ASTANA (TCA) — Portfolio companies of Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC have signed several agreements with Chinese partners as part of the official visit of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to China. Nazarbayev was in Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14-15.
In Beijing, Massalsky Mining and Processing Plant LLP and China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) signed two agreements for the construction of a mining and metallurgical complex at the Massalskoe titanium magnetite deposit in Kazakhstan’s Akmola region, Samruk-Kazyna said. It is planned that the complex will cover the entire value chain, from ore extraction to the production of high-quality steel grades. C1 and C2 reserves at the Massalskoe deposit amount to 729 million tons. In addition, Massalsky Mining and Processing Plant LLP and Exim Bank of China signed a framework agreement to finance the project.
Mazhit Turmagambetov, CEO of Tau-Ken Samruk JSC, commented during the signing ceremony: “We want to produce our own high-quality steel, as currently Kazakhstan only imports the metal, bringing in around 1.5 million tons of steel annually. Our plant is not large by international standards, with an annual capacity of 940,000 tons. This is a new industry trend, because enterprises increasingly need to be flexible. They have to be ready to adapt at any moment and produce what is required by industry customers at any given time.”
Turmagambetov also added that about 3,000 temporary jobs would be created during the construction period, with 4,000 permanent jobs to follow when the plant begins operations.
National railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC, one of the largest portfolio companies of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund, concluded an agreement for the sale of its 49% stake in KTZE-Khorgos Gateway LLP in Beijing to China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited and Lianyungang Port LLC. The involvement of anchor strategic investors will ensure an increase in transit cargo volumes through the dry port of FEZ Khorgos – Eastern Gate.
Umirzak Shukeyev, CEO of Samruk-Kazyna and Co-Chairman of the Kazakhstan-China Business Council (KCBC) on the Kazakhstani side, held a number of meetings as part of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The Head of the Fund met with Chan Zhenming, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CITIC Group and Co-Chairman of the KCBC on the Chinese side. Umirzak Shukeyev and Chan Zhenming discussed the possibility of cooperation on new projects, as well as the agenda of the upcoming fourth meeting of the KCBC, which is planned to be held in Astana in the near future.
