Trade - The Times Of Central Asia

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Germany Increases Investment and Trade in Kazakhstan

In a report on the implementation of Kazakh-German projects at a meeting of the Investment Promotion Council on 24 April, Kazakh Invest stated that investment from Germany in Kazakhstan reached an all-time high of $770 million in 2023. To date, the pool of German initiatives planned for Kazakhstan includes 63 projects with a value of around $54.4 billion and the potential to create 14.7 thousand jobs. The 32 projects already in operation, have created some 6,000 permanent posts. Bilateral trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Germany is also very positive , having leapt by 24.7% in 2022 and 41.3% in 2023. Kazakhstan, as its key partner in Central Asia, currently ranks as one of Germany’s top 50 trading partners.

Trade

Kyrgyz Businesses Make Play to Raise Profile in America

Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to the United States and Canada, Baktybek Amanbaev, recently met with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief representative for Central Asia, Jennifer Miel, to discuss stepping up the nations' trade and economic ties. Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry reports that ambassador Amanbaev told Ms Miel about the country's resource potential, as well as opportunities for private business development in Kyrgyzstan. According to Amanbaev, Kyrgyzstan is particularly keen to work with American investors on hydropower, mineral development, agriculture and textile projects. American companies already working in Kyrgyzstan include General Electric, Visa, Coca-Cola, Valmont, Medtronic and Borusan. According to Kyrgyzstan's National Statistical Committee, in the first nine months of 2023 Kyrgyzstan imported from the U.S. goods worth more than $300,000, predominantly cars and car parts. Kyrgyzstan also buys spare parts for bulldozers, excavators and trucks from American suppliers. In turn, Kyrgyz businesses export textiles, antiques, wool and animal products to the U.S. Kyrgyz entrepreneurs sell most of their goods in the U.S. through Amazon, Walmart and Ebay. The Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce has told The Times of Central Asia that local businesses aiming to do more business in America have approached the Chamber to expand their contacts and find potential partners. The Chamber has already begun work on opening Kyrgyz trade missions in major U.S. cities, and negotiations with local authorities are underway. Soon Kyrgyz business will be represented in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. A few weeks ago, Kyrgyzstan's North American ambassador Amanbaev met with an executive of the satellite internet provider Starlink, to discuss providing the Kyrgyz public with high-speed internet via American Starlink satellites.

Kazakhstan China Trade

Kazakhstan and China to Expand Trade and Economic Cooperation

Further steps to eliminate restrictions in mutual trade, remove administrative barriers, and simplify customs procedures were discussed by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao on March 13th. Related issues included the expansion of Chinese cargo transit via Kazakhstan along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, and plans to increase the supply of Kazakh agricultural produce to the Chinese market. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China grew by 30% last year to $31.5 billion. Over 9 months in 2023, Chinese investments in Kazakhstan’s economy amounted to $1.4 billion and 45 joint Kazakh-Chinese projects worth over $14.5 billion are currently under implementation. In January-February 2024, the volume of Chinese container traffic through Kazakhstan increased 2.6-fold, demonstrating the potential for further expansion, joint investment, and diversification of trade. The Kazakh prime minister hailed the rise in trade and economic partnership between the two countries and the successful operation of some 3,000 joint companies in Kazakhstan, with the added recommendation that future joint Kazakh-Chinese projects focus on marketable high-tech products. The Chinese ambassador confirmed the potential for cooperation in the above alongside projects on agriculture and energy transfer.

