KazCham

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The government of Kazakhstan has approved a list of state companies to be offered for privatisation as part of its long-term privatisation plan for 2016-2020.

The plan approves a list of large state-owned companies and organisations that will be privatised, and includes the pharmaceutical company SK-Pharmacy, national space company Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary, state road enterprise Kazakhavtodor, Khorgos international centre of cross-border cooperation, the airport of Astana, the Almaty sanatorium, the Kazakh national film studio, the airports of Kostanai and Petropavlovsk, the Korkyt Ata airport in Kyzylorda, and the Duman entertainment centre in Astana.

The list for priority privatisation also includes the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (through IPO), national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (IPO), national atomic company Kazatomprom (IPO), national post service Kazpost (IPO), airlines Air Astana (IPO) and Qazaq Air, national telecommunications operator Kazakhtelecom, the airports of Aktobe, Atyrau and Pavlodar, the Aktau international seaport, and the national agricultural holding KazAgro.

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The Kazakh National Holding KazAgro plans to attract $2 billion in funds from the World Bank for 35 years for lending to the agro-industrial complex, according to the Chairman of the National Holding Nurlybek Malelov.

According to the chairman, the loan will provide a twofold increase in lending to the agricultural sector, without attracting funds from the budget.

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The Samruk Kazyna, Baiterek and KazAgro national holdings will be featured in the new privatisation programme, after which they will either be transformed into lean organisations or liquidated, according to the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The assets of the Samruk-Kazyna national welfare fund include: the KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company, the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy railway operator, Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), Kazakhtelecom telecommunications operator, and the Kazatomprom national nuclear company.

The Baiterek national management holding includes: JSC Development Bank of Kazakhstan, JSC Investment Fund of Kazakhstan, JSC Housing Construction and Savings Bank, JSC Kazakhstan Mortgage Company, JSC KazExportGarant, JSC Entrepreneurship Development Fund Damu, JSC National Agency for Technological Development, JSC Kazakh Fund of Mortgage Guarantees, JSC Kazyna Capital Management, JSC Baiterek Development, and JSC Public Private Partnership Advisory Center.

The KazAgro National management holding includes: the National company Food Contract Corporation JSC, KazAgroProduct JSC, KazAgroFinance JSC, Agrarian credit corporation JSC, Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture JSC, KazAgroGarant JSC and Kazagromarketing JSC.

Astana Times

The Kazakh Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture (FFSA) started recently implementing a drop irrigation program under the Agrobusiness-2020 state branch program. Equipment for 40 projects in a territory of 440 hectares will be installed this year.

“Kazakhstan has a large area which is suitable for farming and drop irrigation technology can help increase the volume of agricultural production several times. The drop irrigation technology solves the main problem of farming in the state – arid climate,” said head of the FFSA press service Aliya Ensebayeva in a July 21interview.

As of July 16, the fund has already financed 24 projects inthe amount of 135.8 million tenge (US$726,200), which enables the installation of drop irrigation equipment on 300 hectares. Thirteen requests for installation of drop irrigation equipment on 100 hectares are also currently being considered and three contracts for installation of the equipment on the remaining 40 hectares will be registered soon.

“In 2015,the fund plans to spend 675 million tenge ($US3.6 million). The program operates in all regions of Kazakhstan and all farmers who want to use drop irrigation can approach the offices of the fund, which are situated in every region of the state,” said Ensebayeva.

The issue of water and the difficulty and expense of acquiring it was reviewed by Kenzhetai farm head Gulnara Saramsakova. The farm raises vegetables and the need to pump water from a river using three or four engines which consume a lot of fuel is a costly proposition.

“We haven’t used drop irrigation technology yet, but I am sure that this technology will help us. The equipment is very expensive and I thought for a long time before I made the decision to install it. I visited other farms which use the technology. I spoke to farmers and experts, saw the results of their work and I made the corresponding conclusion for myself,” she said in a July 20 interview.

Saramsakova considers this technology to beperfect for Kazakh farmers, because the crop is several times higher and water consumption is several times lower.Kazakh banks don’t give such loans, because they don’t accept farms as pledged assets, butthe fund does. As a result, farmers have the opportunity to get a loan.

Saramsakova is one of the fund’s first loan debtors under the drop irrigation program.

“Drop irrigation enables us to provide water directly to a plant’s roots constantly using special tubes with microscopic holes. Such plants get water only to the necessary place drop by drop. As a result,the soil around the roots isn’t too wet and isn’t too dry. It has air access. All the above-mentioned factors create optimum conditions for the life activity of plants and saves water,” she said.

Saramsakova secured afive-year FFSA loan inthe amount of 4.45 million tenge (US$23,739) with 14 percent interest. As such, theannual interest rate is not higher than 16.32 percent.

The equipment is being installed in Shariptogai village in the Kokpekty district, East Kazakhstan region. The farm has all the necessary equipment and tools, a heat-insulated warehouse and refrigerationsystem for long-term crop storage.

Saramsakova plans to create five new work places at her farm and is sure implementingthe new technology will make her life easier and her business more profitable. She has a very ambitious development plan.

World Grain

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN — The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov on May 23 signed an agreement establishing an FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in the country.

