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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Kazakhstan plans to borrow $1 billion each from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank in order to finance its 2016 state budget deficit.

Kazakhstan’s parliament passed the budget last month, with an estimated deficit of 723.4 billion tenge ($2.2 billion).

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Samruk-Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has announced memorandums of understanding and agreements for five projects totalling $4 billion at the meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Business Council (KCBC).

The event was attended by more than 350 representatives from governments and businesses from both countries and included keynote remarks from Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov and Samruk-Kazyna’s CEO Umirzak Shukeyev.

Key announcements at the KCBC meeting included:

• Agreement between KazMunayGas and Sinopec in oil exploration and production, petrochemicals, engineering and renewable energy.
• Agreement between Kazakhstan’s national atomic company, Kazatomprom, and China General Nuclear Power for the design and construction of a plant for the production of fuel assemblies in Kazakhstan and the joint development of uranium deposits in Kazakhstan.
• Agreement between Kazakhstelecom and China Telecom to roll out fibre optic communications lines in rural Kazakhstan.

Kazinform

On November 18, the EXPO-2017 Commissioner Rapil Zhoshybayev met with Ambassador of Cuba to Kazakhstan, Commissioner of the national section of the Cuban pavilion at the EXPO-2017 Carlos Enrique Valdes de la Concepcion in Astana.

The sides shared opinions about the prospects of future cooperation in the green energy sphere and signed an agreement on Cuban participation in the EXPO-2017.

Cuba has participated in EXPO exhibitions since the first one in London in 1852 (as a Spanish colony). It has become the 14th country that signed an agreement on the participation. However, 53 world countries and 11 international organizations have officially confirmed their participation in the Exhibition in Astana.

The Ambassador noted these events are a measure of a high level of political relations between the two countries. Cuba understands the relevance of the theme of the EXPO-2017 and plans to produce 24% of the total energy from renewable energy sources by 2030.

PwC Kazakhstan

·           a gradual introduction of obligatory electronic invoices: during 2016 — for certain types of taxpayers, from 2017 — for all VAT payers. Violation of electronic invoicing requirements could result in an administrative fine for large taxpayers up to 80% of the VAT stated in the invoice’s hard copy (but not less than 40 MCI, approximately KZT 85 thousand);

·           transfer of goods from KZ to another member state of the Customs Union (CU) within the same legal entity shall be non VAT-able turnover.  Similarly goods, imported from another member state of the CU within the same legal entity shall not be subject to import VAT;

·   new provisions on VAT refunds for taxpayers who have excess VAT receivable accumulated during the period of geological exploration and field development;

·           a clarification on turnovers, which are not turnovers of commissioner under agency and commission  contracts, as well as clarification on the order of invoicing under a commission contract;

·   a cancellation of voluntary VAT registration from 2017;

·           a reduction of the annual turnover threshold for mandatory VAT registration up to 3 234 MCI (about KZT 7 mln);

·           new requirements for VAT registration;

·           a transition to electronic VAT registration certificate from 1 April 2016;

·   prolongation of import VAT payment by offset mechanism on import of certain goods till 2022.

Telegraph

Residents at a proposed apartment building in Astana would be able to ski or snowboard down a 1,000ft slope linking the roof to the ground.

A new housing complex planned in Astana, Kazakhstan‘s capital, is set to include a 1,000ft ski slope, running from the roof to the ground.

The proposed project was devised by a group of architects, led by Shokhan Mataibekov, who were inspired by Kazakhstan’s exceedingly long, cold winter.

The city of Astana experiences temperatures averaging around -20°C, with a long winter lasting from November right through to April – but there are currently no slopes nearby for skiers and snowboarders to make the most of the conditions.

Enter House Slalom, a multi-purpose, 21-storey building comprised of shops on the ground floor, 421 flats on the upper floors, and an outdoor ski slope running alongside the building.

Plans have been submitted, and the project is currently awaiting approval from city officials.

If successful, the building would be the first of its kind in the world according to Mr. Mataibekov, formerly Astana’s chief architect.

He added: “It would be an instant hit for ski and snowboard lovers”.

