The surging gold price is boosting Central Asia’s economies
But foreign investors might want to tread carefully
Tian Shan—the name for the mountains that cross Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—roughly translates as “Mountains of Heaven”. It is fitting for a range that is dotted with gold mines, including Kumtor, one of Central Asia’s largest and a symbol of Kyrgyz national pride. Moreover, it is not just the mountains of Central Asia that hold big reserves. Hundreds of kilometres to the west, in Uzbekistan’s Kyzylkum Desert, sits Muruntau, the world’s largest open-pit gold mine.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Sitting on a…”
Finance & economics
March 29th 2025- Trump’s tariff pain: the growing evidence
- How Europe can hurt Russia’s economy
- Live music seems recession-proof. Thank ticket scalpers
- The surging gold price is boosting Central Asia’s economies
- Nubank has conquered Brazil. Now it is expanding overseas
- Can foreign investors learn to love China again?
- Even priests need the free market
From the March 29th 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Want to be a good explorer? Study economics
The battle to reduce risk has shaped centuries of ventures
Jane Street is chucked out of India. Other firms should be nervous
Around the world, marketmakers now face extra scrutiny
Japan has been hit by investing fever
Will old folk catch the bug?
Don’t invest through the rearview mirror
Markets are supposed to look forward; plenty of investors look back instead
Trump’s trade deals try a creative way to hobble China
To appease the world’s biggest market, countries must anger the world’s biggest trader
The great dealmaker is conspicuously short of trade deals
Donald Trump issues threats—and grants deadline extensions