FAO’s new partnership with Kazakhstan will facilitate international cooperation efforts, bringing FAO and the government together to support of national development goals and priorities as well as assist other countries in the region.

The new office will promote cooperation with donors and financial institutions, scientific circles, multilateral agencies and other key partners, particularly with the Islamic Organization for Food Security being established in Kazakhstan under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

In his address at the signing ceremony, Graziano da Silva highlighted that the establishment of a Partnership and Liaison Office in Kazakhstan will strengthen FAO’s partnership with Kazakhstan and open up new opportunities for cooperation in pursuit of common goals.

Graziano da Silva met the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, during the VIII Astana Economic Forum. Nazarbayev underscored the importance of addressing food insecurity, being among the three global challenges. Graziano da Silva congratulated the president for achieving the first three Millennium Development Goals and praised Kazakhstan for maintaining since 1990 the total number and proportion of undernourished people at under 5% of the population.

During the mission to Astana, Graziano da Silva visited Astana’s Agrarian and Technological University and gave a lecture on global food security challenges. He encouraged students to help contribute to the fight against hunger through agricultural research  and development.

The director-general was awarded with the academic rank of honorable professor.

FAO has been working in Kazakhstan since 1997, focusing on sustainable natural resource management, food safety and organic food production, animal health and livestock production.

Business Intelligence from Colibri Law Firm: Issue #100

In this hundredth jubilee edition of Business Intelligence we have tried to highlight most ambitious and long-awaited projects in our region. These are handpicked as per our subjective vision and hence may not be exhaustive. Needless to say that we are thankful for all about fifteen thousands of you who has been constantly receiving our newsletter all this time. We promise to constantly work on making this intelligence newsletter better. Georgia: $108 Million from ADB to Improve Water and Sanitation in Zugdidi and Poti Georgia: Anaklia Port development investor revealed mid-2015 Georgia: Oil refinery is to be built in Poti Central Asia: China’s New Silk Road project Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan’s “Eurasia project” Kazakhstan: South Korean company to build a power plant in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan: Shifting the accents in Kazakh economy Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan and China plan to establish JVs producing nuclear fuel Kazakhstan: Burgundy firm CLEIA signs major brickworks contract Kazakhstan: ALSTOM has agreed to purchase an additional 25% stake in locomotive joint venture EKZ Kazakhstan: Construction of two nuclear plants to be commenced by 2018 Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan seeks presence in potash market with $3.8 billion China investment Kyrgyzstan: Instrument of accession to the Eurasian Economic Union is signed Kyrgyzstan: ADB helps modernize Kyrgyzstan’s largest power plant Tajikistan: CASA-1000 project agreement is signed Uzbekistan: CNPC starts development of three gas-condensate fields Uzbekistan: China to issue US 550m to Uzbekistan to develop Uzmobile Uzbekistan: Russia’s LUKOIL extends its presence in Uzbekistan Uzbekistan: USD 66m for chemical complex construction Uzbekistan: $2.5 billion to be directed for setting up polyethylene unit

Business Intelligence from Colibri Law Firm: Issue #93

Kazakhstan intends to increase the its grain exports to Russia amid the sanctions that Russia imposed on some of the agricultural products imported from the western countries supporting sanctions against Russia, Tengrinews reports citing Chairman of the Committee for State Inspection in Agro-Industry (Agroprom) of the Agriculture Ministry of Kazakhstan Saktash Khasenov.

Herewith, he pointed out that Kazakhstan’s grain exports in Russia direction traditionally faced transport and logistics problems. “We are always ready to increase the grain exports, primarily fodder crops. We have traditional markets, such as Iran, Turkey. And, as far as I know, last year we agreed to increase wheat exports to China,” Mr. Khasenov told.

According to him, in 2014-2015 Kazakhstan’s grain export potential will make 8-9 million tons. In the 2013-2014 marketing year, Kazakhstan exported 8.7 million tons of grain.

Business Intelligence from Colibri Law Firm: Issue #91 

The Kazakh government has indemnified the costs of a number of domestic companies incurred by the certification of goods, works, services and quality management systems, the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies told Trend.

“The compensation is related to the expenses the companies faced in connection with the passing of the certification procedure of goods, works, services, and quality management systems (in accordance with international ISO, API, ASTM standards),” the press service said.

Such enterprises as “KSP Steel” LLP, “Astana Solar” LLP, “KPM Plast” LLP, “Format Mach Company Engineering” LLP, “Kazlegprom-Almaty” LLP, “Zhigermunayservis” LLP, etc., have already received compensation from the government according to the ministry’s report.

In accordance with the Kazakh government decree, compensation is performed on 27 types of industries, including: manufacturing of electrical equipment, textiles, rubber, plastic products, and others.

As the ministry reported, the amount of compensation amounts to 50 percent of the amount spent for the certification. However, the amount of compensation should not exceed 3,000 of monthly calculation index (MCI).

“The costs are reimbursed by those Kazakhs producers who are registered in a database of goods, works and services and their suppliers on the “Local Content “portal,” the press service said.

Kazakhstanunsc.com

Kazakhstan has launched a website to communicate the main policy priorities of Kazakhstan’s UNSC bid, which was launched last year. Kazakhstan’s bid is based on four central pillars: food security, water security, energy securityand nuclear security.