The run has been designed to offer year-round snow sports – constructed from Snowflex, a synthetic material designed to simulate the slip and grip effects of real snow, the slope would be equally accessible in the summer months.

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Central Asia’s largest transport and logistics centre has been launched in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The country’s railway operator, Kazakhstan Railways, has said that the centre will provide integrated storage services with a full cycle of multi-modal logistics.

Transport and logistics centres will also be built in other major cities in Kazakhstan, such as Aktobe, Pavlodar, Almaty, Uralsk, Atyrau, Kostanai and Semey as part of a programme to create external and internal terminal networks.

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In a major legislative development, Kazakhstan is implementing a new law on public-private partnerships. As such, our team has prepared an extended overview of the major aspects of this new law, which is due to enter into force next week on 23 November 2015.

Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev has signed the Law “On Public-Private Partnership” (the “Law”) which provides for the conditions of cooperation between the state and private businesses in Kazakhstan. The law is aimed at ensuring the country’s sustainable social and economic development and will enter into force on 23 November 2015.

The Law regulates the main approaches and phases for the implementation of public-private partnership (PPP) projects, and outlines the challenges, principles and defining characteristics of PPPs. It also provides guarantees for the rights and interests of the participants of PPPs, the forms of their participation in projects and the means of state support.

The participants of PPPs include: (i) the state (ii) entrepreneurs and (iii) financial organisations that provide project financing. The Law stipulates the conditions for sources of financing for PPP projects, the reimbursement of expenses to subjects and income generation.

The Law also stipulates that a private partner may be selected on the basis of (i)a tender or (ii) direct discussions. It also defines the qualification requirements that a potential private partner must satisfy in order to participate in a tender process, the conditions for a tender process and the procedure for the conclusion of PPP agreements.

Specifically, the new definitions include the following:

• “Private partner” – a sole entrepreneur, partnership, consortium or legal entity, except for persons acting as public partners in accordance with the Law, entered into a public-private partnership agreement;
• “Public partner” – the Republic of Kazakhstan, on behalf of which the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan or local executive body of the region, city of republican status and the capital, as well as their other authorised state authorities and subjects of quasi-public sector, 50% and more of voting shares (interests in the charter capital) of which are directly or indirectly owned by the state, concluded a public-private partnership agreement;
• “Public-private partnerships” – a form of cooperation between the public and private partners corresponding to the characteristics defined in the Law;
• “Direct agreement” – a written agreement between the public partner, private partner and creditor of a private partner for the implementation of a public-private partnership project of special importance.

In addition, President Nazarbayev has signed the Law “On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan as to the public-private partnership”. The purpose of this legislative act is to bring current Kazakh legislation into compliance with the new Law.

This Law is also aimed at implementing some of the “100 Concrete Steps” and regulates the issues involved in attracting investment for the construction of infrastructure for the Kazakh population.

EdgeKz

The world today presents a wide range of music genres for people of all tastes. Whether electronic or heavy metal, sounds of any kind are available for everyone. Some of Kazakhstan’s outstanding musicians try to preserve traditional sounds and give them a modern twist.

This year, Almaty hosted The Spirit of Tengri festival for the third time. The event attracted ethno musicians from Kazakhstan, China, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Norway, Russia and Turkey.

The Spirit of Tengri is organized to unite the efforts of the current generation to preserve the spiritual riches of its ancestors, according to the festival’s website. Participants are successors of the traditions rooted deeply in the history of thousands of years of the Great Steppe.

Three groups, Tigrahaud, Arkaiym and Aldaspan, shared their stories and their experience at the festival with “EdgeKz.”

Tigrahaud, created two years ago, was the brainchild of Daniyar Zhakiyanov, who is also its manager.

“I have been dreaming about such a project for a long time and later when I was forming a group there were very tough requirements for the musicians. First, the professional level had to be high, as well as the performing skills, and the key point for me was the versatility, meaning that in addition to the main instrument, the musician had to play another folk instrument,” he said.

Zhakiyanov’s idea was to show audiences as many folk instruments as possible with a small band. From the beginning, Tigrahaud has aimed at drawing Kazakh and international audiences and promoting national folk music to the world.

