News

Under Announcement No. 29 issued on October 12 by China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration, the VAT export rebate on new energy vehicles falls from 13% to 9% from April 1, 2027, based on the export date on the customs declaration; consumption-tax treatment is unchanged. The annex lists 67 tariff lines for complete vehicles, including electric buses and trucks, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars, with no component codes. Kazakh import charges are unaffected; dealers and assemblers should review post-April 2027 contracts and kit classification.

Kazakhstan’s government has approved an investment agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Construction and Aktobe Steklo LLP to build a glass packaging plant in Aktobe. Investment: 60 billion tenge; capacity: 256 million units a year. Construction starts in Q4 2026; commissioning in 2029. The region has no local glass manufacturing; up to 80% of output is planned for the domestic market, the rest for Central Asia. For investors, the deal signals localization in processing and future packaging supply for food producers.

Kazakhstan Transport Week runs 14–16 October at EXPO in Astana, combining the 29th TransLogistica Kazakhstan exhibition and the 8th New Silk Way forum. Organisers expect 250+ exhibitors from about 20 countries, including China. The agenda covers BreakBulk project cargo, warehousing, a 'Digital Silk Road' AI session, EAEU/ECO/CIS transport ministers' meetings and Trans-Caspian route events.

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) says transit on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route reached 44,200 TEU in January–August 2026, up 58% from 28,000 a year earlier. Container trains from China rose 84% to 419 from 228. The route association’s working group discussed targets of 600 trains in 2026 and 800–1,000 in 2027, draft agreements on dedicated vessels, and 2027 tariffs. The often-quoted “about 77,000 TEU in 2025” uses a wider definition and should not be compared directly with KTZ’s figures.

Updated National Bank of Kazakhstan data show gross FDI inflows of about $9.36 billion in H1 2026, down 7.8% year on year. China invested $1.47 billion, up 4.9%, ranking third, and its net inflow rose from $185 million to $695 million. Capital is moving from mining into construction, trade and finance, which means more competition and more potential partners for Chinese contractors and distributors.

Kazakhstan's National Bank and Finance Ministry said on October 8 that J.P. Morgan has placed the country's local-currency government bonds on GBI-EM Index Watch-Positive after its 2026 review, with a provisional 0.48% weight in GBI-EM Global Diversified if admitted. Over up to 12 months the bank will test foreign access, settlement and liquidity – a process Chinese firms borrowing in tenge should watch for its effect on local funding costs.

AIX said on October 9 that turnover for the first nine months of 2026 exceeded $1.9 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier, with September a record month at $562 million. The third quarter brought renminbi listings from KazMunayGas, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and a sovereign panda bond, plus voluntary carbon credit trading from September 10. For Chinese investors, AIX is emerging as a venue linking Kazakh issuers to renminbi capital.

Qazpost and YTO Express have agreed to speed up Almaty SkyHub, a cross-border logistics hub to be built in phases over about five years, starting with warehousing and core facilities. YTO says it is open to further investment in Kazakhstan. At a September 25 meeting with President Tokayev, the hub was described as a node for fast processing of goods bound for the EU, EAEU and Central Asia; the Qazpost-YTO venture has delivered 12.5 million parcels, per the readout. Pinduoduo said a joint project would launch in Kazakhstan in October, format undisclosed.

Allur vice president Maxim Myagchilov said in late September that assembly of Li Auto vehicles at the SaryarkaAvtoProm plant in Kostanay will begin in November 2026. The first models are the L6, L7 and L9 hybrids, capacity is up to 10,000 cars a year, production starts as SKD assembly, and output will initially serve Kazakhstan only, with exports to Central Asia and the EAEU still under study. The two companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement in late June; it is Li Auto’s first production outside China. Prices will be announced at launch.

