23 October 2017, Astana. Samruk-Kazyna JSC ("the Fund") has held its 9th Independent Directors’ Forum, attended by the members of the Fund's Board of Directors and its 16 largest portfolio companies.

The Forum participants discussed strategy implementation, the role of the Board of Directors in the Transformation programme and an analysis of corporate governance practices in 2017, and provided an update on government relations. The Forum also included a compliance seminar for participants.

In his opening speech, Umirzak Shukeyev, CEO of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, noted that the Fund is increasingly interacting with its portfolio companies through Boards of Directors, and is gradually distancing itself from their operational management. Mr Shukeyev emphasised that portfolio companies' Boards of Directors are responsible for the implementation of all key programmes and successfully managing the IPOs of their companies.

Umirzak Shukeyev, CEO of Samruk-Kazyna, commented: “We are pleased to report the significant changes that have occurred in the management of portfolio companies. We have strengthened the Boards of Directors of our portfolio companies, appointing new members with wider competencies and valuable experience, and we are committed to building on our efforts in this area”.

“I would also like to note that the Boards of Directors are becoming the main drivers of changes in our companies, increasingly focusing on determining and implementing their companies' strategies and achieving their long-term goals.”

Samruk-Kazyna has held its Directors’ Forum since 2011 and has become a platform for discussion of critical issues and exchange of experience for the members of the Board of Directors of the Fund’s major companies.