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On October 19 Kazakhstan’s AI ministry said all 215MW of Data Center Valley’s first phase in Ekibastuz is reserved, the first 50MW data center is due in Q2 2027, and power starts at 2.5 US cents per kWh. It put total investment at about $5 billion, half the $10 billion cited in June when deals with Firebird and NVIDIA were signed, without explaining the gap. Customers and contract values were not disclosed. The 215MW matches the site’s operating substation and exceeds the 186MW planned for commissioning in 2027.

Universal Energy opened its Mars Wind and Jupiter Wind farms in Kostanay on October 14: 100MW from 16 Chinese-made 6.25MW turbines, 38.6 billion tenge invested and up to 380 million kWh a year by the government’s figure. A state settlement center buys the output under a 20-year term; formal commissioning papers are due in November–December. The region uses about 0.45GW but generates about 0.12GW. The 1,000MW Turan wind project with 300MW of storage, which Universal Energy says it won, was approved by the government on October 1: about 380 billion tenge, online by end-2029.

Annual inflation in Kazakhstan fell to 9.3% in September from 9.8% in August, with prices up 0.6% on the month, the Bureau of National Statistics says. Food rose 8.5% year on year, non-food goods 11% and paid services 8.9%. The National Bank announces its next base rate decision on October 23; the rate stands at 16.25%. In an AFK survey, 85% of market professionals expect a cut to 15.75–16%, most of them by 25 bp. In September the regulator said room for easing was limited and raised its 2027 inflation forecast to 6.5–8.5%.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Azat Sultanov told the government on October 13 that Kazakhstan has threshed 23 million tonnes of grain, with 96% of 15.6 million hectares of grain and pulses harvested at an average 15.2 centners per hectare. Oilseeds reached 3.7 million tonnes, 2.5 times last year's 1.4 million at the same date, and a record above 5 million tonnes is expected. Over 72.4% of wheat delivered to elevators is class 3, and new-crop grain exports rose 13% in September. For crushers, millers and traders shipping to China, the raw-material picture is shifting.

Samruk-Kazyna has set up a USD 1.5 billion MTN program; the memorandum dated September 30 was published on HKEX on October 2 and on AIX on October 14. It is a framework: size, currency and coupon are set per issue. Arrangers are Citigroup, Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered; listings on the LSE ISM, HKEX, KASE and AIX, under English law. Renminbi notes start at CNY 1 million. For each foreign issue at least 30% must be offered via KASE/AIX and 20% placed there, with exceptions from October 21. Income on AIX-listed notes is tax-exempt until 2066.

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan has approved up to CNY 814 million for Altyn Dala Energy to build phase one of a 1 GW renewables project: 60 MW of solar for Kazatomprom and 185 MW for KEGOC in Shieli district, Kyzylorda region. Phase one costs CNY 1.2 billion, so the bank covers about 67.8%. The loan runs up to 15 years at China 5Y LPR + 1.57%, floating – about 5.07% with the LPR at 3.50% on September 20. Financing opens in 2026. Beneficiaries are Ulan Dzhaparov (75%) and Samruk-Energo (25%). EPC, equipment and tariff are undisclosed.

At an oil and gas machine-building forum in Uralsk on October 16, operators and Kazakh manufacturers signed contracts worth about KZT 320bn plus cooperation memorandums. The Ministry of Energy says TCO, NCOC and KPO account for about 70% of sector procurement; in 2025 they bought KZT 2.8trn of goods, works and services (+4%), with local content at 56%, or KZT 1.6trn. About 800 people attended and some 40 local manufacturers exhibited; Silleno and KMG PetroChem also presented catalogues. A Tengiz local content memorandum was signed. Signatories, terms and products were not disclosed.

On 15 October 2026 Tokayev and Aliyev launched the Trans-Caspian fibre-optic line. Akorda says it is 380 km long, built by Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom, and will form part of a route linking Central Asia and China with Europe. Samruk-Kazyna adds: Aktau–Sumgayit, design capacity at least 400 Tbit/s, subsea laying finished 5 August 2026 via CaspiLink JV, also supporting the Ekibastuz Data Centre Valley.

Kursiv and infohub.kz reported on 16 October 2026 that Almaty Region akim Chingis Arinov met a Chinese delegation led by Tong Xiaojia, head of Nanjing’s Xuanwu district people’s government, at the Sokol complex in Ili district. Talks covered urban projects, production sites and a transport-logistics hub. Neither outlet reported signed agreements, investment amounts or launch dates.

Inbusiness.kz and Zakon.kz (16 Oct 2026), citing Baiterek National Investment Holding, report that a delegation led by CEO Rustam Karagoishin held Beijing meetings with ICBC’s Liao Lin, China Development Bank’s Huang Zhiqiang and Bank of China’s Liu Chenggang on long-term financing for manufacturing, agribusiness, infrastructure and energy, and on preparing the holding’s debut offshore renminbi (dim sum) bond issue. No size, coupon or timetable was disclosed.

