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List of companies of Irad

From Irad Wiki, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of notable companies based in Irad. The country's economy rests on oil and gas from the lower Chu River Basin, antimony from the foothills of the Talas Alatau, hydroelectricity from the Toktogul Hydroelectric Complex, beef and horse exports, and services for the US forces at Talas Air Base. Almost all of its companies are in the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ); the Autonomous Tribal Regions (ATR) have herders' cooperatives but few other firms.[1]

Most large Iradi companies are former Soviet enterprises privatized during the US territorial administration (1992–2006) or after 2007, and few publish their shareholder registers or full accounts. The ISEZ government keeps minority stakes in several of them, and members of the Toktarov family head or chair a number of others, among them IradOne, Trans-Chuy Freight & Logistics and Nurzhan Agro-Industrial.[1][2] Because Irad has no code in ISO 3166-1 and its banks are outside the international card networks, some Iradi companies that deal with foreign platforms are registered abroad: the marketplace Jılmay and the music distributor Köch Audio in Kyrgyzstan, and the company behind the messaging app Tulpar in Delaware.[3] Companies price in both the Iradi som and the US dollar, which is also legal tender.

Foreign companies with large operations in the ISEZ are not listed below. They include the Mexican meat company SuKarne and the US food company Conagra in the Talas Agribusiness Export Zone, the Chinese textile company Xinjiang Lihua (see Xinjiang Lihua Cotton Facilities), the franchised restaurants of KFC Irad and, on a reduced scale since 2021, Chevron in the oil fields. The Kazakh mobile operator Beeline Kazakhstan reaches Iradi customers through its network partner Torgoy. Foreign partners also hold the minority of the Iradi Petroleum Transit Consortium, which owns the oil export pipeline to KazTransOil's network in Kazakhstan.[1]

Largest firms

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Irad lists the largest domestic companies as follows. Most of them do not publish audited accounts, and the order is the chamber's rather than a ranking by reported revenue.[1]

  1. NurGaz (Nurzhan Oil and Gas Company): oil and gas, refining and fuel retail, Nurzhan
  2. Attelkom: telecommunications and internet, Talas
  3. IradOne: broadcasting, Talas
  4. Talasbank (Bank of Talas): banking, Talas
  5. Sary-Bulak Antimony Works (SBAW): antimony mining, Sary-Bulak
  6. Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate: horse breeding and export, Talas
  7. Trans-Chuy Freight & Logistics: bonded trucking, Nurzhan
  8. Zhetysu Industrial Textiles: wool, felt and cotton thread, Nurzhan
  9. Iradiya (Irad Air Services): charter and air cargo, Talas
  10. Nurzhan Agro-Industrial (NAI): feed, silage and grain, Nurzhan
  11. Jılmay: online classifieds and parcel delivery, Talas

Notable firms

This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country, and Iradi-run companies registered abroad. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct. Branch and store counts are for Talas, Nurzhan and Iyık Janyl combined.[1][4]

