at the Saran plant.

TCA Interviews Culture production Textile small and medium businesses modeling

“Success is Possible in Kazakhstan”: An Interview with Fashion Brand Qazaq Republic

Qazaq Republic has become a popular brand among young people in Kazakhstan. The brand has become a success story for entrepreneurship within Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Yermek Kazym, co-founder and former CEO, to learn more about the brand, its message, and how it achieved its success. TCA: Qazaq Republic celebrates Kazakhstan’s heritage through fashion. What inspired the brand's creation, and what is its story? When the founder of Qazaq Republic, Saken Joldas, was studying in the US, he would always bring gifts from Kazakhstan for his friends. But the available options were always uninspiring. This led him to dream about creating something more appealing to showcase modern Kazakhstan's vibrant youth culture and style. In 2016, when the mayor of Almaty announced a competition to design a new city logo, Saken shared his designs with the public. He created digital versions of the design to print on mugs and t-shirts and posted them on Facebook. The response from the community was incredible—people loved the concept and showed great interest in purchasing the items. That’s how the idea for the brand began to take form, starting right in his kitchen. The first big order came from the Duty-Free store at Almaty Airport. They requested around 30 t-shirts to sell. As the business grew, Qazaq Republic was given space at the biggest toy and bookstore in Almaty, Meloman. With the rise in sales, we decided to open QR’s very first store. When designing it, we even considered adding a coffee shop in case the store didn’t work out. QR’s first store opened in November 2019 on 47 Mametova street, but then the pandemic hit. While malls were closing, our store had the advantage of being a standalone store. To help people feel better during difficult times, we created unique cotton masks with the phrase “Bari jaqsy bolady” (Everything will be alright). Instead of selling them, we gave them free of charge with orders over 5,000 tenge. Customers started placing smaller orders just to get these masks, giving us a strong sense of support and confidence that we were on the right track. TCA: Could you walk us through the creative process of designing a typical Qazaq Republic collection? We’ve built a solid foundation now. People used to think we were just buying ready-made items and putting our logo on them, but that's not the case. Like global brands such as Nike and Ikea, we design our products in Kazakhstan while outsourcing production and manufacturing to trusted partner factories in Turkey and China. We oversee every detail, from creating labels and designs to developing patterns, ensuring complete control over the process. This approach allows us to concentrate more on perfecting our products. The brand's uniqueness lies in creating products that make everyday life comfortable and functional while staying modern and high-quality. TCA: Who is the target audience for Qazaq Republic, and how has it evolved since the brand’s inception? When we first launched our brand, we assumed...

economic Investment Projects production Foreign Investment China

First-Ever Tungsten Production Launched in Kazakhstan

On November 1, Kazakhstan’s first tungsten processing plant was opened in the Almaty region. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction, this will strengthen the country's position in the global rare earth metals market. The $300 million project will create up to 1,000 local jobs and, when fully operational, will process 3.3 million tons of ore annually, producing 65% tungsten concentrate. Jiaxin International Resources Investment Ltd. is implementing the project, which was joined by Jiangxi Copper Corporation, China Railway Construction Company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company, and Ever Trillion International Singapore PTE LTD. Further plans include constructing a $150 million deep processing facility to increase tungsten content to 88.5% and produce high-purity tungsten carbide. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals and is alloyed with other metals to strengthen them. Tungsten and its alloys are used in many high-temperature applications, such as arc-welding electrodes and heating elements in high-temperature furnaces. Tungsten carbide is tough and important to the metal-working, mining, and petroleum industries. Speaking at the 36th meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Council in Astana on October 31, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan has a unique mineral resource base and has attracted more than $1 billion of private investment in geological exploration over the past six years.

Afghanistan Export/Import Automobile Industry production

Kazakhstan Considering Car Exports to Afghanistan

In October this year, during the Kazakh-Afghan forum, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin reported on Kabul's request to set up deliveries of cars manufactured in Kostanai and Almaty to Afghanistan. According to the Deputy Prime Minister's assessment, the first Kazakhstani cars may appear on the Afghan market as early as next year; automobile industry experts agree with him but note that the realism of this term will become apparent after at least several months of research. “I understand that Afghanistan already has money; its middle class is developing, so they asked to organize meetings with our car industry businesses to create car centers to sell old and new Kazakhstani cars. I have already contacted several people about this issue, and we are working on it now. I think it is realistic to start selling the first cars next year,” Zhumangarin said. At the same time, he emphasized that the most crucial issue in establishing such a project has already been resolved. In October, Kazakhstan's Zaman Bank opened a corresponding account at one of the largest banks in Afghanistan, Ghazanafar Bank. This means that Kazakhstani businesses can receive direct payments from Afghan buyers without the participation of financial institutions of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Gulf countries, which charge additional fees for intermediation. Thus, the issue of financial logistics - how the money for sold cars from Afghanistan will arrive in Kazakhstan - has been fundamentally solved, according to Artur Miskaryan, general director of the Agency for Monitoring and Analysis of the Automobile Market of Kazakhstan (AMAAR), and there are no problems with direct logistics - cars manufactured in Kostanai and Almaty can be transported to this country by rail. Kazakh grain companies have already established this route. In addition, this summer, at the first transport trade and export forum held in Aktau, representatives of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan discussed the possibility of building a new railway line Turgundi - Herat - Kandahar - Spin-Buldak, which will run from the western border of Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and further to India. Kazakhstan is offered to join the construction of this logistic path, including withdrawing its vehicles to Afghanistan and the countries bordering it. So, logistic paths to Kabul, existing and potential, are acceptable for Kazakhstan's automobile industry. “From a purely technical point of view, companies of the Kazakhstani automobile industry are ready to supply equipment to all neighboring and nearby countries,” explained Miskaryan. "The issue of supplying products to one or another country largely depends on the terms of economic agreements of the Republic of Kazakhstan with other countries, as well as the policy of the head offices of brands whose models are assembled at our car plants: in the case of Russia, for example, Western head brands adhere to the sanctions restrictions on supplies. There is also the problem of customs and tariff policy of neighboring [sic] countries: in particular, Russia and Uzbekistan have recently directed their efforts to increase support for local producers.” Since Afghanistan has no automotive industry,...