During the week Almaty farmers planted 27 thousand hectares with cereal crops

ALMATY. April 20, 2013, 16:46. BNews.kz Photo resource kazakh-zerno.kz

In Almaty region sowing campaign is in full swing. Over the past week sowing area of cereal crops increased by 27 thousand hectares.

According to operational summary of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, on April 15, spring wheat in the region covered about 94 thousand hectares, of the planned 204.6, Kazakh Zerno reports.

In addition, perennial grasses are planted on 8.8 thousand hectares, which accounts for 35% of the plan. Oilseeds occupied 15.5 thousand hectares of local farmland, wrote the correspondent of the IA "Kazakh-Zerno”.

Of the planned 31.6 thousand hectares vegetables are now panted on 14.7 thousand hectares. Potatoes are planted on 7.5 thousand hectares, which is about 20% of the plan.

There are many areas South Korea and Kazakhstan may potentially cooperate in: President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak

12 September 2012, 14:00

ASTANA-SEOUL. September 12. KAZINFORM Today President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak is expected in Kazakhstan with an official visit.This is his third visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan within the last three years and that is a reflection of close cooperation between the two countries.Ahead of his visit to Kazakhstan, the Korean leader told about the current state and prospects of the bilateral cooperation, global security problems and perspective of the world's largest cities.
Cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and South Korea gains momentum based on the frequency of top level visits. What are the potential areas for the Kazakh-Korean collaboration?
Over two decades of diplomatic relations established in 1992, Kazakhstan and South Korea have entered a brand new, higher level of partnership. It is worth mentioning, the two nations reached strategic partnership in May 2009 and from then onward continued to expand and strengthen it.
Currently South Korea and Kazakhstan have cemented cooperation in the field of energy, natural resources and industrial infrastructure. Based on the successful bilateral interaction our countries may expand partnership in all spheres, including atomic power stations, transport, high-speed trains, science and technology, healthcare and medicine, shipping industry and logistics as well as 'greening'.
What is the objective of your upcoming visit to Kazakhstan?
This time, my visit was arranged on the invitation of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev who kindly asked me to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Balkhash electric power station. The station is a landmark project in the sphere of economic cooperation between South Korea and Kazakhstan.
Having marked 20 years of diplomatic relations, our countries will continue to strengthen friendly ties and cooperation through the high level visits, thus, building up a solid foundation for the development of strategic partnership in future.
Kazakhstan boasts a large Korean diaspora.
I have been informed of the fact that there are approximately 100 000 ethnic Koreans in Kazakhstan. I know that they are engaged in various spheres, they work in politics, economy and industry, science, culture and sport, thus, making their contribution to Kazakhstan's prosperity and development. I sincerely hope that they will bridge our countries in order to consolidate the economic and cultural ties.
This spring Seoul hosted the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit with the participation of Kazakhstani delegation and Nursultan Nazarbayev. As you may know, UN General Assembly announced the 29 of August the International Day against Nuclear Tests on Kazakhstan's initiative. What is the role of our countries in the global nuclear non-proliferation?
I am grateful to President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kazakhstani delegation for participation in the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit that took place in March in Seoul. Kazakhstan made a great contribution to the success of the Seoul Summit.
Kazakhstan is an active participant in the discussions on reduction of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation. The country deserves to be respected for playing a leading role in securing the nuclear security in the region.
Right after gaining sovereignty Kazakhstan announced it bans nuclear weapons and tests on its territory. Kazakhstan shut down the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and took up the initiative of creating a nuclear free zone in Central Asia. I was deeply impressed with Kazakhstan's efforts.
As the former Seoul mayor you pride on having an extensive experience in managing a big city. In your opinion, what is the future of cities in the global world?
I visited Kazakhstan for the first time in 2004 in the capacity of Seoul mayor. Each time I visit Kazakhstan I pay attention to the construction process in the country, especially in Astana.
Astana is a bright example of President Nazarbayev's vision. I think that the future of the cities is closely connected with 'greening'. The ecologically clean cities are the priority of the 'green policy'.