Trade

Kazakhstan Mulls Alternative Freight Routes

On February 19th Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister Serik Zhumangarin held a government meeting on the subject of road freight routes to and from Kazakhstan. According to the Ministry of Transport, last year 7.6m tons of goods were transported through the country by automobile transport, comprising 2.8m tons of exports and 4.8m tons of imports. Kazakhstan’s freight forwarders accounted for 50.2% of the total volume (Uzbekistan – 10.6%, Turkey – 5.5%, Russia – 3%, and Tajikistan – 2.5%.) As an alternative to existing international routes, Kazakh officials proposed a route through Turkmenistan to Turkey. For this to happen, Kazakhstan’s visa procedures with Turkmenistan would need to be simplified. In addition, a route through Latvia was proposed as an alternative for the supply of goods to EU countries. European countries accounted for 1.6m tons of the goods transported to and from Kazakhstan by road in 2023, with Kazakh companies carrying 50% of the total volume. However, the closure of all checkpoints for international road transport in Poland, and the availability of only one checkpoint on the border of Russia and Belarus, became serious obstacles to international trade.

Trade

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan To Build ‘Central Asia’ Industrial Center

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are working to accelerate the creation of an international center for industrial cooperation, called ‘Central Asia’. It will be constructed at the border of the two countries, near the Gulistan checkpoint on the Uzbek side and the Atameken checkpoint on the Kazakh side, the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration has reported. The Kazakh investor in the project, TCL Group, together with the administration of Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region, plans to begin construction of the Central Asia Center this year. TCL Group has also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Uzbek company Global Textile on the center’s first investment project, which will produce finished textile products. Kazakhstan’s deputy minister for trade and integration, Kairat Torebaev, has commented that the Central Asia Center is expected to start its operations in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the official opening is planned for the first half of 2027. Mr Torebaev believes the center will help intensify business ties between manufacturers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and stimulate the growth of trade turnover between the two countries. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has grown to over $4.6bn in 2023. The sides aim to bring bilateral trade to $10bn in the coming years.

Investment Trade

U.S.-Kazakhstan Relations: Trade Revenue Has Risen to Record Highs, But Investments From U.S. Side Have Fallen

According to Kazakhstan's Bureau of National Statistics, at the end of 2023 in Kazakhstan there were more than 50,000 enterprises with joint and foreign ownership. The number of legal entities and subsidiaries from the U.S. increased by 10.5% annually, with that number reaching 495 organizations. The lion's share falls to wholesale and retail trade, and parts for cars and motorcycles. Investors and businesses from the U.S. also open in Kazakhstan companies in the fields of professional, scientific and technical activity, as well as information technology and telecommunications. Slightly less activity is found in the financial, industrial, education and construction spheres. Most of the companies are located in the cultural capital of Almaty -- or the financial and political capital, Astana. Enterprises are also based in regions oriented towards extraction of energy and minerals, such as Atyrau, Karaganda and Mangistau. 2023 U.S.-Kazakhstan bilateral trade turnover reached a record high of $4bn, an increase of one-third over 2022. The main goods sent to the USA are oil, ferroalloys, sulfur, phosphorus, tantalum, lead, and uranium. Kazakhstan buys airplanes, cars and engines, medicines, as well as poultry meat and other products. Despite the positive trade figures, investments have decreased slightly. For 2023 they amounted to more than $3bn, which is half of what it was a year ago. The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that the U.S. is still among the three main investors in the Kazakh economy, along with the Netherlands and Switzerland. A special place in the relations between the two countries remains for international exchange programs. The most popular is Work & Travel, under which Kazakhstani students can go to the U.S. to work. Some end up staying for permanent residence. "My dream since childhood has been to go to America. And five years ago I took part in the Work & Travel program. I went to Wisconsin. I worked hard in order to earn as much as possible and then go to New York. I'll tell you right away, from the first day I was delighted. Of course, I was very tired, there were a lot of insurance costs and so on. But from the very first days I realized that I wanted to stay here. I like the high standard of living in the country. You can see it in medicine, culture. After the program ended, I really missed that life and travel. But I was able not only to realize my dream [of visiting], but even more -- to move. Now I have [received] my diploma, I work as an administrator in a medical center. A year ago I got married. I have big plans," said Indira Akhmetova, a former migrant worker. She has been living in the United States for seven years, got married and received American citizenship. A few issues that do weigh on Indira's American life are the expensive medical care and taxes compared to Kazakhstan. "It's scary to get sick here. If you don't have insurance, you have to pay for years...