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Our guest is Okhonov Farhad Rashidovich, Chairman of the Board of Halyk Finance. The accumulative element of the pension system is the object of constant public criticism. One of the problems is the low investment profitability. During the period of the UAPF's existence (2013-2023), the accumulated investment yield amounted to 139.2% with accumulated official inflation of 153.8%. At the same time, during this time, the tenge exchange rate weakened by 202%.
For two weeks we have been watching the rapid decline of the dollar. Since April 18, 2024, the dollar has fallen in price by 9 tenge against the tenge. What will happen next and whether it is worth running to banks and buying up currency now, he says Zakon.kz .
If you look at the relations between Kazakhstan and Russia from the outside, you can see the largest land border in the world in terms of length, and a huge number of bilateral agreements, unions and organizations that include both countries. However, it is worth looking deeper as it becomes obvious that most joint organizations do not work at the proper level, and agreements remain on paper.
Only 16% of Kazakhstanis consider themselves healthy. A unique study on the health of Kazakhstanis was conducted by the TALAP Center for Applied Research. In Almaty, people move less and sleep less, in Astana, they are more stressed and eat fast food, in Shymkent, there is a greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables, but only 7.3% of Kazakhstanis regularly visit a doctor for preventive examinations.
A major exclusive in the early days of 2024 – an interview given by the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to the Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper. The president devoted part of the detailed conversation to discussing a painful topic for the Republic - domestic violence. According to Tokayev, he "supports the tightening of punishment for domestic violence."
The war became a test for forecasters. Almost everyone identified the key point: the risk for Kazakhstan was not in Hormuz, but in the CPC, Tengiz, and export infrastructure. But beyond that, forecasts diverged. Some focused on GDP, others on the oil price, and still others on the tenge exchange rate. Reality showed that the key variable was not the Brent price, but the country’s ability to produce, export, and monetize oil.
The first material opens the TALAP series and sets the global context: strategic foresight is becoming part of contemporary management practice.
The second material shows how TALAP is turning the global practice of strategic foresight into its own tool for Kazakhstan.