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Main article: Economy of Kazakhstan
Foreign exchange reserves
2024: Gold and foreign exchange reserves for the year increased by 27.4%
The National Bank of Kazakhstan recorded an increase in gross gold and foreign exchange reserves by 27.4% to $45.8 billion in 2024. Information about this was published by the press service of the President of the country on January 24, 2025.
According to Finmarket, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev heard a report by the Chairman of the National Bank Timur Suleimenov on the state of the country's financial sector.
The report notes that revenues from asset management of the National Fund of Kazakhstan amounted to $4.5 billion, or more than 7.5% per annum. Investment income from the management of pension assets of the Unified Funded Pension Fund reached ₸3,4 trillion.
According to the publication, the chairman of the National Bank also informed the head of state about the situation in the foreign exchange market and the measures implemented to ensure the stability of the national currency. According to him, the banking sector is showing stability and continued growth of the deposit base.
The yield on pension assets in 2024 more than doubled the inflation rate, reaching 17.8%. This indicates the effectiveness of managing pension savings of citizens.
The meeting also discussed plans to improve the effectiveness of macroprudential policies and additional measures to ensure financial stability in the country.
Foreign exchange reserves are a key element of the state's financial security, including assets in freely convertible currency and monetary gold. These funds play a strategic role in ensuring the economic stability of the country.
The management of foreign currency assets is based on the principle of reliability and high liquidity of investment instruments. The priority areas of placement of funds are short-term treasury liabilities, USA government bonds of developed and, of developing countries as well as investment-grade corporate securities.
Of particular importance in the structure of reserves are gold assets, which serve as a protective mechanism in the event of economic and geopolitical shocks. Gold ensures the preservation of reserves in the context of possible impairment of foreign currency assets.[1]
2018
National Fund of Kazakhstan
Main article: National Fund of Kazakhstan
The National Fund of Kazakhstan is replenished through oil export revenues and can be used by the state as an emergency financing tool.
National debt
2025: External debt growth to $165.63 billion
Foreign debt Kazakhstan as of January 1, 2025 amounted to $165.63 billion, according to data National Bank of Kazakhstan published on February 12, 2025. The main part of the obligations is formed by intercompany debt on direct investments, the volume of which reached $91 billion. The financial regulator notes that the structure of debt remains stable, and a significant share of it is associated with the obligations of multinational corporations operating in. Kazakhstan
According to TengriNews, the National Bank of Kazakhstan has switched to a new format for publishing data on the country's external debt. The preliminary estimate will now be published quarterly on the last day of the month after the reporting quarter.
Structure of Kazakhstan's external debt as of January 1, 2025:
- Intercompany debt - $91 billion.
- Debts of other sectors - $45.5 billion.
- Bank liabilities - $13.2 billion.
- Public administration - $12.7 billion.
- National Bank - $2.4 billion
According to the National Bank, the country's external debt shows an upward trend. As of January 1, 2023, the figure was $161.16 billion, by January 1, 2024 it increased to $163.55 billion, reaching $165.63 billion by the beginning of 2025.
According to the publication, external debt includes all obligations of residents to non-residents outstanding at the reporting date, requiring payments on principal and interest. The introduction of a system of regular publication of preliminary data will increase the transparency of financial statements and improve control over the country's debt obligations.
The new data publication format allows you to quickly track changes in the country's external obligations. Previously, the reporting data was published on the 90th day after the end of the reporting quarter.[2]
2023: State debt - 23% of GDP
Currency - tenge
2024
Sharp decline in the exchange rate to 513 tenge per dollar
In November 2024, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan announced that it was conducting market interventions to stop the fall of tenge after the currency fell to its weakest level since March 2022.
The regulator said it was ready to continue interventions "to restore the fair formation of the tenge exchange rate and ensure the normal functioning of the foreign exchange market."
Increase in the use of tenge for the exchange of rubles for yuan
In September 2024, US sanctions against Russia led to an increase in yuan and ruble trading in Kazakhstan. Earlier in June, the United States imposed sanctions against the main Moscow Exchange.
Inflation
2022
20.3% in December
Inflation in December 2022 in Kazakhstan rose to 20.3%, the Bureau of National Statistics reported.
