14 December 2018, 08:10
The V Annual Investor Award Ceremony for investment activity in Kazakhstan was held Dec. 14 in Astana, during which foreign investors who contributed to the implementation of projects in various sectors of the economy were noted. Ten companies were awarded for investment activity.
The award ceremony was opened by the Deputy Minister for Investments and Development Timur Toktabayev. By tradition, ten active investors are annually awarded, which are represented by countries such as France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
For investment activity in Kazakhstan in 2018, the following companies were awarded:
As noted by Toktabayev, ten nominees of today's event, among which are transnational corporations, world leaders, major industry players, projects worth over $1 billion are being implemented, about 2,500 new jobs are being created. According to the Ministry for Investments and Development, over the period of independence, more than 200 investment projects have been implemented with the participation of foreign investors, and about 300 new initiatives are being implemented and developed. Only this year about 30 new projects were commissioned. According to the vice minister, an important role in the implementation of these projects was played by foreign ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps, as well as associations of foreign investors, such as the Kazakhstan Foreign Investors’ Council Association, the France-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce, European Business Association of Kazakhstan, Association of Turkish and Kazakh businessmen and others.
The main goal of today's event is to stimulate further activity of foreign investors working in Kazakhstan to implement new joint projects, attract new investors, improve interaction between various government and quasi-state structures in attracting investments. The event was attended by heads of foreign diplomatic missions, business associations and companies.
Toktabayev noted that thanks to the support of the Head of State, as well as the close cooperation of the Government with foreign partners, Kazakhstan today is turning from a regional leader in attracting investment into an international center for foreign capital inflows, technologies and competencies. Currently, thanks to the reforms carried out in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business ranking, Kazakhstan is ranked 28th among the 190 countries and is the leader in attracting direct investment in Central Asia. During the years of independence, the gross inflow of foreign direct investment in the country's economy amounted to more than $300 billion.
Kazakhstan has achieved significant success – significantly liberalized entrepreneurship legislation, our country became an associate member of the OECD Investment Committee and joined the Declaration on International Investment. The country has 12 special economic and 22 industrial zones, provides tax and customs benefits, as well as other preferences and support for investors.
In addition, there are dialogue platforms in the country – the Council of Foreign Investors under the President, the Council for the Improvement of the Investment Climate under the Prime Minister and the Ombudsman's Institute, where various issues are actively discussed together with Investors’ Association, Euro Tank, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan and other organizations.
In line with global trends, Kazakhstan is currently implementing a number of breakthrough initiatives in the development of the transport and logistics industry, digitalization of the economy, the agro-industrial complex, green energy, privatization programs of state assets, development of innovative clusters, tourism and many others. For the first time in the history of Central Asia, the Astana International Financial Center with a special status and jurisdiction was launched on the basis of Expo 2017. From 2019, the Fund for Direct Investments in the Non-Primary Sector will start working on the best world model, and will co-invest with foreign investors to implement large and breakthrough projects.
Vice President for Eastern Europe and the CIS of Air Liquide Company Olivier Randet, having received his award, expressed his gratitude to Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev for his constructive investment attraction policy.
“On September 1 this year we launched a hydrogen plant at the Pavlodar refinery. It is an honor for us to be at this awards ceremony for foreign investors. We pay tribute to Kazakhstan for the contribution made to the development of human capital and to the successful development of the economy,” said a spokesman for Air Liquide.
The Director General of Lukoil LLP Andrey Matyukhov, in turn, shared the observations that he had accumulated over his 20 years of work in Kazakhstan.
“It is very touching and exciting to receive such an award. Today we are implementing a project for the construction of a plant for the production of lubricants with a capacity of 100 thousand tons in the Almaty region. I would like to note that a very favorable investment climate has been created in the country,” said Matyukhov.
The project developer for the construction of a solar power plant of Solarnet Investment Jan Zonenschein also noted the favorable investment policy pursued in Kazakhstan.
“Building a company here in Kazakhstan in a very short time was a very big challenge for us, a great challenge. We started construction in July this year, and now in December we are ready to launch. We are pleased to have coped with this. The authorities of Kazakhstan provided full support. I do not see any barriers in this country. We are very pleased that we have received such an award,” said Zonenschein.
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