In this issue:
President Dedicates New Astana City Hall
Small Business Sector Shows Strong Growth, A Sign of Growing Prosperity and Self-Reliance
Kazakh Woman Wins World Powerlifting Title in Cleveland
Happy New Year! --- Zana Zhylynyzben!
Space ship --- Alem kemesi
Strong woman --- Mykty aiyel
President Dedicates New Astana City Hall
President Nursultan Nazarbayev yesterday inaugurated the
new city hall on the left bank of the Ishim River in Astana.
The new 16 story building, of a unique architectural design, will
house the Mayor’s office and the city’s administration.
On the same day, the President also visited a new apartment
building and Duman, a new entertainment park. The park was
opened a year ago and today features a giant aquarium
complete with sharks and sting rays, as well as restaurants
and shops. Duman’s new central building, shaped like a traditional
Kazakh yurt (felt house), has a concert venue, and is surrounded
by theme park pavilions featuring different continents and cultures.
A Chinese pagoda will welcome visitors to a tea ceremony. The
Greek pavilion will feature replicas of ancient buildings from Athens.
The American exposition has replicas of the Statue of Liberty,
skyscrapers, a Native American wigwam and a modern symbol
of the U.S., a McDonald’s.
Small Business Sector Shows Strong Growth,
A Sign of Growing Prosperity and Self-Reliance
The number of small businesses in Kazakhstan showed nine percent within the past year, pointing to the fact more people are taking the initiative and building their own prosperity with their own hands, aided by relatively cheap bank financing.
Officials of the national Agency on Statistics announced this week that as of October 1 there were 137,700 active registered small enterprises in Kazakhstan, compared to 125,200 a year ago.
Kazakh private banks have been willing to lend money for small business. The rates are still high compared to U.S. and are often in double digits. Despite this there has been a steady lowering of rates within the last year as the economy continues to expand at almost 10 percent and the central bank reduces basic interest rates.
The majority of small businesses in Kazakhstan, almost 39 percent, specialize in commerce, auto repairs and production of household appliances. Statistics officials noted “such types of business activity are more easily available to small businesses because they do not require large initial investment and allow for a quick turnaround of available resources.”
Much smaller numbers of Kazakh small businesses are engaged in industrial production. About 8,300 companies fall in this category, a fraction more than last year.
The most profitable small businesses are the ones engaged in commerce, construction and finance. Almaty, Astana and the central region of Karaganda are the areas where the most profitable small companies are located.
The Agency on Statistics also announced that salaries in small businesses in the third quarter of 2004 reached, on average, 25,041 tenge a month ($1=130 tenge as of December 20), which is 24.7 percent higher than in the third quarter of last year. The highest average monthly salary was in businesses engaged in oil and gas production, where the average was more than 63,000 tenge, and in businesses engaged in research and development, paying more than 52,000 tenge. Small companies in oil producing Mangistau and Atyrau regions, in the former and the current capitals of Kazakhstan, Almaty and Astana, offered the highest average salaries.
Kazakh Woman Wins World Powerlifting Title in Cleveland
Tatyana Kudryavtseva, a security guard from the western Kazakhstan region of Mangistau, won the world championship title at the 15th annual International Powerlifting Federation’s World Bench Press Championship in Cleveland, Ohio, earlier this month. She smashed the world record.
Ms. Kudryavtseva is an ethnic Russian who weighs under 82.5 kilograms and holds 12 overall world records. She lifted 172.5 kilograms at the Cleveland contest in December, lifting more than twice her own weight.
More than 150 men and women from 32 nations took part in the competition. Ms. Kudryavtseva was the only woman on the team from Kazakhstan.
She works for a government company which provides specialized security services for government and private entities. Her coach, Imam Shakhmuradov, said her future plans include competing in the upcoming Asian championships in India and in another world championship to be held in Finland.
Things to Watch:
- A Russian cargo space ship is due to fly from Baikonur space launch site in Kazakhstan in the early hours of December 24 to bring urgently needed fresh supplies of oxygen, water and food to the two-man crew of the International Space Station in orbit.
- Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov has signed an agreement with his Russian counterpart to build a joint Kazakh-Russian space vehicle, called Baiterek (an ancient Kazakh word meaning “tree of life”. The Baiterek tower in Astana is 97 meters tall and a prominent feature of the capital’s skyline.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