"Inflation in December 2022 was 20.3% year-on-year. Food prices increased by 25.3%, non-food products - by 19.4%, paid services - by 14.1%, "the bureau said in a statement.
Inflation rises to 19.6% - record for 14 years
Inflation in Kazakhstan "has reached historic highs over the past 14 years" - 19.6%, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on December 12, 2022.
Inflation in November - 18.8%
Key rate
2023: Rate cut to 16.5%
On August 25, 2023, Kazakhstan went to the first interest rate cut since 2020, even after the weakening of the tenge exchange rate caused by the depreciation of the currency in Russia. The central bank lowered the benchmark rate to 16.5% and announced the possibility of its further reduction.
The first rate cut in Kazakhstan since 2020 is due to a slowdown in inflation.
2022: Rate rise to 16% APR
On October 26, 2022, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan had to raise the rate to 16% per annum. Annual inflation accelerated to 17.7%, deviating significantly from the forecast trajectory.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan in its report sees the risks of increased inflation against the background of the migration flow from the Russian Federation during the conflict in Ukraine.
2020:9% rate
Budget
Budget 2018-2020
The government of the republic considered in August 2017 the draft budget for 2018-2020. A little less than half of the costs will go to social needs.
The head of the Ministry of Finance, Bakhyt Sultanov, noted that the procedure for distributing money fully corresponds to the tasks set by the country's leadership. Among them are strengthening the social orientation of income, the development of the agro-industrial complex, the transport industry, as well as ensuring the defense capability of the state.
The expenditure part of the budget of Kazakhstan in 2018 will exceed 9.2 trillion. tenge. 44.5% of all expenses will go to the so-called "social services." Moreover, expenses for these needs will increase by more than 400 billion tenge, compared to the current year, due to the growth of pensions and benefits paid on the occasion of the birth of children. Also 1.4 trillion tenge in 2018 will be invested in the development of the real sector of the economy. The costs of ensuring security in the country will exceed 1 trillion. tenge.
Banks
Main article: Banks in Kazakhstan
Financial Technology
Main article: Financial technologies (fintech) in Kazakhstan
Venture Capital Investments
Main article: Venture capital investments in Kazakhstan
Currency regulation
2020: Restrictions on cash withdrawals by companies
On April 21, 2020, the National Bank of Kazakhstan announced the introduction of restrictions for companies to withdraw cash from bank accounts. The regulator has set the following limits for legal entities:
- for small businesses - 20 million tenge per month;
- for medium-sized businesses - 120 million tenge per month;
- for large business - 150 million tenge per month.
The Central Bank of Kazakhstan explained that the restrictions do not apply to individuals, individual entrepreneurs, micro-entrepreneurs, legal entities purchasing agricultural food products, and retail food, drinks, pharmaceutical, medical and orthopedic goods.
Exceeding the established limits is allowed when providing the appropriate justification to the second level banks. In turn, banks will have to agree on an application for an increase in the amount with the State Revenue Committee (CGD) of the Ministry of Finance within three working days. If during this period the company does not receive a response from the CGD of the Ministry of Finance, then the cash withdrawal transaction for this request is considered automatically approved, explained the deputy head of the National Bank Dina Galieva.
The rule on setting the maximum amounts allowed for cashing will enter into force on June 1, 2020.
According to Galieva, in 2019, legal entities cashed an average of 9 million tenge or 747 thousand tenge per month. Therefore, the restrictions imposed should not lead to significant difficulties for the business. The innovation is aimed at combating the shadow economy, increasing the transparency of operations carried out by business entities, as well as to counter the laundering of money obtained illegally and reduce the level of corruption, she said.[3]
Remittances
The volume of remittances from Russia to Kazakhstan for the year decreased by 44% to $132.8 million
At the end of 2024, the volume of remittances from Russia Kazakhstan to amounted to 61.8 billion tenge, or $132.8 million (when converting, the average rate dollar to tenge for each month was taken). Compared to 2023, the figure in dollar terms decreased by 44%, in tenge - by 43%. This is stated in the materials of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, published at the end of January 2025.
