Police in Almaty violently quashed a protest at an orphanage on July 21. Alongside their disgruntled caretakers and teachers, the children were protesting against being relocated to Konayev, a city 100 kilometers to the north. The Almaty Regional Children’s Home No. 1 had already relocated 42 out of 183 children before July 21. Upon the news of police beating children, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the transfer would be halted.
Nurlan Zhakupov, the head of the national holding Samuryk-Kazyna, said on July 23 that the new national air cargo carrier could have its inaugural flight in early 2026. Samruk-Kazyna will own the new carrier, which observers say could be based out of Karaganda airport. Around 15% of the world’s air cargo traffic passes through Kazakhstan’s airspace.
On July 25, a court in Astana sentenced the former head of the Biz Birgemiz non-profit to 10 years in prison for embezzlement. Kanat Iskakov, the deputy minister of culture and information, said at a government briefing on July 24 that the legislation for establishing and running non-governmental or non-profit organizations should be revised. [Read more here.]
Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest lender, and Uzbekistan’s fintech Click reached a milestone agreement on July 23. Halyk will sell 49% in its Uzbekistan subsidiary Tenge Bank to Click for a nominal sum of $60 million, while Click will sell 49% of its own shares to Halyk for $176 million. Click and Tenge will continue to operate as separate entities in Uzbekistan.
The Atyrau Regional Prosecutor’s Office said on July 25 that the North Caspian Operating Consortium, which exploits the Kashagan field, should pay a 3.6 billion tenge ($6.6 million) fine for gas flaring. In January, a court in Astana sentenced NCOC to pay a 3.5 billion tenge ($6.4 million) fine for gas flaring upon request from the ministry of energy. The Atyrau prosecutor did not clarify whether the latest fine refers to the same gas flaring incident.
Earlier in July, Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court ordered a new hearing on another environmental fine, worth $5 billion, against NCOC. The fine, imposed in 2023, was disputed in court by NCOC and canceled. The consortium includes Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, CNPC, and Inpex, as well as state-owned Kazmunaigas. In February 2024, the fine was reinstated, but NCOC appealed. Environmental fines have often been used by the government to put pressure on foreign companies.
Oversupply across the Mediterranean region has led to a partial rerouting of oil supplies from Kazakhstan, Reuters reported on July 18. More of the CPC Blend produced in Kazakhstan is going to refiners in Asia, cargo data showed. On July 21, Kazakhstan’s flagship pipeline operator KazTransOil said it increased exports via Russia through the Atyrau-Samara pipeline by 4% in the first half of 2025.
On July 23, Russia’s security service started implementing new rules requiring additional permits for foreign tankers at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, briefly hampering the flow of oil through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which ships around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports. The ministry of energy later confirmed that shipments were not halted and that the bureaucratic issue was resolved promptly.
Kazakhstan plans to double its copper ore output by 2030, Olzhas Saparbekov, the deputy minister of industry, said on July 22. Saparbekov pointed to the new mines at Aidarly, Koksai, and Benkala as the main source of the output growth. Additionally, the vice minister said the government plans to boost iron ore mining by 40% to up to 52 million tons through an increase in domestic processing by Qarmet, the country’s largest smelter.
HBO Max, the US-based streaming service, plans to expand its services to Central Asia, a top executive said on July 21. JB Perrette, the head of global streaming at HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, said the expansion would reach Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as a number of other countries in the South Caucasus and Europe.
Поддержите журналистику, которой доверяют.
