The Prosecutor General's Office summarised the results of the audit of the implementation of the employment program for 2016-2018. Inefficient use of 10.5 billion tenge, theft of about 1 billion tenge and misuse of loans in the amount of 553 million tenge were revealed, the press-service of the department reported.

Out...

Medicines worth KZT 57.2 billion were shipped to the regions for free out-patient medication, while prescriptions for just KZT 36.6 billion were provided. That is, at the present time in the warehouses of medical organisations there are medicines worth more than 20 billion tenge. For some products, all shipped goods...

A business mission of the Chelyabinsk Oblast will be held in Almaty on September 25-28, according to the official website of the Kazakh Embassy in Russia. 

It is organized by the South-Ural Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Chelyabinsk city administration and Almaty akimat (administration). Presentations of Chelyabinsk and Almaty, meetings...

KMG EP announced the Board of Directors approval of a program for the repurchase of preferred shares of the company. KMG EP intends to repurchase its preferred shares in the amount of 1 905 209 shares, representing 100% of all preferred shares in free float. The repurchase price is T12 800/pref....

Kazakhstan intends to use in its favour the demand for energy resources in China and a beneficial location. In the long term, oil transit for the national operator via the KazTransOil trunk oil pipeline can become a key source of profit.

The thesis about the need to develop the transit potential...

Russia's Gazprom Neft, which maintains extensive downstream networks in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, increased its second-quarter daily crude and condensate output by 2.4% on the quarter to 1.28 million b/d, due to rising production in Iraq and its increased share in Arcticgas, the company said Thursday.

In absolute volumes, Gazprom Neft's Q2...

Kazakhstan’s benchmark Urals crude’s differentials in northwest Europe inched up on August 16 while Russia’s provisional loading plan for September 1-6 showed higher supplies from Baltic Sea ports.

Urals loadings from Primorsk are set to increase to 0.7 million tonnes on Sept. 1-6 compared to 0.6 million tonnes early this month,...

Oil futures stuck to a tight trading range on August 16, attempting to stabilize a day after a surprise rise in U.S. crude inventories and a broader commodity rout took the U.S. benchmark to a more-than-two-month low.

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up 2 cents...

Gazprom's exports of natural gas to Europe and Turkey, which include all of Uzbekistan’s exported gas and the bulk of Kaakhstan’s, in the 1st half of the year exceeded 100 Bcm for the H1 period for the 1st time ever, it said in a 2nd-quarter results report, Platts reported.

Gazprom exported...

British wholesale gas prices rose on August 16 as several outages in Norway reduced supplies, Reuters reported.

Within-day contract rose by 1.05 pence to 60.85 pence per therm at 0844 GMT.

Day-ahead gas was 1.60 pence higher at 61.45 p/therm.

Outages expected to last 24 hours at two Norwegian gas fields have reduced...

The state budget for the first half of 2018 increased by 5.3 trillion tenge, which is 4.8% more than in the same period a year earlier.

The main source of replenishment of the state budget are tax revenues comprising 69.8% of total revenues, with an increase by 13.8%, which amounted to...

The volume of industrial lending increased by 3.8% on-year, and amounted to more than 1.8 trillion tenge at the end of June 2018. For comparison, the country's total loan portfolio increased by only 1% on-year.

A year earlier, in the same period, the volume of loans to the industry already showed...

Sector NPLs (non-performing loans, loans 90 days overdue) remained flat over 2Q18 at around 13 percent of gross loans (adjusted for write-offs at Kazkommertsbank (KKB)), Fitch Ratings said.

However, asset quality remains weak, as banks' asset quality is undermined by accrued uncollected interest, high-risk FX and/or restructured exposures, sometimes with grace...

The communal amenities of the citizens of Kazakhstan deteriorated over the year. The situation is good only with water supply: the share of the total area provided with water was 98.5% of the total housing stock in the country at the beginning of the year.

Gas is provided for 87.6% of...

Sberbank issued a statement due to spreading unsubstantiated rumours and calls to close deposits in Sberbank of Kazakhstan due to tightening of sectoral sanctions of the US against Russia, the press service of the bank told.

"The press service of Sberbank states that these sanctions do not have an impact on...

S&P Global Ratings affirmed the long-term and short-term credit ratings of ATFBank at B/B, keeping the Negative outlook on the ratings, the Interfax reported citing a rating agency. The bank's rating on the national scale is also affirmed at kzBB+.

"The affirmation of the ratings reflects, on the one hand, the...

S&P Global Ratings, an international credit ratings agency, has revised its outlook on Kazakhstan-based Kaspi Bank JSC to stable from negative, the ratings agency said in a message.

The agency also affirmed the 'BB-' long-term and 'B' short-term issuer credit ratings on the bank.

In addition, S&P Global Ratings raised the Kazakhstan...