How the Aral sea once half the size of Uk has dried up

How the Aral Sea - once half the size of England - has dried up

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
UPDATED: 07:49, 5 April 2010

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It was once the world's fourth-largest lake, but Central Asia's Aral Sea has shrunk by 90 per cent in the past 50 years what has been described as one of the planet's 'most shocking environmental disasters.'

The sea, which borders Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and was once 26,000 square miles, has dried up significantly since the 1960s when the rivers that fed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region.

By 1997 it had shrunk to 10 per cent of its original size and split into a large southern Uzbek part and a smaller Kazakh portion.

Diminishing: Satellite images of the Aral Sea in (above and below) show how it has diminished from 1973 to 1986 (above right) to 2001 and 2004

The shrunken sea has ruined the once-robust fishing economy and left fishing trawlers stranded in sandy wastelands, leaning over as if they dropped from the air. 

The sea's evaporation has left layers of highly salted sand, which winds can carry as far away as Scandinavia and Japan, and which plague local people with health troubles.

The construction of irrigation canals began in the 1940s, and by 1960 up to 60 cubic kilometres of water was being diverted to the land annually.

The sea's level drops by an average of 31-35 inches each year.

 

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The Soviet Union's desire to develop huge cotton plantations is responsible for the dying sea.

Cotton remains the main source of income for many newly independent republics.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the problem after touring the sea by helicopter today as part of a visit to the five countries of former Soviet Central Asia. 

His trip included a touchdown in Muynak, Uzbekistan, a town once on the shore where a pier stretches eerily over gray desert and camels stand near the hulks of stranded ships.

A satellite image shows the vast area left dry following the shrinking of the Aral Sea, which borders Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

'On the pier, I wasn't seeing anything, I could see only a graveyard of ships,' Ban said after arriving in Nukus, the nearest sizable city and capital of the autonomous Karakalpak region.

'It is clearly one of the worst disasters, environmental disasters of the world. I was so shocked,' he said.

Following his six-day trip through the region, Ban called on leaders to set aside rivalries to cooperate on repairing some of the damage.

Enlarge 

Diminished: The Aral Sea as shown in an atlas map of 1967, left, and in 2007

'I urge all the leaders... to sit down together and try to find the solutions,' he said, promising United Nations support.

However, cooperation is hampered by disagreements over who has rights to scarce water and how it should be used.

In a presentation to Ban before his flyover, Uzbek officials complained that dam projects in Tajikistan will severely reduce the amount of water flowing into Uzbekistan. Impoverished Tajikistan sees the hydroelectric projects as potential key revenue earners.

Arid: An aerial view of Muynak, a town near the Aral Sea. Its evaporation has devastated the local fishing economies

Catastrophe: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon looks at the 'graveyard of ships' left stranded near the dried up Aral Sea

Competition for water could become increasingly heated as global warming and rising populations further reduce the amount of water available per capita.

Water problems also could brew further dissatisfaction among civilians already troubled by poverty and repressive governments; some observers fear that could feed growing Islamist sentiment in the region.

Ban also is taking on the region's frequently poor human rights conditions, which he plans to discuss when he meets Uzbek President Islam Karimov tomorrow.

Karimov has led the country since the 1991 Soviet collapse and imposed severe pressure on opposition and civil rights activists.

Children run past ruined ships abandoned in sand that once formed the bed of the Aral Sea near the village of Zhalanash, in south-western Kazakhstan

Camels pass a ship cemetery next to the town of Muynak. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Central Asian leaders to cooperate in order to solve the region's environmental problems

The meeting comes less than two weeks after the U.N. Human Rights Committee issued a report criticizing Uzbekistan, including calling for fuller investigation of the brutal suppression of a 2005 uprising in the city of Andijan. 

Opposition and rights groups claim that hundreds were killed, but authorities insist the reports are exaggerated and angrily reject any criticism.

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Asia Largest Grain producer Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan exports hit record despite severe drought

April. 19th, 2013

 Kazakhstan (Reuters) — Kazakhstan exported 5.2 million tonnes of grain between July 1, 2012, and April 1, 2013, compared to 8.3 million tonnes in the same period the previous year, said a senior agriculture ministry official.


