Latest news with #Almaty
Trade Arabia
2 hours ago
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi takes off to Almaty
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the capital's first low-cost carrier, has launched its inaugural flight between Abu Dhabi and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Starting from June 3 with a frequency of three weekly flights, the new route underscores the airline's continued commitment to enhancing connectivity between the UAE Central Asia. The flights will be operated on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. 'We are pleased to inaugurate our non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Almaty, a route that underscores our commitment to expanding affordable travel options across key international destinations directly from the UAE capital,' said Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia. 'This launch offers passengers the opportunity to explore the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of one of Central Asia's most vibrant cities, while also providing travellers from Kazakhstan with seamless access to the dynamic capital of the UAE.' Elena Sorlini, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: " The launch of Air Arabia Abu Dhabi's direct service to Almaty marks a valuable addition to our growing network at Zayed International Airport. This new connection enhances travel options for our passengers and reflects our ongoing efforts to strengthen Abu Dhabi's position as a key global hub. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this route will have in promoting tourism, cultural exchange, and economic collaboration between the UAE and Kazakhstan.' This new route further strengthens Air Arabia Abu Dhabi's expanding network, reinforcing its commitment to delivering value-driven connectivity across key global markets. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi operates a modern fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft, the most modern and best-selling single aisle aircraft in the world. Offering passengers, a value-added onboard experience, the aircraft is equipped with 'SkyTime', a free in-flight streaming, and 'SkyCafe' an onboard catering service at affordable prices. In addition, Air Arabia offers 'Air Rewards' an innovative and generous loyalty program through which passengers can earn, transfer, and spend points. - TradeArabia News Service
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Dining across the divide: ‘She said ‘woke' had gone too far'
Occupation Early retired primary headteacher Voting record A diehard Lib Dem, but will vote tactically and loves Labour's Cat Smith, who she says is a great local MP Amuse bouche She's a governor of two independent schools in Kazakhstan, one in its capital, Astana, and one in Almaty Occupation Geography lecturer Voting record Used to vote Labour, but was put off by their stance on the Palestinian cause and their attitude to the left. Now votes Green Amuse bouche Once, she and some flatmates made their own version of Findus Crispy Pancakes from scratch Emma She seemed very nice, very smiley. We were having a bit of banter outside straightaway. Sue The first two minutes were awkward, but once we had looked at the menu we didn't shut up. Emma We both had surf and turf. She ordered it and I had to ask the waitress how to use the tools to eat the lobster. It was delicious. Sue I had chocolate mousse for dessert, and Emma had raspberry and elderflower sorbet. It was beautiful; the whole place was gorgeous. Emma The main bone of contention was that she said 'woke' had gone too far. It was originally an African-American term that means being aware of structural racism. So to suggest it's gone too far is to suggest anti-racism has gone too far, that social justice has, which it obviously hasn't. It must be very frustrating for African Americans, that their language gets co-opted. It's important to remember who it belongs to and not let it be neutralised. Sue If by 'woke' you're talking about protected characteristics, then obviously I respect those; they are absolutely essential. But I feel it stifles free speech, and those who are marginalised become even more so. Emma Sue has worked in schools in a lot of really deprived communities. Her concern is that when you get this intellectual censoriousness of liberal identity politics, the people the left should be serving are excluded. Sue If you over-police and don't look at context, you won't have any idea where people are coming from; whether they might be receptive to changing their view. You have to really work to understand what it's like when you haven't got a voice. Somebody