The group is named for one of the Saka tribes that lived in the area of the modern Almaty region and the tribe that created the famous Golden Man unearthed from the Issyk burial mound. The moniker fits, as the group lives in Taldykorgan, where Tigrahaud formerly resided.

This year the band participated in the Spirit of Tengri for the first time. The group has grand plans. It wants to show the world who the Kazakhs are, their extraordinarily-beautiful, sometimes cruel history and how a small nation had to defend the land from barbarians – all through its music.

Watch the Music video

Find more compositions here

Arkaiym, a duo created in April 2014, is another bright representative of Kazakh ethno-folk music. Members Abzal Arykbayev and Anara Kassymova, who also perform with the famous ethno-folk groups Turan and Art-Dala, developed a new direction which they call neo-ethno-folk. The genre is a completely different direction in music, embodying the synthesis of diverse musical styles. The basic idea behind the duo’s creation was the desire to recreate the sound of old, archaic instruments in an entirely new interpretation.

The artists play more than 30 types of folk musical instruments, both Kazakh and world types, including winds of Native North Americans, didgeridoo (shamanic musical instrument of the Australian Aborigines), darbuka (Turkish national musical instrument) and Kyrgyz instruments.

As any musician or band, Arkaiym wants world fame – not their own fame, but fame and recognition of Kazakh folk instruments.

“Because we have a priceless treasure, which unfortunately is sometimes unnoticed by us,” the duo explained.

Working at the Museum of Musical Instruments, the performers have a chance to draw visitors closer to the country’s musical heritage through training, workshops and exhibitions. They released their first album, “Arkaiym,” with the help of The Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan through which they won a grant for creative development, and are looking forward to the release of their first video.

Watch the Music video

Aldaspan, created by Nurzhan Toishy, is famous among ethno music lovers for its electric dombra sound. Toishy fell in love with heavy metal as a kid. Listening to riffs by James Hetfield, Kerry King, Max Cavalera and others, he realised their emotional sound was very similar to the riffs and chords used in Kazakh kuis. Toishy played the dombra in high school; after graduation, he and Murat Kubekov, a piano-tuner and dombra maker for the Kazakh State Conservatory, created three experimental electro dombras. He continued to tinker with the design, wanting to show to the world the possibilities of the instrument, and chose heavy metal as his style, opting to leave dombra playing to others and becoming a drummer, soloist and front man.

Aldaspan is a heavy kind of sabre used against armored soldiers and cavalry. The group identifies with war, courage, bravery and fighting; real men’s stuff, the backbone of Turkic folk songs. Kazakh people formed the basis of Genghis Khan’s army and for them, war was their main profession after farming.

Combining heavy metal with Kazakh national instruments makes the sound fresh and unusual.

Watch the Music video

Reuters

Nov 18 Kazakhstan plans to sell stakes of at least 25 percent in 43 large state-owned companies via initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2016-17, the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday.

The government faces a plunge in revenues from oil, Kazakhstan’s main export. President Nursultan Nazarbayev told a government meeting on Wednesday he wanted Kazakh businessmen and companies to take part in the privatisations.

The stakes will be sold on the floor of the oil-rich nation’s financial centre being built in the capital Astana, the fund said.

The businesses to go public include oil and gas company KazMunaiGas, uranium company Kazatomprom, railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and mining firm Tau-ken Samruk, it said.

Tau-ken Samruk has a 30 percent stake in Glencore-controlled zinc producer Kazzinc.

Offered for sale will also be stakes in electricity firms united in the fund’s division Samruk-Energo.

Samruk-Kazyna manages state-owned stakes in companies representing all major branches of Central Asia’s largest economy.

Two sources close to the government told Reuters this month the companies in which the state would sell stakes included miner Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), flagship carrier Air Astana and Kazakhtelecom.

The fund said that besides holding IPOs in the 43 large companies, it would privatise 182 “non-core assets” through auctions in the same period.

The total value of the capital of all the companies slated for sell-off is around 2.5 trillion tenge ($8.1 billion), the fund said.