Status: P=Private, S=State; A=Active, D=Defunct

Name Industry Sector Headquarters Founded Notes Status
Ak Bata Bank Financials Banks — — Commercial bank (ak bata, "blessing"); 43 branches, 24 of them in Talas P A
Ak Jol Records Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment — — Cassette label; released Kök Bel's Talas Sunrise (1995), the first Iradi country-folk album P A
Ak-Kyr Cement Works Industrials Building materials & fixtures Ak-Kyr, Sary-Bulak District 1967 Only cement plant in Irad, at the limestone quarry at the western end of the Ak-Kyr ridge; privatized 1997 P A
Aigyr Brewing Company Consumer goods Brewers Kara-Bulak 2009 Brewer of Aigyr lager; owned by a holding company registered in Cyprus P A
Aksay Alpine Ranching Cooperative Consumer goods Farming & fishing Aksay Plateau (ATR) 2004 Herders' cooperative of about 300 households; cattle and yaks P A
Aksay Plateau Pastoral Cooperative Consumer goods Farming & fishing Aksay Plateau (ATR) 1994 Herders' marketing and service cooperative of about 1,200 households P A
Akyel Equine Logistics & Breeding Syndicate Consumer goods Farming & fishing Talas 1995 Keeps the National Akyel Studbook; pedigree certification and export of horses P A
Arsha Books Consumer services Publishing Talas 2009 Independent publisher of poetry and stories; registration suspended since 2024 P A
Attelkom Telecommunications Fixed line & mobile telecommunications Talas 1994 Largest telecommunications company and internet provider; privatized 1999; runs Kartalar and Attelkom Jarnama P A
Bank of Irad Financials Banks Talas 1993 Monetary authority; issues the som S A
Bereke Consumer services Food retailers & wholesalers — — Largest supermarket chain (bereke, "plenty"); 144 stores P A
Chatkal Chemical Smelting Complex Basic materials Nonferrous metals Chatkal, Sary-Bulak District 1964 Antimony smelter, metal and trioxide; subsidiary of the IARMC P A
Torgoy Telecommunications Mobile telecommunications Nurzhan 2009 Second mobile operator (about 22% of subscriptions); network partner of Beeline Kazakhstan, selling Kazakh +7 numbers P A
Chui Sugar Refining Corporation Consumer goods Food products Besh-Terek 1950s Beet-sugar factory; privatized 1997 P A
Chuy Commercial Bank Financials Banks — — Commercial bank (Chüy Kommertsiyalık Banky); 33 branches, 16 of them in Nurzhan; chaired by Viktor Pak since 2001 P A
Herald Publishing Company Consumer services Publishing Talas 1993 Publishes the Talas Herald and the Iradi weekly Jarchy P A
Ilim Consumer services Publishing Kobozev (Nurzhan) — Press of the Academy of Sciences of the Iradi SSR; kept a Russian-language list until 2003 S D
Irad Pochtasy Industrials Delivery services Talas 2008 State postal enterprise (Irad Post); about 190 post offices; international mail through the Kazakh postal service; head office at the Talas Central Post Office S A
Irad Temir Jolu Industrials Railroads — — State railway; about 690 km of single track S A
Irad Times (Times Staff Trust) Consumer services Publishing Talas 1996 Independent weekly newspaper, owned by its staff since 2001 P A
IradOne Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas 1993 State broadcaster (IradOne Broadcasting and Media Corporation); also IradOdin, IradOne Sport and Radio Irad S A
Iradenergo Utilities Conventional electricity Talas 2008 State power utility; runs the Toktogul Hydroelectric Complex, the Naryn cascade, the national dispatch center and the export lines; successor of the Territorial Power Authority (1993–2007) S A
Iradi Antimony and Rare Metals Combine Basic materials Nonferrous metals Talas 1994 Holding company of the antimony industry; ISEZ minority stake since 2009 P A
Iradi Leatherworks Factory Consumer goods Footwear Talas 1958 Boots, belts, bridles and saddlery; privatized 1996 P A
Iradi Petroleum Transit Consortium Oil & gas Pipelines Talas 1998 Owns the Northern Export Feeder; NurGaz holds 51% P A
Iradiya Consumer services Airlines Talas 1997 Charter and cargo airline (Irad Air Services); only scheduled route Talas–Tash-Kömür P A
Iradneft Oil & gas Exploration & production Kobozev 1950s Soviet oil production association; reorganized as NurGaz in 1993 S D
Iradstrakh Financials Nonlife insurance Talas 1994 State Insurance Company of Irad, successor of the Soviet Gosstrakh; compulsory motor and property insurance S A
Jangak Agro Consumer goods Food products Iyık Janyl — Exports walnuts and dried apricots; owned by the businessman Joomart Turdakunov P A
Jarysh Entertainment Group Consumer services Recreational services Talas 2014 Horse games portal and Aigyr Ulak Nights at the Irad State Hippodrome P A
Jıldız Market Consumer services Food retailers & wholesalers Nurzhan 1998 Second supermarket chain (jıldız, "star"); 82 stores; founded by Viktor Pak P A
Jılmay Technology Internet Talas 2016 Online classifieds and Jılmay Cargo; registered in Kyrgyzstan P A
