According to Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbaev, who spoke at a governmental session on 16 March, Kazakhstan's industrial output decreased by about 5% in the first two months of 1999 compared with the same period last year. The prime minister said that two Kazakhstani oil refineries, Atyrau, in the west of Kazakhstan, and Pavlodar, in the north, almost halved crude oil processing in January-February. Only four of Kazakhstan's 38 large companies, which are managed by both foreign and local investors, have improved their performance. The prime minister said that most management companies have failed to fulfil their contractual obligations. The government is especially concerned about tax collection. Only 78.9% of the planned tax revenue was received in the first two months of 1999. Arrears to the budget totalled KZT 13bn (USD 151m). (Interfax)

In January-February, Kazakhstan's export of iron ore plummeted by 78.8% to 271,000 tonnes compared with the same period last year, Interfax reported. The reduction was mostly due to the shrinking Russian market. Iron ore export to Russia fell by 82.9% to 200,000 tonnes over the reported period. Russia's metal producers, who have been major buyers of Kazakhstani iron ore, have switched recently to cheaper local ore.

Last year, Kazakhstan shipped 93% of its iron ore export to Russia. (Interfax)

Most private pension funds compare favourably with the State Pension Fund (SPF) in terms of the average monthly yield on pension assets, the National Securities Commission (NSC) said to Interfax. According to the NSC, in early 1998, when the Kazakhstan's pension reform commenced, private pension funds (PPF) could offer an average monthly yield of only 2%-4% compared with the 11.04% reached by the National Bank of Kazakhstan as the manager of the SPF's pension assets. However, in December 1998, the average yield of the SPF was 17.84% whereas PPFs increased their average yields to 20%-24%. Before August 1998, PPFs invested only in state securities. In August and September 1998, some PPFs started deposing their assets in second-tier banks. Since December 1998, the assets of PPFs have also been invested in shares listed in the A Listing of the KASE. (Interfax)

The president of the national oil company KazakhOil said that Kazakhstan intends to keep oil production at the 1998 level, which is 27 million tonnes. According to him, the result will depend on the performance of MangystauMunaiGas and Hurricane Kumkol Munai, two oil producers that are not controlled by KazakhOil. Last year, KazakhOil produced 20 million tonnes of oil. Other oil companies recovered the remaining 6.9 million tonnes. MangystauMunaiGas, which is owned by Central Asia Petroleum, is based in Western Kazakhstan. Hurricane Kumkol Munai was founded by Canada's Hurricane and Russia's LUKOil. It is developing the Kumkol oil field in the south of Kazakhstan. (Reuters)

The Panorama newspaper published a letter which was written to President Nursultan Nazarbaev by the councils of the KASE and the Brokers and Dealers Association. It addresses a number of issues dealing with the national currency, the privatisation programme, and the governmental tax policy. The authors of the letter believe that a reasonable Tenge devaluation rate could be 10%-15% in 1999 and that it should be officially announced by the Kazakhstani Government in order to stop speculations on this matter. With respect to the privatisation programme, they see the privatisation of large Kazakhstani companies as the only considerable source of securities on the Kazakhstani stock market for the next two or three years. The letter, therefore, calls for stricter rules and more transparent procedures be applied to the privatisation of Kazakhstani blue chip companies. In connection with the tax policy, the letter says that the introduction of new taxes could deter investors, especially large investors, who adhere to cautious and conservative strategies. Fears that new taxes may be imposed on currency exchange operations or transactions with securities can have a negative impact on the investment climate, the letter says. The authors of the letter call on decision makers to take into account their considerations on these issues. (Panorama)

According to a presidential decree dated 15 March 1999, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Kasymzhomart Tokaev, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. At this post, the 54-year-old minister will be in charge of foreign investments and trade. (Panorama)