Kazakhstan Sweep 100817

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  Kazakhstan is considering a possibility of partial cancelation of ban on export of petroleum products to Kyrgyzstan, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Karim Masimov, announced during a discussion of the anti-crisis plan on restoration of Kyrgyzstan's economy, Kazakhstan Today reported on August 17.
  
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  Kazakhstan is extraditing a suspected militant to Russia. Surkho Dautov is accused of participating in an illegal paramilitary formation in the territory of Chechnya, an official at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office told Itar-Tass on August 17.
  
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  The total volume of the pharmaceutical market of the Customs Union states is $17 billion with participation of 170 million consumers, Samruk-Kazyna Pharmacy press service informed on August 17.
  
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  The EurAsEC Agro Industrial Policy Council of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan has renewed the negotiations on formation of the common grain market by September - October, Kazakhstan Today reported on August 17 citing the Russian Business Newspaper.
  
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  Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to establish a committee for migration policy within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) Interfax Kazakhstan reported on August 17.
  
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  Kazakhstan is recovering from economic crisis, but stagnant credit growth and banking sector troubles continue to weigh on economic activity, said the International Monetary Fund on August 17.
  
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  Head of State N.Nazarbayev has held a session on the issues of reforming the law-enforcement system of Kazakhstan on August 17, the Presidential press service reported.
  

17.08.2010

 http://www.kt.kz/?lang=eng&uin=1133435548&chapter=1153522908
Astana. August 17. Kazakhstan Today - Kazakhstan is considering a possibility of partial cancelation of ban on export of petroleum products to Kyrgyzstan. The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Karim Masimov, assigned during discussion of the anti-crisis plan on restoration of Kyrgyzstan's economy, the agency reports.

"I assign the Oil and Gas Ministry: to define quota for Kyrgyzstan," K. Masimov said.

As informed earlier, Kazakhstan, as the OSCE chairman, intends to undertake a number of measures to support Kyrgyzstan.

"We defined that we will be working in three directions. First, it is urgent free aid due to the Kazakhstan government's resources. We have already prepared two government's orders about deliveries of coal to the Bishkek thermal power station and the urgent help with construction materials to the Osh and the Dzhalal-Abad areas," Vice Premier of Kazakhstan, Umirzak Shukeev, said at the expanded government's session on July 20.

He said that Kazakhstan along with the World Bank intends to develop the anti-recessionary plan for Kyrgyzstan, which will be presented on August 17, 2010 in Moscow at the EurAsEC session. Vice Premier explained that within the limits of this anti-recessionary plan, Kazakhstan intends "to attract low-interest loans for Kyrgyzstan from the World Bank, Asian Bank, and the Eurasian Fund.


Kazakhstan to extradite suspected militant to Russia

17.08.2010, 14.37

MOSCOW, August 17 (Itar-Tass) - Kazakhstan is extraditing a suspected militant to Russia. Surkho Dautov is accused of participating in an illegal paramilitary formation in the territory of Chechnya, an official at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

 

Total volume of pharmaceutical market of Customs Union states is $17 billion with participation of 170 million consumers

Almaty. August 17. Kazakhstan Today - Total volume of the pharmaceutical market of the Customs Union states is $17 billion with participation of 170 million consumers. Samruk-Kazyna Pharmacy press service informed.

"Owing to introduction to the Customs Union, Kazakhstan receives a pharmaceutical market worth $17 billion and 170 million consumers with a considerable prevalence of import."

According to the press service, each of the countries-participants have been doing serious works to increase their domestic share and to maintain quality of pharmaceutical production.

Introduction to the Customs Union will allow increasing mutual goods turnover of its countries-participants due to domestic production stimulation.

The Customs Union will allow its member states to toughen control over quality and safety of medical products. The uniform network of official laboratories for quality assurance of medical products and the integrated system of inspection of the market subjects will be created by the European Union analogy.

Almaty. August 17. Kazakhstan Today - The EurAsEC Agro Industrial Policy Council of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan has renewed the negotiations on formation of the common grain market by September - October, the agency reports citing the Russian Business Newspaper.

The negotiations have been carried out in the background of the proceeding decrease in forecasts of grain yield in the Russian Federation.

According to the newspaper, the new EurAsEC grain integration structure plans, in particular, to deliver fodder grain and wheat of first-rate quality from Belarus and Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation regions - most suffered from a drought and forest fires.

The Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Elena Skrynnik, said that "among the questions worked over with other EurAsEC member countries is organization and functioning of the common grain market of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan."


Nazarbayev proposes to establish a committee for migration policy and reform investigation authorities
Astana. August 17.
http://www.interfax.kz/?lang=eng&int_id=10&news_id=3688

Interfax-Kazakhstan – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposes to establish a committee for migration policy within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

"The Cabinet will organize a committee for migration policy within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will increase the government’s regulation of the migration processes and tighten the control over the migration flows", Nursultan Nazarbayev told a Tuesday meeting that was discussing reformation of the law-enforcement system of Kazakhstan.

"In order to fight drug abuse and trafficking more efficiently, all regional drugs control departments will be transferred to the MIA’s Committee for Fighting Drugs Trafficking. The MIA will gradually transfer its administrative detention function to the Ministry of Justice,” the president stressed.

"We also need to create an investigation committee within the MIA by merging the Criminal Police Committee and the Investigation Committee. As a result, the efficiency of the investigation efforts will improve", said Nursultan Nazarbayev, adding that the innovation could be tested in one of the regions before the same was done throughout the country.


Kazakhstan on Road to Recovery, But Banking System Still Weak
August 17, 2010
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2010/CAR081710A.htm

    * Higher oil prices and a large, timely stimulus program have aided recovery

Kazakhstan is recovering from economic crisis, but stagnant credit growth and banking sector troubles continue to weigh on economic activity, says the International Monetary Fund.

