Kazakh economy grew 6% in Jan-MayThe economy of Kazakhstan expanded by 6% in the first five months of 2025, propelled by accelerated growth across key sectors including industry, construction, trade, transport and communications, the Ministry of National Economy said Wednesday.Industrial production expanded by 6.4%, with growth recorded in 17 regions.The Zhambyl region led with a 22.9% increase, supported by robust extraction of ores and increased output of fertilizers, Portland cement and sugar. The Turkistan and Zhetysu regions each posted gains of 14.8%, while the city of Almaty saw a 14.1% rise and Shymkent recorded growth of 18.9%.Agriculture saw a modest increase of 4%, slightly up from 3.9% in January-April of this year. The strongest agricultural growth was in the Atyrau region (up 10.4%), North Kazakhstan (up 7.5%) and Akmola (up 6.5%) - mainly due to increased livestock and poultry processing. Agricultural output rose by 6.3% in the Turkistan region, 3.6% in the Abay region and 4.8% in the Kostanay region.The construction sector demonstrated a significant 15.4% growth across the country, including an increase of 64.5% in the Kyzylorda region, 57,8% in the Kostanay region, and 46.6% in the Turkestan region.More than 6 million square meters of housing were commissioned in the reporting period, marking a 5.7% increase year over year. The most active residential construction was recorded in the Turkistan region (up 25.5%), the city of Shymkent (up 23.4%), and the Almaty region (up 20.4%).In the five months of this year, fixed capital investment rose by 18.2%, driven by spending on transportation, industrial and social infrastructure, equipment and new industrial facilities.In January-May 2025, trade turnover rose 7.8% or up from 7% in January-April 2025. Wholesale trade, which makes up around 68% of domestic trade, grew 8.3%, while retail trade increased by 6.5%. The Turkistan region saw the highest growth in trade at 66.2%, followed by the Akmola region (up 48.9%) and the city of Shymkent (up 23.1%).The communications sector grew 2.8%, largely fueled by a 13.9% increase in internet services.The transport sector expanded by 23.1%, with strong contributions from rail freight (up 17%) and pumping through pipelines (up 13.8%). The highest increases were in the Zhetysu (up 39.1%), Abay (up 17.7%) and Aktobe (up 11.3%) regions.President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has projected at least 5.5% GDP growth for 2025, though he characterized this as "not particularly ambitious." In a recent Al-Jazeera interview, he noted the government continues seeking additional drivers of economic expansion.However, several international institutions revised their 2025 growth forecasts downward for Kazakhstan in April. The World Bank expects Kazakhstan's GDP to expand by 4.5%, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast 4.9% growth. In May, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also lowered its projection to 4.9%. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's National Bank anticipates economic growth between 4.2% and 5.2% in 2025-2026.In January-April 2025, Kazakhstan's GDP increased by 6% growth, according to earlier reports. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX