The Prime Minister held a meeting to review the progress of the state leader's directives aimed at attracting investments into the country's economy, as reported by Primeminister.kz.
The main objective is to accelerate the implementation of major investment projects and address systemic issues hindering the improvement of the investment climate in the country, as well as to consider possible measures to enhance the effectiveness of investment policy, create favorable conditions for investors, and activate efforts to attract capital.
Information was presented by the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kazakh Invest regarding the pace of work and analysis of factors influencing the dynamics of investment activity. In 2024, 230 investment projects worth 1.85 trillion tenge were commissioned in Kazakhstan. The work of the Investment Headquarters over the year has resolved 115 problematic issues for investors related to projects totaling over 50 billion dollars.
A targeted approach is being implemented to attract investors to priority niches where Kazakhstan has a competitive advantage, with potential for higher processing and export opportunities. The top 10 leading companies in various sectors have been identified for negotiations regarding specific collaboration prospects and transitioning to active investment stages. Thus, work is being restructured based on the principle of "ordering investments," considering the needs of the economy, the competitive advantages of regions, and other factors.
For example, productive collaboration has been established with major Chinese agribusiness companies. Fufeng Group plans to start construction of a sodium glutamate production plant based on deep corn processing worth 350 million dollars in the Zhambyl region soon. Dalian Hesheng Holding Group will begin construction and installation works this summer as part of a complex for deep wheat processing in the Akmolinsk region, amounting to 650 million dollars. Active efforts continue with all companies to "land" projects, which means creating favorable conditions, including accessible infrastructure and prompt resolution of administrative issues.
Additionally, 20 strategic projects have been identified, with a total investment volume of 12 billion dollars, covering key sectors of the economy, including agribusiness, energy, industry, construction materials production, and others.
Among the presented projects, it is planned to sign Investment Agreements for 14 projects this year, commence construction and installation works for 13 projects, and begin the development of project and estimate documentation for another 16 projects.
Attention was also drawn to projects for which agreements were reached during working trips, meetings, and other events. The Prime Minister focused in detail on investment projects where deadlines for implementation were missed. The akims of Almaty, Aktobe, Atyrau, Zhambyl regions, and the cities of Astana and Shymkent, as well as the ministers of health and trade, were heard.
“Currently, the measures taken by the akimats to attract investments do not fully reveal the regions' potential, and the economic potential is not sufficiently utilized. Work in this direction must be conducted at all levels of the local government vertical – including district akims,” the head of the government instructed.
Approaches for implementing planned indicators for the work of regional akimats and ministries have been approved.
A new National Digital Investment Platform will serve as an effective mechanism for monitoring and enhancing control over project implementation, where data on 1159 projects is already available. This information will be populated in collaboration with NPP "Atameken" and verified on the ground by akimats.
At the same time, a number of problematic issues affecting the responsiveness of government agencies and requiring action were noted during the meeting.
These include the shortage and lack of prompt infrastructure provision, complex administrative procedures, delays in issuing permits, and lengthy timelines for providing land plots. Necessary decisions have been made on all issues.
“The President noted at the expanded government meeting that attracting investments is a critically important issue that requires more prompt action without excessive bureaucracy. Government agencies, especially akimats, need to manually monitor the progress of project implementation. Akims and ministers must address this issue on a daily basis. This is the main task today – we need to resolve investors' issues promptly,” emphasized Olzhas Bektenov.
Work in this direction is under special control of the Prime Minister.
It is worth noting that earlier it was reported that the volume of investments in fixed capital in Kazakhstan from January to December 2024 reached 19.4 trillion tenge, which is 7.4% higher in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2023 (IFO – 107.5%). The growth rate of investments has slowed down compared to 2022 and 2023, when increases of 15.2% (IFO – 109.2%) and 15.7% (IFO – 111.2%) were observed, respectively.