Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov: the pandemic resulted in implementing of 41 investment projects, creating 7,000 new jobs
Nur-Sultan, May 31, 2021 - A briefing on attracting foreign investment took place on the basis of the Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The briefing was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov, Acting Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev and CEO of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC Meirzhan Yusupov.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic results in an increase in the “economic egoism” of states, leading to the fact that the volume of investment flows in 2020 decreased globally by 42%, UNCTAD found.
According to the National Bank, in Kazakhstan this indicator decreased by 30%. “Thanks to the efforts made by our Government, in 2020, foreign direct investment in the amount of $17.1 billion was attracted from the states such as: the EU countries, the USA, Great Britain, Russia, China, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and a number of others,” – the Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized.
It is also important that it enabled to prevent the freezing of investment projects, which had been launched before the pandemic, and to put into service 41 investment projects totaling $1.6 billion that resulted in creating more than 7,000 jobs.
An important recent trend has been the growth of investments in such sectors of the economy as pharmaceuticals, logistics, information and green technologies, and processing of agricultural products.
“According to the results of four months of 2021, investments in the processing industry doubled compared to the same period last year and reached KZT397,7 billion,” Almas Aidarov emphasized in this regard.
In general, international organizations predict a global recovery in investment activity up to pre-crisis indicators by 2023.
Almas Aidarov briefed on the proactive efforts carried out by the Ministry and the Embassies of the Republic of Kazakhstan to ensure the inflow of new foreign investments. For this reason, a mechanism of a three-tier system has been created, with developing country investment programs for 2021-2025 for foreign missions of the Republic of Kazakhstan with specific indicators for attracting new investors. Moreover, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in order to ensure the flow of high-quality investments from the beginning of 2021, a new investment instrument was introduced for strategic investors - the Investment Agreement, which provides special conditions for investors enabling to unblock the entire range of investment opportunities in Kazakhstan.
Acting Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev told about the vector of implementation of systemic and operational measures aimed at improving the investment management system. Of these, he singled out the modernization of the activities of the Council of Foreign Investors, along with strengthening the institution of the Investment Ombudsman, as well as other measures.
According to Ardak Zebeshev, the new reforms resulted in the approval of a new investment management algorithm and targeted work with investors. So, an Investment Headquarters was established under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to arise problematic issues of foreign investors and regularly to consider the issues of practical implementation of investment projects.
A special negotiating team - Task Force - was created on the basis of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC and AIFC JSC in order to improve the efficiency of interaction with investors. In order to engage in proactive work, central and local government agencies have set 5-year targets for capital investment and foreign direct investment. The deputy CEOs were assigned responsibilities for attracting investments, working with investors. On an annual basis, the regions will be ranked in order to achieve the target indicators and fulfill the investment plan.
According to Acting Head of the Investment Committee, these measures will enable to reach 30% of GDP of the volume of capital investments in 2025.
The state service to conclude investment contracts has been automated for investors’ convenience. Thanks to the transition to online mode during the pandemic, it was possible not only to save, but also to increase the number and amount of contracts for 2020.
As a result, over the past year, 56 investment contracts were concluded (including 46 were concluded online via the E-License portal) amounting to KZT 635 billion, being the highest figure in the last 10 years. Of them, 8 contracts were concluded in the processing industry in the amount of KZT51.2 billion.
The CEO of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC Meirzhan Yusupov elaborated on the projects implemented with the support of the National Company. In 2020, NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC jointly with the central and local state agencies carried out the work to determine the most promising product groups and niche projects for organization of production in Kazakhstan. 70 investment proposals accounting for $2.8 billion were prepared for foreign investors jointly with the international company. Project data includes teaser, business plan and financial model, developed so as to meet the international standards.
The largest number of prepared projects falls on the sectors of the agro-industrial complex - 33 (projects), the mining and metallurgical complex - 7, mechanical engineering - 6, production of building materials - 6, healthcare and pharmaceuticals - 5, and others (13 projects). Currently, the work with investors is underway on 32 projects worth $1.7 billion.
Meirzhan Yusupov shared the results of the work of the national company for the 1st quarter of 2021. Following the results of three months, 9 projects were implemented totaling $ 665 million. Including, the renewable energy sector accounts for 4 projects worth $ 172 million, oil and gas chemistry - 2 projects worth US $ 110 million, as well as metallurgy, production of building materials and tourism. By the end of this year, it is planned to put into service another 36 projects worth almost $ 4.4 billion.
https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/209613?lang=ru