Finance Monthly April 2020 Edition

BUSINESS & ECONOMY - KAZAKHSTAN’S INVESTMENT & BUSINESS CLIMATE 43 www.finance-monthly.com What is the government doing to boost and encourage investment in the country? The country has in principle adopted a forward-thinking policy – both externally (i.e. in view of its efforts to better position itself in attracting foreign investments) and on the domestic market (with some incentives to encourage reinvestment by existing investors). Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassies and Kazakh Invest are making headway on the external front. There have been roadshows, with President and top government members participating, to different countries, one of the most recent ones being to Germany. The idea behind these roadshows is to further promote Kazakhstan as an investment destination. Some of the other initiatives worth mentioning include establishing the Astana International Financial Centre, joining the Belt and Road project and a few more. One of the practical measures aimed at easing administration for foreign businesses in the country was the introduction of a one-stop-shop mechanism for resolving all investors’ issues. Furthermore, policy dialogue has been held through various business associations/ advisory councils, such as the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC) chaired personally by the head of state, and the PrimeMinister’s Council on Improvement of the Investment Climate organised together with AmCham. The National Investment Strategy for 2018-22 tops the list of initiatives (drafted bywhat was then theMinistry of Innovation and Development and the World Bank with input from foreign investors submitted via the forums already mentioned). This strategy identifies priority areas for investment, including areas with current potential (the food industry, deep oil processing, gas and minerals and machine engineering) and others that hold promise for the future (ICT, tourism and finance). The strategy also identifies 36 countries that offer the potential for closer cooperation, including 11 priority countries (the US, Russia, the UK, Germany, What are the current trends in Kazakhstan’s investment and business climate? Kazakhstan has always aspired to enhance its investment attractiveness by implementing a wide range of systemic reforms, including continuous work on improving its legislative framework. This has been done as part of the overall 2050 development strategy adopted back in 2012. Being viewed by many as predominantly a natural resources-driven market, Kazakhstan has adhered to the notion of significantly diversifying its economy. In this regard, the country’s leadership has emphasised the need to keep up with the current global trends of transforming the idea of investment attractiveness and the criteria by which it is evaluated. In other words, in a situation where investors are increasingly deciding in favour of technologies and brands developed in a country as opposed to only focusing on its natural wealth, Kazakhstan will have to envisage a similar model. To this end, the government has repeatedly indicated that the country’s longer-term strategy should be less dependent on abundant natural resources and more focused on offering investors high-quality human capital, technological infrastructure and conditions for the development of science, digital and innovations. The course was set toward accelerated industrial and innovation-driven development and related programs (GPFIIR 2010-14, then GPIIR 2015-19 as part of the above mentioned 2050 Strategy and the Vision of Kazakhstan’s Inclusion in the Top 30 Most Developed Countries). Being viewed by many as predominantly a natural resources- driven market, Kazakhstan has adhered to the notion of significantly diversifying its economy.