who hasn't had a privileged, middle-class education, who lives a hand-to-mouth existence – their reality is going to be polar opposite. Sue I bet Emma is an amazing lecturer. She speaks with such passion about the young people she's working with. And I was talking with equal passion about the children I've worked with – lack of school readiness is really striking. We had children whose socialisation, speech, potty training, just general physical strength, weren't where they should have been. They hadn't got the pincer grip needed to write because they'd used screens and simply swiped. Emma We're both quite anti social media; neither of us use it. We both think young people need to spend more time outside, and we've seen negative impacts in the cohorts we teach. Nowadays, students come to university and it will be their first time pushed into independence, very high stakes. I think it affects their happiness. They seem very stressed, and you shouldn't be stressed when you're 19 – you should be living your best life. Emma I work in the environment department at the university and I live in an eco-community, so all my friends and colleagues were saying: 'You've got to say this about net zero, you've got to say that.' And then I met Sue and she said: 'I've got an environmental science degree, I'm not against net zero.' Sue She thought I was going to be all 'Drill, baby, drill'. She said: 'Shall I tell you about my eco house?' And I said: 'Yes, please.' Emma I almost felt like I doing a Blind Date. We had loads of very personal conversations, and kept saying: 'This doesn't go in the paper.' We ended up going very deep. Sue We had so much in common. She's the type of person I would want to be friends with. She's absolutely authentic and I trusted her. Additional reporting: Kitty Drake Emma and Sue ate at Quite Simply French in Lancaster. Want to meet someone from across the divide? Find out how to take part
Associated Press
26-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Wildberries launches new analytics, delivery tools for sellers in Kazakhstan
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 May 2025 – Wildberries, a leading e-commerce platform in Eurasia, has launched new tools for sellers in Kazakhstan to help boost sales on the marketplace through an AI-based analytics service and to provide greater control over parcel delivery timing to customers. Wildberries has extended its analytics service, called Jam, to sellers in Kazakhstan. The service, which is available by subscription following a free trial period, leverages advanced analytics to provide insights about the seller's current and target audience, product search statistics, sales funnel performance and seasonality, and other key metrics that impact sales. The Jam analytics service also uses an AI neural network to generate and edit images, product descriptions and promo pages to help sellers reach their target audience and convert more product views into sales. In one key feature of the Wildberries neural network, sellers can upload images of a clothing item to produce a photo of the item worn by an AI-generated 'model', thereby saving on potential marketing costs. Wildberries has also started offering Delivery by Seller (DBS) and Express Delivery by Seller (EDBS — within 4 hours) options for sellers in Kazakhstan. These options have proven efficient for sellers who prefer to deliver goods themselves, bypassing Wildberries' warehouses and pickup points. They are particularly suitable for sellers of large furniture and appliances, perishable products, and fresh flowers. Wildberries is actively expanding its operations in Kazakhstan – the largest economy in Central Asia – to meet growing demand for online shopping. Sales by Kazakhstan-based merchants on the Wildberries platform nearly doubled in 2024 with an increase of 99 percent year-on-year. To support this growth, Wildberries doubled its network of pick-up points in the country in 2024 and is currently building logistics centers in the two largest cities, Almaty and Astana. Hashtag: #Wildberries The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About Wildberries Established in 2004 in Russia, Wildberries is a leading e-commerce platform operating in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, while also partnering with sellers in China and UAE. Wildberries provides a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to support customers and sellers, along with a developed logistics network spanning more than 130 facilities and 70,000 pick-up points across its markets. As of 2025, Wildberries serves over 79 million customers and processes more than 20 million orders per day.