As of October 12, Kazakhstan's QazETA is still running as a pilot. The Interior Ministry says visa-free travelers may apply voluntarily and free of charge, and lacking one is no reason for refusal. The "from November 1" dates come from Serbia's foreign ministry and are unconfirmed by Kazakhstan. Law No. 326-VIII already defines the electronic entry permit and its fee, while the government will decide which countries it covers. We explain the legal text, how to apply in the pilot, and what it means for Chinese business travelers, drivers and employers.

The international container hub at Aktau Port is in operation and has handled its first container train. The project brings together KTZh, Aktau International Sea Commercial Port and Lianyungang Port Group; construction started in November 2024. Phase one lifts the port’s container capacity to about 140,000 TEU a year; after two phases the target is about 240,000 TEU. Most cargo is China transit on the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor.

On 6 October Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev told Kazakhstan’s government that all 390 km of the Trans-Caspian subsea cable between Sumgait and Aktau had been laid, with launch planned for October. The 4,511-km West–East backbone from Aktau to Khorgos on the Chinese border is half built and due to be commissioned by year-end. How it will interconnect with Chinese networks, and on what terms capacity will be sold, has not been disclosed.

Using a hypothetical Chinese-owned logistics company, this report walks through the taxes it must file in Kazakhstan, the filing and payment deadlines, and the main compliance risks under the Tax Code No. 214-VIII of July 18, 2025, in force since January 1, 2026: structure, permanent establishment, VAT, withholding on payments to China and tax arrears. Standard VAT is 16%, the VAT registration threshold is 10,000 MRP (KZT 43.25 million in 2026), and standard CIT is 20%. The 2027 amendments are still a draft and are not treated as law. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Construction is under way at the QazCem Industries cement plant in Aktobe region's Baiganin district, a partnership between Kazakhstan's Primus Capital and Sinoma Cement, part of China's CNBM. The plant targets 1.3 million tonnes a year on a $176.9 million budget, with about 75% due to be spent by end-2026 and the clinker line slated for the second half of 2027.

For Chinese executives investing, trading or moving freight in Kazakhstan, and for teams putting AI to work on compliance, customs and customer queries. On October 12, Chinese business commentator Liu Run described how he organises his own AI work: one always-on hub, two touchpoints for checking results and giving instructions, and two public interfaces. We borrow the idea and apply it to running a business in Kazakhstan, using our own knowledge base, news, services and project listings as a worked example.

For Chinese companies entering Kazakhstan and teams planning to use AI there. On October 10 Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella argued on X that frontier AI models should be managed as insider risks: capability can come from outside, but authority and controls stay outside the model. We distil four ideas and, using our coverage of the Middle Corridor, Aktau port, Khorgos and the Jiangsu Center, show how to build an investment, trade and logistics setup that is observable, verifiable and can be stopped.

Chinese companies heading to Kazakhstan and Central Asia now have a service point in Astana. As the platform operator confirmed on October 11, the Jiangsu Center in Central Asia offers warehousing, office space, company registration, legal, tax, market development and government relations services, delivered by Suhao Central Asia Jiangsu Center company (Suhao Central Asia Jiangsu Center), set up in Astana by Suhao Eurasia Interconnect Group. It works with a Khorgos forward warehouse and a mini-program.

In the TURAN special economic zone in Turkistan, Chinese-owned Hygeia Textile Kazakhstan is building a cotton yarn and denim fabric mill on a 20-hectare site. The project costs KZT 25.8 billion; the regional administration plans to launch the first phase by the end of 2026, with about 1,000 jobs at full capacity.

At the Kazakhstan–China Investment Forum in Almaty on 25 September 2026, China's BeOne Medicines and Kazakh pharmaceutical distributor INKAR presented a project to localize production of innovative cancer drugs in Kazakhstan. The product list, investment, site and timeline have not been officially disclosed.

China's East Hope Group bought an operating grain elevator in Kazakhskoye village, Zhaksy district, Akmola region, and is rebuilding it. The investment is USD 6 million and about 80% of the work is done. Once upgraded, the facility will receive, store and process wheat and produce up to 100,000 tonnes of feed flour a year; launch is planned for October 2026, with about 30 permanent jobs.