Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 253 - 258 of 315

Kyrgyzstan Budget Surplus for 2024

The President of the Kyrgyz Republic has signed a law "On the Republican Budget of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2024 and the planning period of 2025-2026." According to the data, this year the budget had a surplus with revenues amounting to $4,242,215,000, against expenditures of $4,120,000,000. The authorities want to use the surplus towards operations with financial assets and to cover state debt. According to the Ministry of Finance, the national debt of the republic as of September 2023 amounted to $5,987,000,000, Approximately $60 million dollars was spent on its servicing debt last year. In 2024, the authorities plan to allocate $74 million dollars from the state budget for the servicing and payment of debt. "To confidently pass the stage of peak payments on the state debt, we have projected the budget policy in terms of the formation of surpluses. This gives us the opportunity to service the debt without borrowing," Finance Minister Almaz Baketayev stated. The Kyrgyz state budget is so stable today that there are no doubts about servicing the national debt, he said. In Kyrgyzstan, Baketaev emphasized, all payments are made on time and in full, and external debt is decreasing The Ministry of Finance said that part of the surplus will be used to increase the state's share in local joint stock companies and to provide budget loans to domestic companies. Almost 40% of the nation’s external debt is owed to the Export-Import Bank of China. The authorities took these loans mainly for construction projects, the repair of roads, and rehabilitation of the electricity network.

Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Looks to Increase E-Commerce Share to 20%

The further development of e-commerce in Kazakhstan was considered at a government meeting on January 16th, chaired by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov. The Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliev reported that in 2023 the volume of e-commerce in Kazakhstan exceeded 2.2 trillion tenge ($4.8 billion), equating to 13% of all retail trade, a 0.5% rise on the previous year. Household goods, clothing and footwear, food, cosmetics, and medicines are the most popular goods purchased online. The Ministry is looking to increase the share of e-commerce to 20% by 2030 by expanding the representation of domestic goods on popular marketplaces, developing warehouse and logistics infrastructure, and protecting consumer rights. The Prime Minister noted that globally, by 2025 the share of online trade is expected to exceed 25% of total retail. In Kazakhstan, a significant market share is occupied by foreign online marketplaces. “We must use this opportunity as an additional sales channel for Kazakh products on the world stage. At the same time, we need to develop domestic online stores. To do this, it is necessary to ensure the uninterrupted operation of payment systems, transport and logistics infrastructure, and courier services,” Smailov said. The Prime Minister instructed the relevant bodies to find effective solutions for the development of domestic online stores and broader representation of domestic commodity producers on foreign online marketplaces within a month. “We need our own bonded warehouses, which would simplify the process of delivering goods to both domestic customers and foreign ones. Therefore, it is necessary to launch the construction of bonded warehouses in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent this year,” Smailov said.

Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Invites EU Community to Expand Participation in Joint Projects

Further steps to strengthen trade and economic relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union were discussed by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas on January 15th in Astana. The parties focused on issues of increasing trade turnover, attracting investment, strengthening cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, easing the visa regime, and increasing industrial cooperation, Smailov’s press service reported. The Prime Minister stressed that strengthening relations with the EU is of particular importance for Kazakhstan, with the new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the new EU Strategy for Central Asia playing a significant role in the bilateral relationship. As Smailov noted, the EU is one of the largest trade and investment partners of Kazakhstan, accounting for roughly 30% of the country’s foreign trade and 40% of investment attracted. Trade turnover over eleven months of last year increased by almost 5%, reaching around $38 billion. In 2022, investment from the EU in Kazakhstan amounted to $12.5 billion, a record high. “Today there are almost 6,000 joint ventures [with European partners] operating in Kazakhstan, 130 of which appeared in the past year. This highlights the sustainability and attractiveness of our economy for European partners. We call on the European investment community to expand their participation in joint projects,” Smailov stated. The Prime Minister added that an important area of cooperation is the transit and transport sector. Today, about 85% of goods coming from China to Europe are transported through Kazakhstan. Last year, the volume of cargo shipped along the Trans-Caspian corridor increased by 65%. In the medium term, cargo traffic is expected to increase to 10 million tons. The Vice-President of the European Commission stated that Kazakhstan is an important partner for the EU. “We know that you are undergoing major modernization processes. On behalf of the European Union, I would like to note the importance of the reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which make Kazakhstan a very significant player in the Central Asian region,” said Schinas.

Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

German Company to Invest €100 Million in Plastic Production in Kazakhstan

On January 12th in Berlin, a meeting took place between the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Germany, Nurlan Onzhanov, the Official Representative of the National Company KAZAKH INVEST, Saken Olzhabayev, and the owner of WIS Kunststoffe GmbH, Sigmar Roemhild. Therein, the Kazakh and German sides discussed plans for the construction of a plastic production plant in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region, KAZAKH INVEST has reported. Sigmar Roemhild stated that his company is at the stage of completing the pre-investment process of analyzing the market in Kazakhstan and initially plans to invest about €100 million in the design and construction of the plant. According to Roemhild, there is great potential for production in the country due to its strategic location, favorable investment climate, and availability of raw materials. WIS Kunststoffe GmbH specializes in the production of plastic and polymer raw materials and compounds, polyolefin, styropolymers, technical and structural plastics, granules and powders. Ambassador Onzhanov said that Kazakhstan is Germany's leading trade and economic partner in the region, accounting for over 80% of German trade with Central Asia. The Government of Kazakhstan actively cooperates with large German companies to develop industry with advanced technologies and German experience. Following the meeting, Roemhild and Olzhabayev signed a memorandum of cooperation. According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the volume of FDI from Germany to Kazakhstan for thee first three-quarters of 2023 amounted to $623 million, more than twice the figure for the same period in 2022 ($308.6 million).

Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Features

World Bank Provides Additional Support for Kyrgyz Republic’s Digital Transformation

On January 12th, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $7 million in additional financing to the ongoing Digital Central Asia South Asia (Digital CASA) project for the Kyrgyz Republic. This additional financing complements the original $50 million Digital CASA – Kyrgyz Republic Project approved in March 2018 to support the nation’s digital transformation through increasing access to affordable internet, private investment in the ICT sector, and improving the provision of digital government services. “The Digital CASA – Kyrgyz Republic Project supports the country’s digital transformation agenda and the National Sustainable Development Strategy 2018-2040,” stated Naveed Hassan Naqvi, the World Bank Country Manager for the Kyrgyz Republic. “The project is expected to foster sustainable and inclusive growth by helping bridge the digital divide, especially in rural areas of the country. It also aims to enhance the provision of digital government services, thereby promoting efficient and transparent public administration.” Naqvi stated that the funding will enable 800,000 citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic to access better and more affordable internet services, thus bringing the internet penetration rate in the country to 57%. Among the key goals of the project is laying 2,500 kilometers of fiber-optic network across the country, establishing two cross-border fiber-optic links, and building a government cloud (G-Cloud) infrastructure. The Digital CASA – Kyrgyz Republic project will ultimately help integrate the Kyrgyz Republic and other landlocked countries of Central Asia and parts of South Asia into the regional and global digital economy, thereby enabling these countries to reap the benefits of digitization. “The additional financing is critical for closing the financing gap caused by the need to increase the initially planned capacity for data storage and processing on the G-Cloud,” said Sandra Sargent, World Bank Senior Digital Development Specialist and Project Task Team Leader. “G-Cloud is a government cloud platform that serves as one of the key pillars of digital public infrastructure and will provide storage, processing power, and computing capacity to support e-government services, as well as handle large amounts of data.”

Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Business & Economy

U.S. Interested in Kazakhstan’s Critical Minerals

The Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, Kanat Sharlapaev met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Ross Pyatt to deepen the dialogue between the two countries on the development of sustainable mineral value chains, the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction said on January 11th. The meeting took place on the fringes of The Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two officials discussed key aspects of cooperation in the field of mineral resources, energy, and the prospects for the two nations long-term partnership, taking into account more than thirty years of strong strategic cooperation. The meeting highlighted Kazakhstan's potential to supply more than sixteen critical minerals identified by a U.S. Geological Survey. Among them are bismuth, gallium, vanadium, tungsten, tin, tantalum, niobium, magnesium, lithium, indium, graphite, and cobalt. The parties noted the interest of large American companies, such as Rio Tinto, Cove Capital, and Relativity Space in Kazakhstan’s mining industry. Both sides confirmed their intention to continue their joint efforts to develop sustainable approaches to minerals, stating that this line of work contributes to a sustainable energy transition and creates the conditions for long-term economic sustainability in Kazakhstan and the United States.