The Council of the European Union approved on October 23 its 19th package of sanctions against Russia, including a subsidiary of Russia’s VTB bank in Kazakhstan. On October 22, the US Treasury Department issued a fresh batch of sanctions against Russian entities, in particular oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. The list of sanctioned assets, however, did not include Lukoil’s Kazakhstan assets. [Read more here.]
Ukrainian drones hit Russia's gas processing plant in Orenburg, near the border with Kazakhstan on October 19, forcing a halt in natural gas intake. Kazakhstan's government said on October 20 that due to the attack, the Orenburg facility had to stop processing gas from the Karachaganak field in northern Kazakhstan. On October 22, Kazakhstan’s gas shipments to Orenburg resumed. [Read more here.]
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) exploded and fell in the Burlinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region on October 23, according to the ministry of defense. The ministry did not disclose details regarding the drone’s origin or type. The Karachaganak field is located in the Burlinsky district, just south of Orenburg in Russia, where a drone attack was recorded days before.
Deputies from Kazakhstan’s parliamentary social and cultural development committee recommended on October 22 that the government increase the minimum wage from 85,000 tenge to 110,000 tenge ($157 to $204), shortly before the Parliament voted to adopt a new three-year budget that the government says includes no funds for such action. The new budget projects an exchange rate of 540 tenge/$1, oil prices of $60/barrel, and a revenue increase of 3.6 trillion tenge ($6.7 billion). [Read more here.]
Mobile operators told the government that they plan to increase tariffs up to 20% next year. At a meeting on October 21, the companies’ executives said that an increase in VAT scheduled for January is the main reason for the price hike.
Telecoms operator Beeline Kazakhstan said on October 21 that it would buy local marketplace OLX KZ for $75 million. OLX KZ is a major platform for classifieds. US-listed VEON, which owns Beeline, said in a press release that, through the purchase, it will be “integrating Kazakhstan’s leading online classifieds business into Beeline Kazakhstan’s digital services ecosystem.”
Prosecutor General Berik Assylov said on October 24 that his office is investigating Nurbol Nazarbayev’s assets, namely the illegal re-registration of a 16% stake in PORUS, a company owned by Karaganda businessman Kuat Yermentayev. Nurbol is the son of the late Bolat Nazarbayev, the brother of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
US company Cove Capital is negotiating to explore two tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, Bloomberg reported on October 21. US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick brokered the deal, signaling the Trump administration’s full support for the new venture.
“There is too much money in the economy,” Central Bank governor Timur Suleimenov told Parliament on October 23. Suleimenov pointed to excess liquidity as one of the main reasons for enduring high inflation. The regulator said that the new Tax Code should help limit excess liquidity.
Serik Zhumangarin, deputy Prime Minister and minister of economy, said on October 22 that gasoline prices will be capped until the spring of 2026. The price freeze is both an attempt to curb inflation and to contrast the recent trend of “sharp increases” of oil product prices in Russia. “We need to somehow reduce this price lag,” Zhumangarin said.
The Agency for the Regulation of the Financial Market said on October 23 that it will postpone a planned reduction of the maximum interest rate on mortgage loans from 25% to 20% until 1 July 2026. The Agency said the decision was an attempt to maintain a balance between loan availability and the stability of the banking sector.
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy workers in the Beineu, in the western Mangistau region said they were pressured and threatened after a strike on October 22. Two days later, the workers said in a video message that a railway company manager went to meet the workers alongside two unknown men, who later allegedly threatened the workers. In an official statement, the company said this was “a personal conflict”.
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