Almasadam Satkaliyev, the head of Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, told media on June 27 that the country’s first nuclear power plant could cost at least $14 billion, “in line with industry standards.” The government earlier picked Rosatom to build the plant. Satkaliyev also added that Kazakhstan has yet to hold negotiations with Chinese partners regarding the possible construction of a second NPP.
ForteBank, the country’s fifth largest lender, said on June 27 that it reached an agreement to buy Home Credit Bank. The deal will have to obtain regulatory approval. Forte is 90% owned by Bulat Utemuratov, the sixth-richest man in Kazakhstan. Home Credit, owned by Czech businessman Jiří Šmejc, is four times smaller than Forte in terms of assets.
The regulator approved BNK’s application for a banking license on June 25. BNK Commercial Bank, owned by South Korea’s BNK Capital Co., will become the 22nd lender in the country. The new bank said it will focus on small-and-medium businesses.
Serik Zhumangarin, the minister of economy, said the Astana International Financial Center is becoming a domestic offshore for companies that want to dodge taxes. Speaking to Parliament on June 23, Zhumangarin noted the example of one company that relocated its headquarters to the AIFC, which cost the state budget 200 billion tenge ($39 million) in missed tax revenues. The following day, Zhumangarin denied that AIFC could be considered a domestic offshore location and refused to disclose any further details on the company in question.
The ministry of finance said it issued two Eurobonds worth a total of $2.5 billion on June 25. The ministry said that demand was twice as high as supply, despite difficult market conditions due to falling oil prices, geopolitical instability, and volatility of base rates. The ministry added that the funds were used to refinance previously issued Eurobonds.
Alikhan Smailov, the head of the Supreme Audit Chamber, said on June 27 that the sale of Mobile Telecom Service earned the state budget 517 billion tenge ($995 million). Kazakhtelecom, the flagship operator, sold MTS to Qatar’s Power International Holding in January. MTS is known to consumers as the Tele2 and Altel brands.
The new Tax Code will apply VAT to so-called socially significant food products, Zhumangarin told media on June 25. A number of basic goods were previously excluded from VAT, in an effort to keep prices low. Now, Zhumangarin said that the government will try to find other ways of helping farmers. Kazakhstan’s lawmakers approved the new tax bill on the same day and sent it to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the final seal of approval.
Duman Mukhammedkarim, a journalist sentenced to seven years in prison in 2024, refused to plead for a more lenient sentence, his lawyers told the press on June 26. Mukhammedkarim was sentenced on charges of “financing extremism” and “participation in a banned organization” because he interviewed Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive leader of an opposition group, for his YouTube channel. Mukhammedkarim, as well as several local and international human rights groups, said the charges were politically motivated. He has already been in custody for more than two years.
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