Kalkan Industrials Business support services Nurzhan 2009 Largest private security company; spun off from NurGaz's security department P A
Kara-Bulak Agricultural Cooperative Consumer goods Farming & fishing Kara-Bulak 1996 Grain farmers' cooperative of about 140 households P A
Köch Audio Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Bishkek 2016 Digital distributor of most Iradi music; registered in Kyrgyzstan P A
Kök Ay Media Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas — Entertainment agency; formed the Mor-Pop group Karakush P A
Kuble Soft Technology Software Talas 1988 Games and educational software; stopped trading 2007 P D
Kulun Media Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas — Television production; makes Foal Zone for IradOne P A
Kyzyl-Tuu Broker Industrials Business support services Tash-Kömür — Customs brokerage and trucking P A
Nurzhan Agro-Industrial Consumer goods Food products Nurzhan 2008 Grain storage, compound feed and seed; headed by Bekzat Toktarov P A
Nurzhan Press House Consumer services Publishing Nurzhan 2004 Publishes the Russian-language weekly Vecherniy Nurzhan (founded 1968 as Vecherniy Kobozev) and runs Radio Chu FM P A
Nurzhandorstroy Industrials Heavy construction Nurzhan 1950s Largest road builder (Nurzhan Road Construction); the Soviet Kobozev road-building trust, privatized 1996 P A
Nurzhanmash Industrials Industrial machinery Nurzhan 1930s Pumpjacks, tanks and structural steel; formerly the Kobozev Heavy Machine Plant; NurGaz holds 51% P A
NurGaz Oil & gas Integrated oil & gas Nurzhan 1993 Largest company; oil fields, Nurzhan Refinery No. 1 and about 60% of filling stations; led by Kamran Bekzatov P A
Sary-Bulak Antimony Works Basic materials Nonferrous metals Sary-Bulak 1961 Antimony mine and flotation mill; privatized 1994; subsidiary of the IARMC P A
Shıpa Dariykana Consumer services Drug retailers — — Largest pharmacy chain (shıpa, "cure"); 71 pharmacies P A
Star Road Music Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment — — Record label of Altyn Muuz — A
Steppe Luxury Group Consumer services Specialty retailers Talas 2008 Luxury-goods franchises and commercial property; founded by Alikhan Toktarov P A
Suusamyr Wool Washing Mill Consumer goods Clothing & accessories Suusamyr (ATR) 2006 Cooperative wool-scouring plant, open July to October P A
Talas Commercial Development Group Financials Real estate holding & development Talas — Owns Tulpar Talas FC, the Silk Road Arena and the International Diplomatic Hotel; headed by Adil Toktarov P A
Talas Dairy Processing Combine Consumer goods Food products Talas 1964 Milk, kefir, suzma and bottled kymyz; owned by a farmers' cooperative P A
Talas Kitep Consumer services Publishing Talas — Successor (1992) of the Irad State Publishing House, publisher of the Ottuk Library westerns; bankrupt 2016 — D
Talas State Cattle-Fattening Complex Consumer goods Farming & fishing Semiz 1958 Soviet beef-fattening complex, enlarged 1974; closed 1994 S D
Talas State University Press Consumer services Publishing Talas 1994 Main scholarly publisher in Irad S A
Talasbank Financials Banks Talas 1993 Largest commercial bank; export escrow and government payrolls; ISEZ minority stake P A
Talasfilm Studios Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas 1954 Film studio; state-owned company since 2007 S A
Tandyr Media Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment — — Television production; makes Cook with Ayyub and Baking with Zarina for IradOne P A
Touchline Media Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas — Television production; makes Pitch Talk for IradOne Sport P A
Trans-Chuy Freight & Logistics Industrials Trucking Nurzhan 1996 Largest trucking company; carries Jılmay Cargo; controlled by Timur Toktarov since 2008 P A
Transoxiana Microfinance Fund Financials Consumer finance Talas 1998 Non-profit microcredit lender to farmers and rural businesses P A
Tulpar Technologies Technology Internet Talas 2019 Messaging app Tulpar and its payment service Tulpar Pay; registered in Delaware P A
Tündük Records Consumer services Broadcasting & entertainment Talas — Label of the Mor-Wave scene; closed 2025, catalogue administered by Köch Audio P D
Zhetysu Industrial Textiles Consumer goods Clothing & accessories Nurzhan 1962 Wool and cotton yarn, cloth, blankets and felt; privatized 1995 P A

See also

References

  1. ^ Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Irad (2023). Commercial Directory of the Irad Special Economic Zone. Talas.
  2. ^ Eurasian Political Quarterly (2022). 'Family Firms: Privatization and Power in the ISEZ, 1994–2021.' Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 141–167.
  3. ^ Central Asian Cultural Studies Review (2025). 'One App for Everything: Tulpar and the Iradi Internet.' Vol. 17, pp. 44–67.
  4. ^ Bank of Irad (2025). Annual Report 2024: Commercial Banks and the Clearing House. Talas.
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