On July 8, 2009, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the Republic of Kazakhstan.

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview that Russia's economy is "withering," and suggested the trend will force the country to make accommodations to the West on a wide range of national-security issues, including loosening its grip on former Soviet republics and shrinking its vast nuclear arsenal.

ALMATY, July 24 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's largest bank BTA BTAS.KZ estimates the haircuts it will offer to creditors at 66 to 97 percent, excluding trade finance, the bank said on Friday.

ALMATY, July 24 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's largest bank BTA BTAS.KZ has halted interest payments on its debt, the bank, which stopped principal repayments in April, said on Friday.

ALMATY, July 22 (Reuters) - Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas [KMG.UL] said on Wednesday its consolidated net income fell to 39.2 billion tenge ($260 million) in the first half from 271.5 billion tenge in the same period of 2008.

ALMATY, July 20 (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) has cut lending lines to top Kazakh banks and will quit local interbank deposit indicator KazPrime, whose manager said more members could leave soon as credit limits tighten.

MOSCOW, July 20 (Reuters) Kazakh oil company Zhaikmunai (ZKMq.L) sold $300 million worth of new Global Depositary Receipts for $4 apiece, a source close to the placement said on Monday.

Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, lies thousands of miles from London's trading rooms - let alone the political lobbyists in Washington. This summer, however, Grigori Marchenko, the Kazakh central bank governor, has reason to follow the US and UK debate about the future of credit derivatives with particular interest.

SEOUL, July 14 (Reuters) - SK Telecom Co (017670.KS), South Korea's top mobile operator, said on Tuesday it was considering bidding for a 51 percent stake in Kazakhtelecom's KZTK.KZ wireless unit Mobile Telecom Service.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev yesterday announced Moscow could still join the World Trade Organisation on its own, in his biggest policy clash in public with Vladimir Putin.

BAISERKE, Kazakhstan, July 10 (Reuters) - China moved a step closer to securing a new source of gas supply on Friday when Kazakhstan finished building its segment of a pan-Central Asian gas pipeline designed to address China's growing energy needs.

BAISERKE, Kazakhstan, July 10 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan wants to reduce the cost of developing its giant Kashagan oilfield by 30 percent, the chief executive of Kazakh state oil company KazMunaiGas [KMG.UL] said on Friday.

ALMATY, July 8 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's fourth-largest bank Alliance (ALLBq.L) said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with creditors on restructuring its $4 billion debt, putting an end to months of uncertainty over its future.

ALMATY, July 7 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's banking watchdog has suspended the former chief executive of Alliance bank (ALLBq.L) from his current job as head of Eurasian bank EUBN.KZ, another local lender, Eurasian bank said on Tuesday.