New bank opens its doors in Kazakhstan

The Kazakh Trade and Integration Ministry released a statement Tuesday regarding the U.S. President’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on all Kazakhstani products starting August 1, Kazinform News Agency reports.

Earlier, President Donald Trump posted a letter addressed to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his Truth Social platform on imposing new tariffs of 25% on all Kazakh products.

The bulk of Kazakhstani exports will be subject to exemptions from the new tariffs, including key raw materials and strategic commodities such as oil, uranium, silver, ferroalloys, tantalum, and titanium. According to estimates, the new tariffs will not affect around 95% of Kazakhstani exports to the U.S., reads the statement.

The Ministry said the Kazakh government sent concrete proposals and initiatives aimed at improving mutual trade to the White House as part of efforts to ensure the predictable trade system. "Kazakhstan seeks to reach a consensus on market access and trade conditions".

The U.S. is currently examining Kazakhstan’s proposals and will inform of a date for talks. Kazakhstan seeks further talks with the U.S. to protect its national interest and develop a sustainable trade and economic partnership, reads the statement.

 

Kazakh Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparbayev revealed the country’s plans to boost its meat exports, Kazinform News Agency reports.

Projects on the adoption of Australia’s beef cattle breeding practices to help increase meat exports up to 50,000 tons a year with annual revenues up to 500 billion tenge may participate in the program. 29.3 billion tenge will be allocated to support 14 such projects, he told the Government meeting.

He also focused on dairy husbandry development highlighting 69 out of 116 dairy farms have been already commissioned in Kazakhstan.

As written before, 6 companies interested in saiga meat processing in Kazakhstan.

 

President Donald Trump posted a letter addressed to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his Truth Social platform on imposing 25% tariffs on all Kazakh products, Kazinform News Agency reports.

In his letter, Trump said starting on August 1, 2025, the U.S. will charge Kazakhstan a tariff of 25% on any and all Kazakh products sent to the United States separate from all sectoral tariffs. He said, despite having a significant trade deficit with Kazakhstan, the United States agreed to continue working with the country.

He added there will be no tariffs if Kazakhstan companies decide to build or manufacture product within the United States.

 

As part of his working visit to Brazil, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held a series of bilateral meetings with the leadership of Brazil’s major industrial associations and prominent corporations, including Embraer, Tramontina, Vale, Marcopolo, and Amazul, press service of the Kazakh MFA reports.

During meetings with Ricardo Alban, President of the National Confederation of Industry of Brazil, and Gilberto Petry, Vice-President of the Confederation and Co-Chair of the Kazakhstan-Brazil Business Council, the Kazakh side expressed appreciation for their contribution to strengthening bilateral ties and explored ways to deepen economic engagement. Minister Nurtleu emphasized the importance of attracting Brazilian investors to Kazakhstan and invited the country’s business representatives to participate in the fourth meeting of the Business Council, to be held later this year in Kazakhstan.

Guinter Leonardo Brinkmann, Regional Director of Tramontina, informed of the company’s intention to open a representative office in Almaty in the near future, underscoring its keen interest in the Kazakh market.

In his meeting with Francisco Gomes Neto, President of the aerospace corporation Embraer, prospects for the company’s expanded presence in Central Asia were discussed, including the possibility of establishing a regional aircraft maintenance service center in Kazakhstan.

With Sami Arap, Executive Vice-President of Vale, an agreement was reached to organize a company delegation visit to Kazakhstan to explore potential cooperation in the raw materials sector. The company also expressed a strong interest in entering the local market.

With Mauro Gilberto Bellini, Vice-President of Marcopolo, focus was on possible cooperation in the localization of passenger vehicle manufacturing, including a project to assemble buses in Kazakhstan.

Particular attention was given to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy during discussions with Newton de Almeida Costa Neto, President of the state defense-industrial enterprise Amazul. The parties reached a mutual understanding to work on partnership mechanisms with Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s national atomic company.

