In 2025, Aidar Amanzholov, the ultimate owner of the Aktobe Oil Equipment Plant (AZNO), became its sole board member. Over a year in this position, the entrepreneur paid himself 99.2 million tenge (about 8.3 million tenge per month). This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to the financial reporting depository, the businessman began to receive half as much as his predecessor at the head of his own enterprise.
In 2024, the plant's board was solely headed by Gasal Musin, who, by the way, entered the ranking of the 20 most expensive top managers in Kazakhstan according to Forbes. Then the company paid him 211.3 million tenge per year (it was with this amount that he ended up in the Forbes ranking), or about 17.6 million tenge per month. Having replaced Musin on January 15, 2025, Amanzholov actually halved top management salaries, or by 9.3 million tenge per month.
The reduction in management costs coincided with a significant increase in the financial results of the enterprise. At the end of 2025, the plant's net profit grew by 63.6% – from 1.1 billion to 1.8 billion tenge.
Aidar Amanzholov controls AZNO through the company Kazmetalinvest. Until October 2024, the ultimate owners of the plant were Forbes list member Dinmukhamet Idrisov and his wife Magda Idrisova.
Idrisov ranks 17th in the ranking of the 75 richest entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan for May 2026 with a capital of $605 million. He owns Kazakhstan Utility Systems, stakes in Ai Karaul, AltynEx Company, Kundybai Mining, Belogorskoe and Keregetas, as well as Ordabasy Group.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the new main owner of AZNO, Aidar Amanzholov, replaced Gasal Musin as general director.