Nazarbaev Replaces Central Bank Chief After Currency Plunge

Kairat Kelimbetov has been replaced after just two years in the job.

President Nursultan Nazarbaev has replaced the Kazakh central bank's chief following a sharp depreciation of the national currency, the tenge.

Nazarbaev named his aid Daniyar Akishev to the post on November 2, and the parliament's upper chamber quickly approved the reshuffle.

Akishev, 39, worked at the central bank for many years before joining the presidential administration in 2014.

He is replacing Kairat Kelimbetov after just two years in the job.

The central bank has spent at least $1.7 billion, or 6 percent of the oil-rich country's reserves, on protecting the tenge, which has lost about a third of its value against the dollar since a floating exchange rate was introduced in August.

The policy change was a response to dropping oil prices and devaluations carried out by Russia and China, Kazakhstan's biggest trading partners.

Based on reporting by Reuters, KazTAG, and Kazinform