The data presented take into account transactions through international money transfer systems, including the Golden Crown. It is noted that, despite a sharp reduction in the total amount of transactions, Russia in 2024 remained the leader in terms of the volume of money received to Kazakhstan among all countries. However, the reduction in transfers was recorded during each month of 2024: the maximum drop was noted in March and December - minus 54% and 51%, respectively.
The observed negative dynamics, according to experts, is due to several factors. One of them is the stabilization of the situation after a sharp increase in 2022. White Stone managing partner Dmitry Chirkin says that after the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation, Russian citizens did not have the opportunity to make payments to foreign jurisdictions directly, and therefore transactions were carried out through friendly countries. But then many banks from friendly jurisdictions, in particular Kazakhstan, tightened the rules for conducting operations with the participation of Russian persons, as a result of which the number of transfers decreased. Andrey Gusev, senior partner of the Nordic Star law firm, adds that the weakening of the ruble could also affect the volume of transactions.
In general, in 2024, Kazakhstan received 236.7 billion tenge from all countries through international money transfer systems. This is 23% less than a year earlier.[4]
2023: Remittances from Russia decreased three times to 108 billion tenge
Remittances from Russia to Kazakhstan through the system of international remittances in 2023 amounted to 108 billion tenge (about 21.52 billion rubles at the exchange rate at the time of publication of the news - January 31, 2024), which is three times less than a year ago (357.1 billion tenge).
As Interfax reports with reference to the materials of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, in December 2023, 23.6 billion tenge was sent to Kazakhstan from abroad through the system of international money transfers. In terms of the amount of money received from abroad, Russia is leading with 6.8 billion tenge, the United States - 2.9 billion tenge, South Korea - 2.6 billion tenge, Uzbekistan - 2.3 billion tenge and Germany - 1.6 billion tenge.
As for money transfer systems, the Russian Golden Crown is the leader in transfers to Kazakhstan - 45.9% of the total number of transactions or 12 billion tenge. Also in Kazakhstan, money was transferred through Western Union, Moneygram, Contact, etc. Both in Russia and in Kazakhstan, Qiwi or YuOney electronic wallets are available. Translations between them are available by special identification numbers. The latter option has become available since 2022, but only rubles are now available among currencies.
At the same time, 72.8 billion tenge (14.51 billion rubles) was sent from Kazakhstan abroad in December 2023. In terms of the amount of money sent from Kazakhstan abroad, they are in the lead:
- Russia - 23.6 billion tenge;
- Turkey - 17.2 billion tenge;
- Uzbekistan - 13.5 billion tenge;
- Georgia - 6.7 billion tenge;
- China - 2.9 billion tenge.
The main share of money transfers received from abroad was carried out in US dollars (the share of the total number of transfers received in December 2023 is 38.1%, the share of the total volume of transfers received is 57.6%) and Kazakhstan tenge (33% and 22.8%, respectively).[5]
2022: Transfer of record $775 million from Russia
In 2022, individuals sent record volumes of money transfers from Russia to neighboring countries.
357 billion tenge, or about $775.4 million, was sent from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2022. This is a record for the period when statistics are available. The figure in dollars is 6.8 times higher than the volume of transfers in 2021.
The flow of money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan has grown 7 times - from 8.9 billion rubles in 2021 to 60.2 billion rubles in 2022, the National Bank of Kazakhstan reported.
1918: Banknotes of the Council of People's Commissars of Semirechye, secured by opium
In 1918, when the flow of money from Russia was interrupted during the Civil War, the Council of People's Commissars of Semirechye, a historical region in Kazakhstan, decided to print its banknotes. Moreover, the provision for this money was not gold, which simply did not exist, but opium stored in the basements of the State Bank of the city of Verny (now Alma-Ata). The issued bills were withdrawn from circulation at the end of 1919.
Notes
- ↑ The growth of gold and foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Kazakhstan in 2024 amounted to 27.4%
- ↑ How much Kazakhstan owes - the National Bank named the amount
- ↑ On changing the conditions for cash withdrawal by legal entities
- ↑ Transfers from Russia to neighboring countries fell in 2024
- ↑ Remittances from Russia to Kazakhstan in 2023 decreased three times
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