The speech of the Chairman of ASPR A.Irgaliyev on the Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable

I am glad to welcome you at the Annual Investment Roundtable in Astana.

I hope the opinions and recommendations developed today will contribute to further our efforts in attracting new wave of capital and technology into our economy.

We are currently witnessing significant shifts in the global economy, which implies that we need to think about new approaches to develop its supply-side. At the same time, a key factor in the supply-side economy is investment, for which in the current conditions a global competition and struggle is only increasing.

Investment has been and continues to be a fundamental factor in the growth and development of our economy. More than 400 bln. of US dollars have been invested into our country in the years of Independence.

Our successfull efforts allowed us to become one of the largest and most competitive economies in the region.

Despite the fact that Kazakhstan is a small open economy and largely affected by external challenges, we have fully recovered from the coronacrisis and other shocks, while following development path as per our long-term plans.

In the first half of 2022, gross FDI inflow in Kazakhstan increased by 28% compared to the same period of the previous year. Foreign Direct Investment reached the level of 14.5 billion US dollars.

Trade balance increased by 2.3 times, while exports grew by 56.5%. The turnover is to exceed 120 billion US dollars in 2022.

This year Kazakhstan is opening a new chapter in its development.

In March of this year our President announced a new package of political reforms. A key goal of the political modernization is to increase the role of people in the state governance through electoral processes, consistent democratization of our society, and ensure the stability of the state.

But it doesn’t end there. We say “political reforms should go hand in hand with economic reforms”.

Our economic reforms are aimed to promote economic freedoms. We develop a fair competition while eliminating oligopolies in our economy and any kind of favoritism. We will provide equal access to infrastructure and government support measures for all investors.

We have identified a number of strategic areas of focus, including increasing our economy’s industrial capacity, promoting comprehensive integration in the global markets, digitalization, expanding the quality and affordability of infrastructure.

All of these will be supported by introduction of new regulatory environment for entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan, which will significantly simplify doing business in our country.

Also, from 2024 we will have new Tax and Budget codes, new Laws on state procurement, private-public partnership and other significant changes to our national legislation that should make Kazakhstan more attractive for local and foreign investors.

It is very important to note that we are also actively developing and implementing a set of measures to guarantee a rule of law in our country.

While offering competitive business climate for all and any kind of international capital and technology, our new approaches emphasize our focus on developing new and perspective industries - future drivers of our economic growth. These include manufacturing, petrochemistry, automative industry, services, transport and logistics, food and agriculture and tourism.

We believe that these advances will create multiplier effects that will shift the economy of our country to the higher growth trajectory.

Dear friends and colleagues!

Kazakhstan today is a country with a wide range of opportunities for entrepreneurs.

New wave of institutional and structural reforms in our country will make it even better place for investors. We are building Fair Kazakhstan where everyone will have equal opportunities for self-realization.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite our friends and partners to invest in Kazakhstan.

I wish you all productive work and success in achieving your goals.

Thank you!