Astana
Kazakhstan Society Roundup - July 7, 2008
Kazakhstan celebrates its capital’s 10th anniversary
(AP - IHT) - Kazakhs flocked Sunday to gleaming, grandiose - and isolated - Astana to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s designation as the capital of the vast Central Asian nation.
City of extravagance gleams in Kazakh steppe
(Reuters) - If there is one thing Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev cherishes as part of his legacy, it is the gold-plated extravagance of his new capital, Astana.
Astana: Eurasia’s new marvel (Kazinform)
Key facts about Kazakh capital Astana (Reuters)
Key facts about Kazakhstan (Reuters)
Man with suspected anthrax dies in Kazakhstan (RIA Novosti)
Kazakhstan Politics Roundup - July 2, 2008
U.S. lawmakers question Kazakhstan’s fitness to chair OSCE
(EurasiaNet) - A U.S. congressional delegation visiting Kazakhstan called on the country to speed up democratic reforms ahead of assuming the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
Managing to be friends with everyone
(Financial Times) - Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president, is hosting a party this week to mark his 68th birthday and the first decade of Astana, the new capital he has built in the central Asian steppe.
Chairing the OSCE will test democratic commitment
(Financial Times) - Kazakhstan’s president is considering ordering a snap parliamentary election next year, setting the stage for more pluralistic political debate.
Kazakhstan Society Roundup - June 30, 2008
Credit woes mar Astana’s capital idea
(Financial Times) - Economic slowdown will not prevent Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan, from hosting a party this week to mark the 10-year anniversary of Astana, the glittering capital he has built from almost nothing on the inhospitable central Asian steppe.
Kazakh model in apparent suicide plunge (Reuters)
Christie’s chair kicked off exhibition of Kazakh painters in Almaty (Interfax)
Kazakhstan Society Roundup - June 27, 2008
Kazakh leader creates national holiday on his birthday
(AP - IHT) - azakhstan’s president has approved a bill to create a new holiday on his birthday to honor the nation’s capital, Astana, local media reported Thursday.
Borat defeated? Kazakh women declare victory in battle of the sexes (Telegraph)
Traffic police head claims monthly salary over $1,000 will keep officers on job (Interfax)
Kazakhstan Society Roundup - June 25, 2008
At the heart of Eurasia
(Nine O’Clock) - On July 6, 2008, Astana – the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan – is celebrating its 10th birthday, a holiday of national importance. For Kazakhstan, the ten years that have passed since the relocation of the capital have become years of dynamic development and revival.
The northern Aral Sea returns to life in Kazakhstan
(AFP) - Fisherman Khaldan Kolzhanov’s eyes fill with emotion at the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the small waves lapping at the beach. Here in this corner of southwest Kazakhstan, thanks to the Kokaral dam, vast expanses of sand and salt have finally disappeared.
Capital idea for a present
What do you give a man who has everything, or at least the seemingly permanent presidency of a big Central Asian republic? You rename its capital in his honour, of course.
Kazakh Residential Real Estate Sector Ripe for Consolidation
Translated from the Kazakh weekly Business & Power - the original article in Russian can be found here.
Kazakhstan’s construction companies have been forced to search for new sources of capital. As local analysts suggest, now is the time for the builders to switch from relying on bank loans as a sole source of financing to partnering with strategic investors. This may result in increased mergers and acquisitions activity in local real estate and construction sector.
The mid- and long-term outlook of purchasing power among the Kazakh population will likely be lowered - not only as a result of the liquidity crisis, but also because of the of the deteriorating health of the entire economy. Accordingly, builders need to search for alternative sources of funds, and reexamine their strategies and financial models. “Today’s lack of liquidity affects big builders with excellent reputation just as much as small construction companies. The absence of acceptable bank financing shapes no longer only the market for real estate, but the whole consumer sector of the economy as well”, says Bakhytbek Katen, director of NAI Kazakhstan Aristan, a consultancy.
“Recent freeze of construction shook the reputation of the entire real estate market”, says Oleg Alferov, the vice president of National Association of Realtors. “As a consequence, buyers’ activity in the fourth quarter of 2007 was at its lowest level in the last three years.”
Present situation is favorable for those interested in entering the Kazakh real estate and construction sectors. The barriers to entry are low compared to the last few years, and interested parties may be able to acquire shares in new and unfinished projects relatively cheaply.
Alexander Kalinin, the chairman of Kazakhstan Estimators Association agrees: “The banks were focused excessively on the construction sector. Mortgage banking, construction and other real estate loans and similar financing deals accounted for 56-70 percent of the banks’ credit portfolios.” Under the current conditions, the sector is ripe for consolidation. According to Kalinin, the market will soon be dominated by large corporations characterized by high quality of their property portfolios, balanced price policies and additional sources of financing besides Kazakh banks. “One such institution could be, for example, corporation ‘Basis A’. I have no doubts that it is backed by serious shareholders with strong interest in Kazakhstan’s economy.” Other business models will have difficulties surviving in the new conditions, suggests Kalinin.
