Ikea managers including Per Kaufmann, general director for Russia and Ukraine, met Thursday with Kazakh Trade and Industry Minister Galym Orazbakov in Astana, the country’s capital, the ministry said Friday in an e-mailed statement. The retailer plans to spend $250 million on a shopping center in Almaty, the nation’s commercial center, and the same amount on a center in Astana, Kazinform refers to Bloomberg. (inform.kz)