Politics and Macroeconomics -- Kazakhstan Weekly News

Kazakhstan Plans to Join WTO Within Two Years

Kazakhstan plans to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) within the next two years, Economics Minister Zhaksybek Kulekeev said on Tuesday. Kulekeev said at a press conference in Astana that the republic announced its application for WTO membership in February 1996.

Kulekeev could not give a more precise time frame on WTO entry, noting that “this will depend not only on Kazakhstan, but also on WTO member states with which Kazakhstan will have to hold bilateral talks and sign appropriate agreements.”

The minister stated that the WTO demands low customs tariffs on goods and services from its members. Kazakhstan has already submitted its proposals on shaping customs tariffs to the WTO, Kulekeev said. He added that membership in the WTO should not affect the republic’s customs union shared with Russia, Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan.

After joining the WTO, Kazakhstan will gain real access to international markets for the export of textiles, agricultural products and other items, although the nation exports mostly raw materials at present, Kulekeev said. (Interfax, Golden Eagle Partners)

Kazakhstan Issues State Securities Totalling KZT 2.9b in November

In November, Kazakhstan issued tenge-denominated state securities for the first time since the devaluation of the national currency in April, the National Bank Chairman Grigoriy Marchenko said at a Tuesday press conference, NTK television reported. According to data that has been released thus far, the Ministry of Finance placed a total of KZT 2.9 billion in government papers during the month.

Marchenko stated that “this record volume of placed securities” was made possible by the stabilisation of financial markets, and, specifically, the strengthening of the tenge versus the dollar. The improvement in financial markets has encouraged the Ministry of Finance to issue more long-term currency notes with 6-9 month terms. (Interfax, Golden Eagle Partners)

Kazakhstan Produced 27 mln Tonnes of Oil January to November

Kazakhstan produced 27,369,278 tonnes of oil and gas condensate in the first 11 months of the year. This was 0.6% above target and 16.2% more year-on-year.

It produced 6.464209 billion cubic meters of gas (1.1% below target and 29.5% more year-on-year).

From January through November, the state oil company, Kazakhoil, produced 5,082,097 tonnes of oil and condensate (4.3% above and 4.3% more, respectively), including 2,980,275 tonnes of oil (5.6% above and 10% more) and 34,630 tonnes of condensate (9.6% below and 14% less) at Uzenmunaigaz, and 2,101,822 tonnes of oil at Kazakhoil-Emba (2.6% above and 2.9% less).

Another nine organisations in which Kazakhoil participates produced 9,458,050 tonnes of oil in this period (1.7% below and 16.4% more), including 8,826,288 tonnes at Tengizchevroil (0.9% below and 15.7% more). (Interfax, Bloomberg)

Majilis Communists and Independents Consider Forming a Block

Communists and independent deputies in the lower house of parliament are considering forming a coalition in the new session of parliament.

Majilis deputy Iskhan Alimzhanov said “independent candidates most likely will team up with the communists.” However, Alimzhanov noted also that Majilis independents are mulling over the possibility of forming their own separate voting block in the lower house of parliament. (Interfax, Golden Eagle Partners)

Ministry of Economy Works on a 5-year Forecast

Kazakhstan will develop a 5-year plan for social and economic development. The Minister of Economics, Zhaksybek Kulekeev, said this medium-term plan will commence in 2001. He said that the Ministry is expected to prepare the foundation of the plan by 1 March 2000. The Ministry has already started developing this plan and currently is working on its legal basis as well as its structure, ideology and mechanism of implementation. Mr Kulekeev said the 5-year plan will be realised through targeted state programmes and state finances.

The Parliament is currently considering a three-year programme for 2000-2002 which was prepared by the Government. The macroeconomic forecast in this programme includes the stabilisation of the GDP at USD 14 billion from USD 13.6 billion in 2000, and a decrease in inflation to 9% in 2000, 5.9% in 2001 and 4% in 2002. The budget deficit is expected to be 3% of the GDP in 2000, 2.2% in 2001 and 1.2% in 2002. (Interfax)

National Bank Chairman Sees Improvements in Monetary Base

The chairman of the National Bank, Grigoriy Marchenko, said that the monetary base now accounts for 10.4% of the economy. According to his estimates this level might even reach 11.7% by the year-end. The weakest monetary base in Kazakhstan’s history was between 1994 and 1998 when it was 8.6%. Mr Marchenko said the increase in the base was mainly driven by the growth in monetary aggregates. The trend toward an increasing monetary base has been seen since April’s sharp devaluation of the tenge and was driven mainly by the growth of the country’s net international reserves (USD 1,393 million as of 30 November). The monetary base grew by 7.3% in November and 10.9% from the beginning of the year, reaching KZT 96.9 billion (about USD 700 million). Over the first 10 months of this year the money supply grew by 42.6% reaching KZT 211.7 billion. Marchenko estimates a 45% growth in the money supply over the first 11 months of 1999. (Interfax)

The Government to Eliminate 1% Tax on Individuals Purchasing Foreign Currency

The Government of Kazakhstan issued a resolution eliminating the tax on individuals purchasing foreign currency. This tax was put in place on 2 April 1999 by a Government regulation specifying that any individual purchasing foreign currency at exchange outlets or banks had to pay a tax of 1% of the amount of the currency bought. (Interfax).

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