What Matters for Business

As of the evening of November 12, 2026. Events scheduled for November 13 or later are listed as upcoming.

1. The National Security Committee said it had detained Nurlan Zhakupov, chairman of Samruk-Kazyna, which manages government stakes in some of Kazakhstan's largest companies, and Yelzhas Otynshiyev, chairman of national railway company KTZ, on suspicion of corruption. Samruk-Kazyna said it continued to meet its obligations to investors, creditors, and partners. The allegations have not been proven, and a pretrial investigation is underway. President Tokayev is scheduled to address the matter at a Security Council meeting on November 13.
2. The Ministry of Energy confirmed that Kazakhstani oil has not been shipped through Russia's Ust-Luga port since September. It cited technical constraints in the transit pipeline system and said shipments had been redirected to other routes.
3. QazaqGaz signed a turnkey contract for a gas processing plant at Karachaganak with annual capacity of 5 billion cubic meters. A consortium of South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and SICIM Kazakhstan LLP will build the facility. The announcement did not disclose the contract value or commissioning date.
4. Beginning November 22, Kazakhstan will ban re-exports to EAEU countries of Chinese aluminum foil until November 15, 2030, and Chinese graphite electrodes until January 17, 2031, if they were imported under a one-time license without payment of antidumping duties. Certain foil products are exempt. The restrictions affect traders reselling these goods to Russia and other EAEU members.
5. Nadezhda Shkolkina, first deputy chair of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, told TASS that authorities had agreed to temporarily suspend additional VAT assessments on Russian exporters to Kazakhstan. A breakdown in tax-data exchange had prevented inspectors from confirming eligibility for the zero rate. We could not locate a tax-service document establishing the procedure.
6. Air Astana reported a $2.7 million net loss for the first nine months even as revenue rose 17.9%, with costs growing faster than sales.
7. Kazakhstan signed agreements worth about $1.2 billion at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, according to the government. They cover 150 MW of wind capacity in Turkistan Region, 1 GW in Kostanay Region, and installation of 1.35 million remotely readable gas meters. The agreements signal potential demand for equipment suppliers, but do not yet represent actual investment inflows or procurement launches.
8. Banks issued 31.9 trillion tenge in new loans in January–September, up 7.1% year over year. Growth came entirely from business lending, which rose 18%, while household lending fell 4.3%.