ASTANA (TCA) — A forum to discuss new mechanisms of attracting foreign investments was held in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on the initiative of the new Association COCAD (Consortium of Central Asia Development), which intends to assist in attracting foreign and domestic investment in the Kazakh economy, the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan reported on May 26.
Speaking at the event, Gani Tasmaganbetov, the director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Astana, said that a map of regional business development was developed by Atameken to systematize the search for financing. The map includes 250 projects for a total of 506 billion KZT.
“There is a need for financing private projects worth more than 500 billion tenge. These are greenhouses, vegetable stores, fattening grounds, production of building materials, tourism objects, etc. At the same time, regional budgets are experiencing a shortage of budgetary funds, since the need for the development of regional infrastructure is very large, and budgets are limited. Therefore, the akimats (state administrations) propose projects under the Public-Private Partnership scheme. A private company builds a state facility at its own expense or at the expense of borrowed funds, and the state pays for several years, in installments,” Tasmaganbetov said.
The president of the COCAD Association Serik Sadykov emphasized that Kazakhstan and Central Asia are some of the promising markets. The countries of Central Asia have great potential in the agro-industrial and transport-logistical sectors.
“We created this association in April of this year. COCAD is a non-profit organization; we do not focus on raising profits. Our association suggests taking advantage of the opportunity to receive financing from European financial institutions, and we are ready to provide you with several options for your choice,” Sadykov said.
He explained that the Association will consider projects from Kazakh companies in different sectors of the economy. Within 10 days the experts of the Association give legal and financial assessment to the proposed ideas. After that they are submitted to the European financial institutions for consideration. If the projects are approved, the Kazakh companies that proposed them will need to become members of the Association, and pay a membership fee.