In its annual health check of the oil-rich Central Asian economy, the IMF projects that the economy will grow by 4 percent in 2010, mainly driven by higher exports, increasing commodity prices, and foreign direct investment. But Kazakhstan must resolve bank weaknesses exposed by the crisis, the IMF stressed.

“A comprehensive strategy to reduce nonperforming loans is urgent and should be accompanied by a full assessment of recapitalization needs for systemically important banks,” the IMF assessment said, noting that the country would also need to upgrade the banking system’s regulatory and supervisory frameworks.

Rapid growth, then sudden stop

Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in the world, is the site of the most significant new oil discovery in recent years. The oil sector dominates the economy, accounting for one-fourth of GDP, 60 percent of total exports, and 40 percent of total budget revenues. Major foreign investment in this sector helped fuel strong GDP growth between 2000 and 2007, averaging about 10 percent a year.

At the same time the economy was experiencing rapid growth, Kazakhstani banks borrowed heavily from abroad, amassing external debt amounting to roughly 44 percent of GDP to fund a rapid expansion of credit, largely concentrated in construction and real estate. When the global financial crisis hit and capital stopped flowing into the country, credit growth ground to a halt, and property prices slumped. With oil prices plummeting, Kazakhstan faced a drop in the value of its exports from $76.4 billion in 2008 to $48.2 billion in 2009.

The combination of weak economic growth, currency-induced credit exposure, and increased uncertainty led to significant difficulties in the banking system. Four Kazakhstani banks were forced to restructure their external obligations, and nonperforming loans—that is, loans that are either in default or close to it—began to rise sharply.

Swift crisis response

Owing to the government’s ample resources and low public debt, the authorities were able to respond swiftly to the crisis. Drawing upon savings in the National Oil Fund—a nest egg established by the government in 2001 to save oil income for future generations and to reduce dependency on the budget when shocks arise—the authorities helped stabilize banks with a large-scale policy package. The government took equity stakes in four large distressed banks; public entities transferred deposits from elsewhere into the troubled banks; and sectors where nonperforming loans were concentrated (mainly real estate and construction) received funding on preferential terms.

Because public debt is less than 20 percent of GDP, the government was able to use fiscal measures to counter the crisis impact, increasing budgetary outlays for pensions, public sector wages, and social benefits. Monetary policy was likewise supportive in 2009, with low interest rates and easy access to liquidity contributing to an improvement in bank liquidity. And the tenge, Kazakhstan’s currency, was devalued by 20 percent in early 2009, easing pressures on reserves and restoring competitiveness with Russia, its large neighbor and key trading partner.

Next steps for promoting growth

Kazakhstan’s 2010 economic assessment discussions focused on the need to take action in three main areas in order to sustain the country’s recovery:

• Comprehensive and transparent resolution of nonperforming loans in the country’s banks. Nonperforming loans on a 90-day overdue basis have risen to 26 percent of total loans—up from 3½ percent in mid-2008—demonstrating Kazakhstan’s urgent need for a strategy to resolve bank weaknesses. In parallel, the macroprudential framework should continue to be strengthened to address the key vulnerabilities that led to the deterioration of bank credit portfolios, including excessive reliance on foreign funding and risky lending practices. On the difficult trade-off between imposing enhanced regulations to strengthen banks’ balance sheets and promoting credit growth through directed lending policies, the restoration of banking system health should take precedence.

• Fiscal consolidation based on increased savings of oil revenue. Withdrawal of government support for Kazakhstan’s troubled banks—removal of the public entity deposits and the divestment of government equity stakes in banks—and the winding down of stimulus spending should be gradual. Official support is still critical in the near term, but such support should be couched in a medium-term plan for fiscal consolidation, centered on maintaining the quality of public spending and increasing savings of oil revenues for future generations and in case of future shocks.

• Domestic financial market development to discourage dollarization (that is, the widespread use of a foreign currency instead of the domestic currency). With lower external funding and increased savings of oil resources, Kazakhstan needs to strengthen domestic deposits over the medium term to finance productive activities. This should be supported by efforts to deepen domestic money markets, promote long-term liquidity in the domestic currency, and foster good risk management practices.

Over the longer term, the Kazakhstani authorities plan to reduce their dependency on oil and advance diversification of their economy by improving the business environment, modernizing enterprises, creating new high value-added export-oriented sectors, and providing support to industries such as telecommunications and transport. The government’s development strategy for the next decade, announced earlier this year, provides a strong basis for the economy’s gradual diversification—but its success hinges on the support of a well-capitalized and well-regulated financial system, IMF economists say.

17.08.2010 / 15:56

Ак Орда ASTANA. August 17. KAZINFORM Head of State N.Nazarbayev has held a session on the issues of reforming the law-enforcement system of Kazakhstan today, the Presidential press service reports.

Prime Minister Karim Massimov, State Secretary - Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, Head of the Presidential Administration Aslan Musin, Chairman of the Constitutional Council Igor Rogov, Chairman of the Supreme Court Musabek Alimbekov, First Deputy Chairman of "Nur Otan" Party Nurlan Nigmatulin, Advisor to President - Secretary of the Security Council Marat Tazhin, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Onalsyn Zhumabekov, Prosecutor General Kairat Mami, deputies of the Parliament, members of the Government and heads of the law-enforcement structures of all regions of Kazakhstan took part in the session.

Addressing the participants of the session the President said that in his Address to the Nation he set a task to modernize the law-enforcement system of Kazakhstan.

"The State Commission on modernization of the law-enforcement system was established under my instruction. It has done a big work. Functional analysis of the activity of the security structures has been held. The world experience was studied as well", the President said.

The main directions of the law-enforcement system modernization developed by the Commission were approved by the President.