Throughout the meetings, the Kazakh Foreign Minister highlighted the advantages of Kazakhstan’s regulatory environment for foreign investment and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to supporting international businesses entering the national market. The country’s favorable logistics, participation in global transport corridors, and active trade policy were noted as factors enabling the development of export chains with the involvement of Brazilian enterprises.

Minister Nurtleu also encouraged partners from Latin America to actively engage in the Kazakhstan-Brazil Business Council and use its platform to advance economic cooperation and implement joint initiatives.

As part of the visit, a roundtable titled "Brazil-Kazakhstan: Prospects for Cooperation" was held with the participation of major sectoral associations and companies of Brazil. The event focused on key areas of investment and trade-economic cooperation, featured presentations on the opportunities of the Kazakh market, and concluded with the signing of several bilateral memorandums.

 

The eight OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, namely Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually on 5 July 2025, to review global market conditions and outlook, Kazinform News Agency has learnt from the website of the Organization.

In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, and in accordance with the decision agreed upon on 5 December 2024 to start a gradual and flexible return of the 2.2 million barrels per day voluntary adjustments starting from 1 April 2025, the eight participating countries will implement a production adjustment of 548 thousand barrels per day in August 2025 from July 2025 required production level. This is equivalent to four monthly increments as detailed in the table below. The gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability.

The eight OPEC+ countries also noted that this measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation. The eight countries reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation, including the additional voluntary production adjustments that were agreed to be monitored by the JMMC during its 53rd meeting held on April 3rd 2024.

They also confirmed their intention to fully compensate for any overproduced volume since January 2024. The eight OPEC+ countries will hold monthly meetings to review market conditions, conformity, and compensation. The eight countries will meet on 3 August 2025 to decide on September production levels.

 

The Kazakh Government issued a decree on July 1, 2025, establishing the special economic zone Khorgos-Eastern Gate and detailing its charter as well as target indicators, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.

Located in Zhetysu region, the newly established special economic zone Khorgos-Eastern Gate has a total area of 5,431.5 ha, comprising an airline hub, logistics and industrial premises.

The special economic zone was set up to fast-track advanced manufacturing, encourage investments, adopt new technologies, create an efficient transport-logistics and industrial center as well as promote cross border cooperation.

According to the target indicators, total investments in Khorgos-Eastern Gate are set to reach up to 522.7 billion tenge by 2030 and 715.5 billion tenge in 2035. Meanwhile, foreign investment inflows into the economic zone are to amount 10.2 billion tenge in 2030 and 15.5 billion tenge in 2035.

It is expected that Khorgos-Eastern Gate is to include up to 85 resident companies in 2030 and 95 in 2035, while employing nearly 20,500 people and 22,000 in 2030 and 2035, respectively.

The special economic zone Khorgos-Eastern Gate eyes the share of local content in total production of 75% by 2030 and up to 85% by 2035.

 

At the Government session of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Minister of National Economy Asan Darbayev stated that modern challenges require a comprehensive approach-combining technical modernization, the introduction of innovative and water-saving technologies, digital transformation of the sector, and institutional and tariff reforms, primeminister.kz reports.

He emphasized that particular attention is being paid to ensuring reliable and uninterrupted water supply across all regions of the country, reducing water losses, improving the efficiency of network operations, and establishing a fair pricing system for consumed resources.

As a systemic measure to attract significant investment into utility infrastructure, the "Tariff in Exchange for Investment" program was adopted and launched in 2023. The Deputy Minister reported that between 2023 and 2024, approximately 99.3 billion tenge was invested into water supply and wastewater services for the repair of 1,051 km of pipelines. Specifically, 62.5 billion tenge was allocated to repair 764 km of water supply networks, and 36.8 billion tenge to rehabilitate 287 km of wastewater systems. According to Darbayev, these efforts have reduced average network wear by 4% and decreased the number of breakdowns by 5%. He also noted that the program contributed to an increase in wages in the water services sector-from 135,000 to 230,000 tenge, representing a 70% rise.