Kazakhstan’s national currency exchange filed the following technical report on the day’s trade:

Based on results of trades on the spot-market:

- weighted average US dollar rate with settlements T+0 in tenge (USDKZT_TOD) made KZT360.59 per US dollar at the trades volume USD56,000 th.;

- on US dollar with settlements Т+1 and...

A strong currency caresses one’s chauvinism – but not that of exporters and tourism managers. While Russia, China and others struggle to diminish their independence on the American currency, trade is desperately looking for a move from cash to product value. Should that happen, it would mean uite a relief...

Kazakhstan’s overall production of unwrought gold and semi-processed gold or in powder form reached 53,432 kg in January-July this year that is 9.7% more as compared to the same period of 2017, the Statistics Committee of the National Economy Ministry of Kazakhstan reports.

In the accounting period gross output of unwrought...

Following the results of seven months of 2018, Kazakhmys Corporation LLP increased gold production by 31%. This was reported by the Chairman of the Committee for Industrial Development and Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Batanov, Kazpravda.kz correspondent reports.

"In metallurgy, the...

This year Kazakhstan has increased exports of phosphorus to the countries of the European Union and far abroad, Almas Batanov, the Chairman of the Industrial Development and Industrial Safety Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Investment and Development told a briefing on Thursday, Kazinform correspondent reports.

According to Almas Batanov, over...

Gold producers in Central Asia and elsewhere have been anxiously looking for signs of market stabilisation for months now, against unfavourable monetary market conditions. Some of such sings are on the horizon, Reuters reports.

Gold prices bounced from 19-month lows on August 16 as the dollar slipped on news that China...

Base metals, with which Central Asia is abundantly blessed, faced some sales price recovery after a long period of market depression as a result of monetary imbalance, Reuters reported.

Industrial metals prices regained ground on August 16 as planned trade talks between China and the United States and a recovery in...

The volume of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and the states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in January-June 2018 in monetary terms amounted to $8.8 billion, which is 6.3 percent more than in the same period in 2017, according to the Committee on Statistics of the Kazakh Ministry of National...

Base metals, with which Central Asia is abundantly blessed, faced some sales price recovery after a long period of market depression as a result of monetary imbalance, Reuters reported.

Industrial metals prices regained ground on Thursday as planned trade talks between China and the United States and a recovery in Turkey’s...

Once believed to be doomed to perish, what is left of the Aral Sea is becoming productive once more thanks to human intervention, and fishermen take out their boats, having laid idle for decades, out into the waters once more.

The sea, situated between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, produced 23,000 tonnes of...

Chicago soybean futures rebounded sharply on August 16 as news that Beijing and Washington will hold fresh trade talks raised hopes that U.S. soybean sales to top importer China will revive after being stalled by a tariff dispute.

The rally in soybeans, along with an easing in the dollar after a...

According to the results of seven months of 2018, every second car sold in the country is made in Kazakhstan, and last year it was every third car. This was reported by the chairman of the Committee for Industrial Development and Industrial Safety of the Ministry of Investment and Development...

Belarus has suggested considering real accountability for failure to honor commitments within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Belarus' First Deputy Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoi said at the conference “Eurasian Economic Union: Development Strategy” on 15 August, BelTA has learned.

“We need to respond timely and adequately to the...

The Chinese economy is on a solid footing to maintain a stable and positive trend despite a complicated domestic and external environment.

The quality of China's economic growth has improved significantly with strengthened resilience and sustainability, said Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Center, in a written...

China's securities regulator decided to further expose the A-share market to more foreign investors starting on Sept 15, according to an announcement released on August 16 night.

Foreigners working in the Chinese mainland, or employed by companies listed there, can access the A-share market by opening an account.

The move will benefit...

Since the beginning of the 2018/19 marketing year which started on July up till August 15, the export volumes of grains from Russia totaled 6.8 mln tonnes (without the supplies to the EAEU countries), an increase of 46% compared with the same period last season (4.7 mln tonnes), declared the...

Uzbekistan may take part in the implementation of the international transport corridor project "North-South" (India-Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia-Kazakhstan), which aims to increase the transport and transit potential of the region, Uzbek media quoted the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Sukhrob Kholmuradov as saying when opening the 11th meeting of the Uzbek-Indian Intergovernmental Commission.

The...

Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2018, according to the preliminary data released by the country's National Statistics Office on August 16.

The GDP totaled eight trillion Mongolian tugriks (around 3.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period of 2018, an...

Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2018, according to the preliminary data released by the country's National Statistics Office on August 16.

The GDP totaled eight trillion Mongolian tugriks (around 3.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period of 2018, an...

Date: August 17, 2018; Source: Bloomberg.com

Energy

Precious and Industrial Metals

Agriculture

Date: August 17, 2018; Source: the National Bank of Kazakhstan