Development Strategy

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Sustainable development is our key approach, combining the realisation of national priorities and the achievement of market goals. In the context of the new 2030 strategy, the Fund is transforming into an investment holding company, reinforcing its focus on inward investment, intensifying R&D and gradually moving assets into the private sector. An important component of this approach is the introduction of clear ESG principles aimed at increasing environmental responsibility, decarbonisation and social development, which, on the one hand, strengthens the Fund's contribution to Kazakhstan's national sustainable development agenda and, on the other hand, creates a basis for long-term growth in the value of assets and increasing their attractiveness to the market.

For us, sustainable development is an integrating framework that combines the financial, competitive and socio-environmental goals of the Fund. Increasing asset value is achieved through the implementation of best practices in corporate governance, transparency and compliance, as well as through optimisation of business processes and resource conservation. The development of competition and lower share in the economy is stimulated by support for innovation, large infrastructure projects and global partnerships, which is also in line with sustainability objectives, such as decarbonisation and sustainable infrastructure.

We operate in accordance with the Development Plan 2023–2032 (the Strategy), which is in line with key national priorities and contributes to the realisation of the country's long-term development strategy Kazakhstan-2050.

The sustainability strategy is an integral part of our Development Strategy and ensures the achievement of our long-term goals. Implementation of ESG principles allows us not only to strengthen our reputation as a responsible investor, but also to form global partnerships and attract international investments, which, in turn, helps to reduce the government's share in the economy and improve the overall competitiveness of our portfolio companies.

Strategic areas of operations and objectives for 2023–2032

The strategic goals of the Fund – increasing net asset value and developing competition – are directly related to the principles of sustainable development. The implementation of ESG principles allows us to reduce risks, increase investment attractiveness, create additional market opportunities and ensure sustainable growth.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AT THE LEVEL OF PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

To systematically implement ESG principles across the entire group of companies, the Fund develops unified policies and corporate standards that are mandatory for all subsidiaries and affiliates. They cover a wide range of areas, from anti-corruption activities and risk management to labour protection, environmental protection, social policy and corporate culture. The statutory and internal documents of portfolio companies set out mechanisms that allow them to ground these general requirements in their operational activities. At the same time, each company retains the right to make amendments taking into account industry specifics, but the key ESG principles remain unchanged. Such unification ensures comparability of indicators and transparency of strategy implementation across the entire group, as well as enables the Fund to promptly monitor, adjust and improve common standards and practices.

Cascading sustainability strategy to portfolio companies

DEVELOPING THE OVERALL STRATEGY:

The Fund forms the overall strategy, develops and implements corporate standards in key areas (compliance, procurement, HR management, etc.).

SETTING KEY OBJECTIVES:

The Fund sets strategic KPIs that cascade down to portfolio companies.

III

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ APPROVAL:

All strategic decisions (including profit distribution, conclusion of major transactions, implementation of investment projects, realisation of roadmaps for implementation of ESG principles, etc.) pass through the Boards of Directors of portfolio companies where the Fund is represented as a shareholder. Thus, strategic guidelines are fixed at the top level of management.

INTEGRATION INTO OPERATIONS:

Portfolio companies develop 10-year development plans in accordance with the Fund’s strategy. They become the main tool for implementing the strategy on the ground.

MONITORING:

The Fund through its representatives in portfolio companies (in the Board of Directors, through regular reporting, meetings, strategic sessions) monitors the results of the strategy implementation.

ACHIEVEMENT OF THE STRATEGIC SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES

Strategic area	Strategic objective of the Fund	Target	Achievements for 2024
Corporate governance	Improving the sustainable development management system	ESG rating of the Fund Group 70th percentile by 2032	The average weighted ESG rating is the 63rd percentile (in 2023 – the 53rd percentile). The results of the ESG ratings of the Fund’s portfolio companies in most cases exceed the industry average. For details, see the section “Strategic approach to sustainable development and ESG”.
	Increasing the share of women in the management bodies of the Fund’s companies	30% by 2030	The share of women in the Boards of Directors/Supervisory Boards of portfolio companies is 17%, in the Executive Bodies – 15% (13% and 17% in 2023).
	Share of independent directors in the Board of Directors of the Fund and portfolio companies	Recommended share up to 60% of the total number of members of the Board of Directors	There were 4 independent directors on the Fund’s Board of Directors, representing 57% (43% in 2023).
Openness, transparency and compliance	Certification of anti-corruption compliance systems for compliance with the requirements of international standards ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems and ISO 37301:2021 Compliance Management System		The Compliance Function Development Strategy until 2027 was approved. Work continued to prepare for certification on the compliance with ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems.
Social responsibility	Enhancement employee salaries low-paid occupations and jobs	2023–2027	During 2024, the salaries of more than 221,000 Fund Group employees were increased between 2% and 40%, with a focus on lower-paid positions.
H&S Best Practices Human capital development	LTIFR 0.12	2027	LTIFR (Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate) for the Fund Group – 0.13 (0.14 in 2023)
	Developing a culture of safety		More than 120,000 employees of the Fund’s portfolio companies and their contractors were trained on the Occupational Health & Safety Culture course by Samruk Business Academy and internal trainers.
	Building human resources capacity, strengthening competences in new areas		The average number of training hours per employee is 26 academic hours (23 hours in 2023).
Resource conservation	Reducing energy intensity of production	-10% by 2027	Total energy consumption across the Fund is reduced from 492 million GJ in 2021 to 444.2 million GJ in 2024
Decarbonisation Green financing	Reducing direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)	≥ [-10%] by 2032	Total greenhouse gas emissions of 57.84 million tonnes of CO₂-eq. in 2024 are reduced by 19.9% compared to 2021 (72.24 million tonnes CO₂-eq.).
	Increasing the share of low-carbon generation in electricity purchases	45% by 2032	The share of low-carbon generation in electricity purchases remained at the 2023 level of less than 1%.
	Building the offset project portfolio	5.8 million tonnes of CO₂-eq by 2032	The Fund’s portfolio of offset projects was as follows 489,700 tonnes CO₂-eq (at the end of 2024).
	Share of RES and HPPs in electricity generation	26% by 2032	18% (15% in 2023).