Darbayev recalled that, in line with the President’s directive, the Government of Kazakhstan approved the National Project "Modernization of the Energy and Utility Sectors" in December 2024. He explained that the project's goal is to modernize energy and utility infrastructure, including water supply and wastewater networks and facilities, in order to ensure reliable, high-quality public services and sustainable economic development. The project is designed to provide long-term preferential financing for a large-scale overhaul of housing and utility infrastructure. A key indicator of success will be the reduction of wear and tear in utility networks.

Moreover, Darbayev stated that the implementation of the National Project will follow four key directions. One of them is increasing local value, which involves maximizing the use of domestically manufactured products. He specified that under the National Project, around 1.7 trillion tenge in investment is planned for the repair of 7,300 km of engineering networks. This is expected to significantly reduce emergency incidents and bring the infrastructure to a modern technological standard.

As the tariff regulator, the Ministry will ensure that these investments are repaid through tariffs, by incorporating the principal debt and loan servicing costs (up to 10%) into the tariff. Any amount exceeding 10% will be subsidized from the national budget. In 2025, 13 pilot projects are expected to be launched as part of the National Project, through the redemption of government securities issued by local executive bodies. These include 8 natural monopoly entities (NMEs) in water supply and 5 NMEs in wastewater services.

The Deputy Minister also discussed the implementation of a four-tier tariff system for water supply, based on consumption limits, with cost distribution as follows:

Group 1 - up to 3 m³: current tariff applied.

Group 2 - 3 to 5 m³: 20% above the current tariff.

Group 3 - 5 to 10 m³: 50% above the current tariff.

Group 4 - over 10 m³: 100% above the current tariff.

He reported that following the implementation of this system, tariff levels for 61 NMEs across the country have been revised. Darbayev noted that an analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of these new tariff approaches-particularly the introduction of "social consumption norms"-in terms of reducing water usage.

He emphasized that the differentiated tariff system based on consumption levels has proven effective in encouraging consumers to use water services more responsibly. It has also generated additional revenue that can be used to fund network repairs, which in turn will reduce infrastructure deterioration and improve the quality and reliability of utility services.

Since the introduction of social consumption norms, water usage has decreased by 8%, and the level of metering has increased by 4%, according to the Deputy Minister.

 

Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov on Friday held a meeting with, focusing on the Bank’s activities in 2024 and ongoing activities, Kazinform News Agency reports.

The Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) investment portfolio in Kazakhstan consists of 116 projects, including 43 active ones worth 2.9 billion US dollars, Kazinform News Agency reports.

During a meeting of the EDB Council on Friday, Nikolay Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board, reported on the key indicators of the 2022/26 strategy.

In 2024, the Bank’s investment portfolio reached 16.5 billion US dollars, while the volume of investments rose by almost 700 million US dollars year-over-year to 2.4 billion US dollars.

The Bank also saw its projects aligned with the SDGs surpass 30%, twice its target, as well as its technical assistance project portfolio increase 76% to a historic high.

According to Podguzov, the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) investment portfolio in Kazakhstan hit 7.2 billion US dollars and consists of 116 projects, including 43 active ones worth 2.9 billion US dollars. There was also growth in investments in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Bank’s aggregate investment portfolio totals 305 projects.

In the first half of this year, investment deals worth almost 2.1 billion US dollars were announced. The potential amount of high-level design readiness projects to be signed exceeds 4 billion US dollars.

It’s worth noting that Uzbekistan officially joined the agreement on the establishment of the EDB. During the meeting, Uzbek Investment, Industry and Trade Minister Laziz Kudratov expressed readiness for active interaction with the Bank.

Following the meeting, a number of decisions were adopted, including those relating to organizational and financial performance. The EDB Council agreed to appoint Kazakh Premier Olzhas Bektenov as its Chairman and Kazakh Finance Minister Madi Takiyev as the Deputy Chairman.