Central Asia in August 2026: the most important developments in economy
In August 2026 the economic news from Central Asia centred on Kazakhstan's energy sector. Exxon, which operates the Tengiz field, warned on 20 August that Kazakhstan's largest oil field is expected to peak within years. Kazakhstan was considering the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and Baku-Supsa as alternative oil export routes, and reports on 27 August said it was hesitating to meet the Kremlin's energy demands. The country began assembling its first wind power equipment at a new plant in Shu, and first-half uranium output rose 9 percent. Kazakhstan also announced a tax amnesty on 11 August to bring home crypto assets held abroad, cashless payments rose 9.6 percent in June, and Russia overtook China as the main supplier of goods in the first half of the year. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan completed a key stage of the Trans-Caspian digital link.
Uzbekistan reported more than 600,000 operating businesses. Industry became the main driver of growth in the first half, and Tashkent accounted for 41 percent of market services. The payment system Humo tripled its first-half profit to 1.2 trillion soums ($96 million) after its privatization. Uzbekistan sought more Chinese investment beyond the capital, with a Chinese company planning a $50 million poultry project, and reviewed a $3.6 billion project portfolio with South Korea's export-import bank. India said it would expand cooperation on rare earths and mining, and the first "Slavic Caravan" train brought Belarusian goods to the country.
Kyrgyzstan's economy grew 11.1 percent in the first seven months, with fixed capital investment up 58.8 percent, and it exported nearly 20,000 tons of dairy products in the first half. Tajikistan's wheat imports rose while its domestic harvest declined, and it requested to import 2.5 million tons of oil and fuel from Iran. In Turkmenistan, Dayhanbank handled more than half of non-cash ATM transactions, and Rysgal became the largest mobile banking provider.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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