The 2014 oil price drop saw Kazakhstan go from stellar success story to global underperformer. Bakhyt Sultanov, the country's deputy prime minister and minister of finance, talks to Adrienne Klasa about its comeback strategy, which includes major infrastructure investment and positioning itself as a regional trade hub.
China and Kazakhstan have signed many agreements for the Belt and Road Initiative but tangible projects have yet to materialise. Chinese investors blame red tape, while Kazakhs express concern over land reforms and the environment, as Nikkei Asian Review contributing writer Naubet Bisenov reports.
China's One Belt, One Road initiative – building a new Silk Road between western Europe and China's east coast as well as improving the Maritime Silk Road – will be a major game changer for international trade. Stefania Palma assesses its possible impact.
International sanctions against Russia and uncertainty over commodity prices have had an impact on Kazakhstan and its banking sector. However, the country's central bank governor tells Nick Kochan of his plans to smarten up the country's financial landscape, starting with targeting unacceptably high NPL levels.
Closer economic integration of countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States has been discussed for many years without practical progress. The launch of a Single Economic Space between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may be about to change that.
A deluge of non-performing loans and deleveraging paint a bleak picture of Kazakhstan’s banking sector. But it is against this backdrop that smaller, second-tier banks, which follow much less aggressive strategies and are therefore in much healthier positions, can excel.