ASTANA (TCA) — A meeting of the Government of Kazakhstan on October 17 reviewed the results of the country’s socio-economic development for January-September 2017, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov reported that in January-September the economy of Kazakhstan retained the growth rate registered in January-August, at the level of 4.3%. This was facilitated by macroeconomic stability and investment activity, as well as favorable conditions in foreign markets.
The main drivers of growth were industry, construction, trade, transport and communications.
Industry since the beginning of the year has demonstrated a steady growth, which in January-September reached 8.3%. The volume of production in the mining industry increased 11.3%. The growth of manufacturing industry was 5.7%. Significant growth was observed in industries focused on the domestic market, primarily the production of pharmaceuticals, light industry, food and beverage products, and petroleum products.
Stable growth rates were also demonstrated by export-oriented industries, such as ferrous metallurgy production by 7.8% and non-ferrous metal production by 6.6%.
In agriculture, growth remained at 1.9%, while construction has accelerated from 0.1% in January-August to 3.5% in January-September.
For 9 months of this year, the volume of investments in fixed assets increased by 4.4%. The greatest increase in investments was observed in trade and construction, as well as in industry as a result of ongoing modernization of heat and water supply networks.
The growth of investments in fixed assets was primarily ensured by internal sources, while external sources of financing decreased.
Gross inflow of foreign direct investments increased by 8.6% to $10.5 billion in the first half of 2017. At the beginning of October, the country’s international reserves amounted to $89.4 billion as a result of the growth of gold and foreign currency reserves by 10.2%.
The government expects that by the end of the year, the economy will grow at a level of at least 3.4%.