Malay Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Wildberries launches new analytics, delivery tools for sellers in Kazakhstan
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 May 2025 – Wildberries, a leading e-commerce platform in Eurasia, has launched new tools for sellers in Kazakhstan to help boost sales on the marketplace through an AI-based analytics service and to provide greater control over parcel delivery timing to has extended its analytics service, called Jam, to sellers in Kazakhstan. The service, which is available by subscription following a free trial period, leverages advanced analytics to provide insights about the seller's current and target audience, product search statistics, sales funnel performance and seasonality, and other key metrics that impact Jam analytics service also uses an AI neural network to generate and edit images, product descriptions and promo pages to help sellers reach their target audience and convert more product views into sales. In one key feature of the Wildberries neural network, sellers can upload images of a clothing item to produce a photo of the item worn by an AI-generated "model", thereby saving on potential marketing has also started offering Delivery by Seller (DBS) and Express Delivery by Seller (EDBS — within 4 hours) options for sellers in Kazakhstan. These options have proven efficient for sellers who prefer to deliver goods themselves, bypassing Wildberries' warehouses and pickup points. They are particularly suitable for sellers of large furniture and appliances, perishable products, and fresh is actively expanding its operations in Kazakhstan – the largest economy in Central Asia – to meet growing demand for online shopping. Sales by Kazakhstan-based merchants on the Wildberries platform nearly doubled in 2024 with an increase of 99 percent support this growth, Wildberries doubled its network of pick-up points in the country in 2024 and is currently building logistics centers in the two largest cities, Almaty and #Wildberries The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About Wildberries Established in 2004 in Russia, Wildberries is a leading e-commerce platform operating in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, while also partnering with sellers in China and UAE. Wildberries provides a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to support customers and sellers, along with a developed logistics network spanning more than 130 facilities and 70,000 pick-up points across its markets. As of 2025, Wildberries serves over 79 million customers and processes more than 20 million orders per day.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (STU:H4L1) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Net Interest ...
Release Date: May 20, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (STU:H4L1) reported a 30% year-on-year increase in net interest income for Q1 2025. The bank's digital ecosystem, particularly the Helix Superra app, saw significant growth with a 30% increase in transaction volume and 7.7 million monthly active users. Halyk Bank holds a strong market position with a 28.8% market share in deposits and a 20% market share in retail loans in Kazakhstan. The B2B segment showed robust performance with a 22.4% growth in the corporate loan book and a 29% increase in the number of payments processed. The bank's net interest margin improved to 7.5% in Q1 2025, up from 7% in Q1 2024, indicating efficient interest income management. There was a slight increase in non-performing loans (NPLs), which rose from 6.3% to 6.8% due to a moratorium on selling problem retail loans to collection agencies. The bank faces potential impacts from a new tax code, including a proposed 10% tax on excess profits, which could affect future earnings. Operating expenses increased by 22.2% year-on-year, driven by salary indexation and employee benefits, impacting the cost-to-income ratio. Retail loan growth was slower in Q1 2025 compared to previous years, partly due to economic challenges and inflationary pressures. The bank's ability to manage retail NPLs is constrained by regulatory restrictions, potentially affecting the NPL ratio and cost of risk. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with STU:H4L1. Q: Can you give us a sense of the impact of the new tax code on your SME loan book growth and quality? A: The new tax code discussions are ongoing, with some changes potentially affecting 2025 results, but most changes will impact from 2026. A proposed 10% tax on excess profits, including state securities and repo transactions, is being discussed. The exact impact is unclear, but it's expected to be immaterial in the context of overall bank results. (Unidentified_4) Q: Do you see a need to revise your guidance for this year given the changes to the tax regime? A: We typically update guidance after publishing six-month results. Current tax code discussions are ongoing, and without final wording, updating guidance is premature. Broader tax code changes will be implemented from January 1, 2026, affecting operations from 2026, not 2025. (Unidentified_4) Q: Why did the regulator impose a ban on selling retail NPLs to collection agencies, and how does it affect your NPL ratio and cost of risk? A: The moratorium was implemented on April 1, 2024, lasting until April 1, 2026, complicating NPL management by delaying cash flow realization. This has impacted the NPL ratio, but we do not see deterioration in portfolio quality. We expect future retail loans to have higher quality due to tightened credit policies. (Unidentified_9) Q: Are you experiencing more competition for retail deposits compared to a year ago? A: Yes, competition for retail deposits has increased, leading to interest rate hikes by several banks. Despite this, our retail deposits have performed well, with minor reductions attributed to currency appreciation. (Unidentified_4) Q: What is the impact of the excess profit tax on state securities, and how does it affect your effective tax rate? A: The excess profit tax on state securities and potentially repo transactions is expected to be relatively immaterial. The effective tax rate for this year is uncertain due to ongoing discussions and potential changes in regulation. (Unidentified_4) For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
