Activity of Kazakhstan’s service sector increases

According to the headline Freedom Holding Corp. PMI® Business Activity Index, there is a sixth consecutive monthly growth in output across the Kazakh service sector in June. Notably, the index increased for four months in a row in May, at 55.1, up from 54.3 — the highest recorded point since March 2019.
As Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of the Financial Analysis Department at Freedom Finance Global, said, new contracts and marketing strategies revived the market and supported employment. The growth of sales prices has reflected rising operating costs.
He also mentioned signals of a probable market correction, such as slowing down of the growth of business activity’s pace compared to May, which had the strongest increase in the past two years, in spite of dropping expectations for the year ahead to a 12-month low.
According to the experts, increased caution of businesses regarding the second half of 2025, growing overall uncertainty amid intensified competition, foreign trade risks (including the ruble factor), and changes in tax policy may cause such dynamics, against the backdrop of reaching a peak in business activity growth.
Nevertheless, Abdikarimov emphasized that business expectations are still optimistic.
Although the slipping of the Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI from 51.3 in May to 49.7 in June signaled the first deterioration in business conditions in 16 months, the index pointed to only a marginal worsening in the health of the sector. Meanwhile, the first reduction in manufacturing output since February 2024 was central to the deterioration in operating conditions. There was a notable production decline amid softer new order growth and reports of pauses to repair machinery.

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