The country, which is central Asia’s largest grain producer, could potentially export a further two million tonnes of grain by the end of the current marketing year, said Sagintai Zhumazhanov, head of the ministry’s land development department.


Commenting on reports that Egypt was considering resuming wheat imports from Kazakhstan after a two-year hiatus, Zhumazhanov said: “If they wish, we are ready to sell. I have told you about our remaining potential … so they are welcome to partake of this chunk of the pie.”


Zhumazhanov said Russia and the European Union had become important new destinations for Kazakh grain exports this marketing year. 


Kazakhstan suffered a severe drought last year but still exported a record 12.1 million tonnes of grain in the last marketing year.

Turkey rejects Gazprom’s proposal on gas supplies from Kazakhstan

15 April 2013 Turkey refused from Russian company Gazprom's proposal to supply gas from Kazakhstan to the country, "The Lira" newspaper reported today, citing a source in the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority. Gazprom together with Turkish Bosphorus Gaz company planned to annually import 750 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey within 10 years. It is reported that Gazprom appealed to Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority for a license to import gas about a year ago, but the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority denied the company due to non-profitability of its proposal. At present, there are 1.8 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves in Kazakhstan. According to the statistics data of the Turkish state pipeline company Botas, Botas imported 43.09 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012 from various sources compared to more than 39.7 billion cubic meters in 2011. Russia ranks first, followed by Iran and Azerbaijan among the gas exporters to Turkey.

Kazakhstan’s Senate ratifies agreement on Balkhash thermal power plant

Thursday, 28.03.2013, 12:57

samruk-energy.kz

At a plenary sitting Kazakhstan’s Senate ratified the agreement between the country’s Government and the Government of South Korea on financing, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the Balkhash thermal power plant.

“The agreement sets an acceptable model to recoup investments, finance the project and do the actual construction works”, the country’s First Vice Minister of Industry and New Technology Albert Rau said when unveiling the document at the plenary sitting.

He elaborated that the first unit capable of 660 megawatt is to be commissioned in October 2017, with the first module capable of 1032 megawatt to be commissioned in April 2018.

Earlier the country’s Minister of Industry and New Technology Asset Issekeshev elaborated that 70% of the project will be financed through loans, with the other 30% injected by the shareholders in proportion to their holdings. Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Energo [subsidiary of Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund] owns 25% of shares plus one share, with South Korea’s Samsung owning 75% minus one share. Kazakhstan’s share in the project stands at $300 million. The project is estimated at $4 billion.

Tengrinews.kz reported earlier that the design capacity of the power plant is 2 640 megawatt. The facility will be located on the south-west shore of the Balkhash Lake close to Ekibastuz coal mine. The project is carried out by South Korea’s Samsung and the Kazakhstan’s Samruk - Energo.

Samruk Energo is responsible for 40% of all power generated in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak launched construction of the Balkhash thermal power plant mid-September 2012.

Korea, Kazakhstan to improve strategic partnership

Sep 14, 2012

President Lee Myung-bak had a bilateral meeting with Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, on his visit to the Central Asian country on September 13. They discussed ways to further improve their strategic partnership and enhance cooperation. 

They both appreciated the fact that they both made visits to each other's countries this year in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the two nations' diplomatic relationship. 

As large joint projects by the two countries are underway, the leaders decided to continue to cooperate in energy and plant construction as well as natural resources and nuclear energy. 

President Lee Myung-bak, third from right, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev, second from right, examine a miniature of the Balkhash power plant to be built in the Central Asian Nation (photo courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae).

The two sides offered congratulations for the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a power plant in Balkhash, a USD four billion project to build a state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly power plant. 

The coal thermal power plant will generate 1,320 megawatts of electricity when it is built in 2018 and will account for nine percent of the country's power supply. It is also the first privately funded power plant project in the Central Asian country. A consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp., Samsung Corporation, and Samruk Energy, a state-run electric power company of Kazakhstan, is leading the project. 

When its construction is completed, it will ease power shortages in southern Kazakhstan and generate many new jobs.

