Export ban and increased export duty can reduce price for diesel fuel and gasoline - Nar Oil (SRI)

Hungary’s MOL also eyes Oman’s 7% CPC stake - paper
(Portfolio.hu) - Hungarian oil and gas group MOL has also set eyes on the pipeline linking the world’s sixth-largest oil field Tengiz with the Black Sea, as Oman is selling its 7% interest in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

Energy companies of Central Asia developing methods to improve power transmission in region (TREND)

Caspian Services takes delivery of two 41 Foot, shallow water, oil & gas exploration boats (Business Wire)

MINERAL RESOURCES:

Kazakhmys increases copper production in Q2, down year-on-year
(SRI) - Kazakh miner Kazakhmys’s copper cathode production picked up in the second quarter after weather problems in the previous quarter, but output was still down 1.4 percent year-on-year.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Moody’s reviews Alliance Bank and SAFC for downgrade
(The FINANCIAL) - Moody’s Investors Service has today placed the Ba2 long-term bank deposit and Ba2/Ba3 senior and subordinated debt ratings of Alliance Bank on review for possible downgrade.

Kazakh government wants to lower corporate income tax (SRI)

New Customs Code to be developed in Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Today)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 31, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - July 30, 2008 (Reuters)

POLITICS:

President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with King of Spain Juan Carlos I (Kazinform)

Unvalued contribution to foreign policy (neweurasia.net)

SOCIETY:

Akimat of Almaty oblast recommended to take measures on settlement of land dispute with members of Hare Krishna (Kazakhstan Today)

Unvalued contribution to foreign policy (neweurasia.net)

Kazakh government wants to lower corporate income tax (SRI)

New Customs Code to be developed in Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Today)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 31, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - July 30, 2008 (Reuters)

Hungary’s MOL also eyes Oman’s 7% CPC stake - paper
(Portfolio.hu) - Hungarian oil and gas group MOL has also set eyes on the pipeline linking the world’s sixth-largest oil field Tengiz with the Black Sea, as Oman is selling its 7% interest in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

Energy companies of Central Asia developing methods to improve power transmission in region (TREND)

Caspian Services takes delivery of two 41 Foot, shallow water, oil & gas exploration boats (Business Wire)

The world’s 10th-biggest copper producer warned on Wednesday that maintenance to the Kazakhstan national grid may hit cathode output in the third quarter, but not mined production, and it stuck with its forecast that annual production would be flat.

“Mine and concentrate output (in the third quarter) will be unaffected and we maintain our target that copper cathode production from own ore production for the full year should be at least in line with 2007,” the company said.

The firm said total copper cathode output in the second quarter was 90,200 tonnes, up 7.2 percent from the previous quarter, but down from 91,500 tonnes in the same period last year.

Copper in concentrate output rose 3.2 percent year-on-year to 99,800 tonnes. The company produces finished copper from its own ore as well as from modest amounts of purchased concentrate.

Zinc metal output edged down year-on-year to 12,200 tonnes from 12,500 tonnes while gold production fell 12 percent to 32,100 ounces.

The firm reported details of its new power unit, which it acquired in May, saying total net power generated in the second quarter grew by 38 percent to 2,870 gigawatts.

Ushbayev said that recently the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan Sauat Mynbayev stated that monthly production of diesel fuel totals on average about 340 thousand tons, 130 thousand tons of which is used at fixed prices for the needs of agricultural manufacturers. “The Minister of Agriculture said that as of July 11 only 19 thousand tons has been shipped,” Ushbayev told Kazakhstan Today.

“If we close the borders up to the end of the year, those who planned to export will start selling the stocks of mineral oil in the domestic market, which will decrease the price. In this case, collective farmers can harvest buying diesel fuel at the affordable prices. Some may even create their own stock of diesel fuel for the next year,” Ushbayev explained.

“Oil is exported without restriction through Ukraine to Europe without payment of export customs duties. Oil exporters need to pay customs duties, which in Kazakhstan, in comparison with world prices for oil, are very low. Export customs duties affect prices. If they are low, the stocks will be exported outside of Kazakhstan.”

“We propose to reduce corporate income tax to 15-20 percent. We may distribute this reduction across years,” Masimov said at a meeting of tax agencies in Astana. Currently the rate is 30 percent.

The government also suggested introducing a flat rate social tax within the new tax code.

“Similar to what we said before at the first presentation of the draft Tax Code, we are mulling a flat social tax. Earlier we had a progressive individual income tax, then we introduced a flat income tax. Now we want to introduce a flat social tax at 11%,” Masimov said.

Furthermore, the government also proposed a luxury tax on real estate.

“We consider it necessary to increase tax rates on property of physical entities, on luxury real estate costing from more than KZT 30 million and tax rate on real estate of legal entities of 1-2 percent,” Masimov said.

“I think that it is fair, is a universal practice - if you are rich and if you have an opportunity to pay for it, you pay the appropriate tax,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Oil refining in Kazakhstan should be taken over by state - newspaper
(SRI) - Oil refining in Kazakhstan should be taken under state control in order to stabilize the situation on the domestic market for refined petrolum products.

Caspian Energy drill a dry well (Thomson Financial - Forbes)

1500th tanker loaded at CPC marine terminal (CPC)

MINERAL RESOURCES:

Kazakhmys completes acquisition of further 7.66 percent in ENRC from Kazakh govt (Thomson Financial - Forbes)

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Kazakhstan’s Air Astana halves 2008 profit forecast
(SRI) - Kazakhstan’s national airline Air Astana halved its 2008 net profit forecast on Tuesday from $45-47 million due to high fuel prices and limited demand.

Air Astana plans to raise $1.445 billion to buy aircraft
(SRI) - Air Astana is planning to raise funds to purchase new Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

Air Astana switches to electronic tickets starting August (Interfax)

NBK cut minimum reserve requirements to second-tier banks
(SRI) - The old requirements of 6% on internal obligation and 8% on all other obligations are now lowered to 5% and 7%, respectively.

Kazakhtelecom increases profit by 8.2 percent in H1 (SRI)

200-300 thousand migrants work illegally in Kazakhstan: Labor Minister (TREND)

Kazakh PM urged to create working group on light industry development (Kazinform)

Azercell signed third roaming agreement with Kazakhstan (Azerbaijan Business Center)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 30, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - July 30, 2008 (Reuters)

SOCIETY:

Kazakhstan authorities oust foreign missionaries (Interfax)

Kazakhstan’s cyclist Vinokurov not going to Beijing (Interfax)