The Prime Minister has three deputies who supervise the activities of the 16 ministries. The First Deputy Prime Minister, U. Zhandosov, appointed in February 1998, is responsible for the co-ordination of activities related to investments. He is also the Head of the State Investment Committee, a special government agency which has complete authority over investment issues. Mr. A. Pavlov, another Deputy Prime Minister, has primary responsibility for the activities of the "economic" ministries – the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Social Protection, etc. A former presidential assistant, Mr E. Utembaev, is now the Minister-Chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms. The recently appointed Deputy Prime Minister Zh. Karibzhanov supervises the ministries of agriculture and industry.

A special committee which aims to serve as a one-stop-shop for foreign investors was established in November 1996 as a part of broader governmental reforms. The committee holds primary responsibility for all issues related to attracting foreign investment and the design, evaluation, analysis, and implementation of investment programmes. The State Investment Committee is also responsible for issuing and obtaining all the necessary licences and other documents required for implementing investment projects. To this end, as of October 1997, the Investment Committee has the right to issue licences for the exploration of mineral reserves. Moreover, according to the law on the Government’s support of direct investment, the Committee can grant tax holidays and other privileges to certain investment projects. The Chairman of the Investment Committee is also a First Deputy Prime Minister. (Mr. U. Zhandosov, formerly Chairman of the National Bank, was appointed to this position in February 1998). The Executive Director is S. Kanapianov.

One of the most important ministries is the Ministry of Finance, which has primary responsibility over the budget, fiscal, and accounting methodology issues. Concerning the budget, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for all tax collection and administration matters, and customs operations. It also acts as an issuer of the Government’s debt securities, and it is the only body authorised for official foreign borrowing. The Ministry of Finance also regulates issues concerning state property through the state property management and privatisation department and special department on enterprise restructuring. Moreover, the newly established committee to control the output and distribution of alcoholic products is the main regulatory body over the market of alcoholic products.

The Ministry of Energy, Industry and Trade was formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of three ministries – economy; industry and trade; and energy and fuels. This Ministry supervises major elements of Kazakhstan’s industry such as the power sector, oil, gas, and construction. As of May 1998, Mr M. Ablyazov was the Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the National Securities Commission are two executive bodies which are independent of the Government and report directly to the President. For more information on the activities of these institutions, see Kazkommerts Securities' forthcoming research publication on Financial Markets.

The Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms, established in 1997 as a governmental agency in charge of the state programmes' analysis and development, in May 1998 was reorganised and withdrawn from the structure of the Government. It was split into several agencies: agency on strategic planning and reforms representing the central executive body; economic planning committee within the structure of the Ministry of energy, industry and trade; the committee on regulation of natural monopolies and competition support within the structure of the Ministry of Energy, industry and trade.