By Limb Jae-un 
Korea.net Staff Writer 

UPDATE 2-Kazakh ruler tells wealth fund to sell bailed-out banks

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Mon Feb 4, 2013 8:46am EST

(Refiles to remove duplication of Reuters Instrument Code (RIC)

* State spent billions of dollars to bail out crisis-hit banks

* Order to re-privatise banks by year-end puzzles analysts

* They say hard to find strong foreign buyers

* Say cash raised in sell-offs won't cover cost of bail-outs

By Mariya Gordeyeva

ALMATY, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has ordered the re-privatisation this year of three banks bailed out by the state's national wealth fund, the presidential news service said on Monday.

As a result of injecting billions of dollars in aid during the global financial crisis the Samruk-Kazyna fund now owns over 97 percent of BTA, the country's third-largest bank by assets, 67 percent of Alliance Bank , the eighth-largest lender, and 79.9 percent of Temirbank, 13th in order of size among the country's 38 banks.

Nazarbayev has now told the fund to sell its stakes in BTA, Alliance and Temirbank by the end of this year.

"We will now speed this process up," Yelena Bakhmutova, deputy head of Samruk-Kazyna told Reuters. "Now this order has been made we are ready to talk to potential investors," she said.

"Let's see; they (investors) may emerge," she said. "The year is only just beginning, BTA's restructuring is completed and Alliance and Temirbank show some improvements, albeit not to the extent that we would want to see."

BTA won creditor approval for its second debt restructuring in as many years at the end of 2012, aimed at cutting its debt of $11 billion by around 70 percent through a mix of write-offs and a debt-for-equity refinancing by Samruk-Kaznya which left the fund with more than 97 percent of the equity.

Meanwhile the bank, whose creditors include British lenders RBS, Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC, is pursuing its former owner, fugitive billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov, in a $5 billion fraud trial in Britain.

The bank's current owner blames BTA's problems on Ablyazov, who fled Kazakhstan in 2009, while Ablyazov has said the allegations are designed to eliminate him as an opponent to Kazakhstan's powerful president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a 72-year-old former steelworker who has ruled Central Asia's largest economy for more than two decades.

Nazarbayev's press service said he met with key economic officials on Monday when Samruk-Kazyna's head Umirzak Shukeyev told him that following the restructuring BTA's foreign debt has been reduced to $750 million from $9 billion and new management installed.

"In this respect, the head of state ordered (Samruk-Kazyna) to exit the capital of BTA, Alliance Bank and Temirbank during the current year," the press service said.

UNEXPECTED DECISION

The mechanism of how the state intends to re-privatise the three banks remains unclear.

Samruk-Kazyna had originally intended to sell its stakes in the banks within two years after the their nationalisation but would wait for a better price if needed.

Nazarbayev's order accelerating the pace of the sale puzzled some analysts watching the country's financial markets.

"I think it will not be easy to find strong foreign banks for (buying into) these Kazakh banks," said Armen Dallakyan, an analyst at rating agency Moody's.

"If the three banks are sold to local investors or other banks (local or foreign) with limited financial strength, this will reduce the likelihood of government support for these banks and may increase corporate governance risks."

Mikhail Nikitin, an analyst at VTB Capital, said that a sale was unlikely to make a profit for the state.

The sale is theoretically possible, he said. "As far as I understand, this is linked to the (authorities') willingness to reduce the foreign debt of Samruk-Kazyna and its companies, but here ... it all hinges on the terms of the deal," he said.

The head of Alliance had told Reuters in an interview on Jan. 25 that Samruk-Kazyna would decide in February whether to merge Alliance and Temirbank to create what would be one of the country's five biggest banks.

However, Bakhmutova said on Monday that should the opportunity arise the fund would be prepared to sell its stakes in Alliance and Temirbank separately.

"If investors appear right now, then that would be welcome; we are ready to negotiate with them," she said.

In April 2009 Alliance became the first Kazakh lender to default on its debt, citing management fraud and bad loans. It completed its restructuring in March 2010, with debt cut to $1.1 billion from $4.5 billion.

On July 1, 2010, Temirbank completed its debt restructuring, a year after Samruk-Kazyna had taken a majority stake in return for financial aid. (Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Greg Mahlich)