On 6 October Deputy PM Zhaslan Madiyev told the government that Data Center Valley in Ekibastuz will commission 186MW in 2027 and 109MW more in Q2 2028, 295MW in total, or about 30% of its 1GW potential. Land, an operator and GRES-1 power are secured and building has begun. The phases have not been broken down; only Kazakhtelecom's first 50MW facility has a firm date, June 2027. The $10bn Firebird package is a framework agreement plus a term sheet, not an investment contract. In July Kazakhtelecom signed a basic-principles agreement with China's Hengtong; no value was disclosed.

On 16 October Samruk-Kazyna priced its first Dim Sum bond, raising CNH3bn: CNH2bn of three-year notes at 2.15% and CNH1bn of five-year notes at 2.30%. Orders topped three times the size; the notes trade on HKEX and AIX and settle on 23 October. Both coupons were 55bp inside initial guidance, worth roughly CNH16.5m a year in interest on a rough estimate. The three-year printed 3bp below the yield on the fund's April Panda bond and 35bp below Mashreq's three-year Dim Sum deal the same week. Issue prices and yields have not been disclosed.

BI Group said on October 15 that its BI-Industrial unit has finished full-cycle EPC work on five of the 12 facilities at the Soda Ash plant in Kazakhstan's Zhambyl region, including a 658-hectare evaporation pond, a 25-hectare solid-waste store, a limestone crushing line rated at 1.2 million tonnes a year and an 8.7-hectare residential camp. Turkish-backed Qazaq Soda is the investor and China's CAMCE the general contractor. Phase one is designed for 500,000 tonnes of soda ash a year; the government says it is due for completion in Q4 2026. This is a contractor milestone, not plant start-up.

DBK project card: TOO Kazmeal LTD (North Kazakhstan) — CNY 45.0m pre-export credit line at 5.9% for 36 months from the line-opening agreement date, to buy wheat, barley, bran and meal for export feed flour. DBK funds the full amount; no borrower equity. Status: borrower fulfilling suspensive conditions — agreement not shown as signed; not a disbursement. Kursiv estimates about KZT 3bn at the National Bank rate (media conversion). Beneficiaries: ms. Xia Bing, mr. Pan Yu.

Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna opened books on October 15 for offshore renminbi (CNH) notes in 3- and 5-year tranches, with initial price guidance around 2.70% and 2.85%. Settlement is set for October 23, with listings planned in Hong Kong and on AIX. Eleven of the 13 international banks named on the term sheet are Chinese. Final coupons and size will be fixed at pricing. In April the fund sold a debut RMB3bn three-year panda bond at 2.18%.

Kazakhstan's National Statistics Bureau said on October 15 that foreign trade turnover reached $102.96 billion in January–August 2026, up 12.8% in nominal terms, with exports at $60.39 billion and imports at $42.57 billion. Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same total that day. By the bureau's preliminary figures, China took 17.6% of exports, behind Italy's 18%, and 29.8% of imports, behind Russia's 31%.

Prosecutors in Kazakhstan's Akmola region said on October 15 they helped secure approval of technical solutions for discharging treated wastewater at a grain-processing project led by China's Dalian Hesheng Holdings and local partner Azia Altyn Dan in Arshaly district. The statement was carried by Informburo, Inbusiness.kz and Kapital.kz. The office valued the project at 385 billion tenge, with about 800 jobs planned.

Hong Kong-listed FDB Holdings (1826) said on October 14 that its indirect wholly owned Kazakh subsidiary, Dalan Stroy Service LLP, signed an EPC agreement on October 13 with HuaLin Energy Ltd. to build a 4.5MW natural gas power generation facility in Atyrau. The project is estimated at about $11.8 million, of which roughly $6.0 million is Dalan's fixed tax-inclusive contract price. It is the group's first EPC project in Kazakhstan.

Chery's Jetour T1 crossover, to be produced at the SaryarkaAvtoProm plant in Kostanay, has received Kazakh vehicle type approval (OTTS) valid until October 9, 2029, according to Kursiv and the Russian site Kitayskie Avtomobili. The approval covers a front-wheel-drive 1.5-litre version not previously sold in Kazakhstan and a 2.0-litre all-wheel-drive model. Launch timing, output and prices have not been announced.

KazMunayGas is negotiating with Sinopec, CNOOC, Shell and Chevron to form a consortium for a regional study of the Precaspian Basin's subsalt formations. The plan includes about 60,000 line-km of 2D seismic and targets depths of 5.5 to 10 km, against a current maximum of about 5.5 km. KMG puts the subsalt potential at up to 60 billion tonnes of oil equivalent, a geological estimate rather than proven reserves. Stakes, cost sharing and the operator have not been announced.