Investment opportunities of Kazakhstan were discussed at the Kazakhstan Investment Forum, which took place in an online format. The event was organized by SWF Samruk-Kazyna JSC in partnership with NC Kazakh Invest JSC and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UK.

The forum was attended by the CEO of Samruk-Kazyna JSC Akhmetzhan Yessimov, external adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on economic development Suma Chakrabarti, trade envoy of the Prime Minister of Great Britain for the Republic of Kazakhstan Baroness Emma Nicholson, Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the North Ireland in RK Michael Gifford, heads of portfolio companies of the Fund, representatives of business communities from the UK and Kazakhstan.

Akhmetzhan Yessimov, CEO of the SWF, opening the online session of the forum, noted that the experience gained during the first wave of the pandemic showed that the Fund coped with the challenges without allowing a serious decline in key production indicators, shutdown of enterprises or reduction of production personnel.

Thus, the introduction of advanced methods of corporate governance, improvement of approaches to key management decisions is highly appreciated by the UN. Last week, the UN included Samruk-Kazyna in the list of 20 leading funds that ensure sustainable development, implementation of sustainable development initiatives and ESG principles.

Akhmetzhan Yessimov also noted that Samruk-Kazyna has a solid reputation as a reliable business partner and expressed the Fund's interest in realizing the potential of Kazakh-British interaction.

"In the next 5 years, the Fund plans to increase the share of new investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan from 2% to 10% of the net assets value, and the total share of international, direct and portfolio investments to 20% by 2028", - Akhmetzhan Yessimov said.

The head of the SWF invited British companies to jointly invest in promising industries. In turn, Baroness Emma Nicholson emphasized that it is not the first year that she has been participating in the Forum and that cooperation with Samruk-Kazyna and Kazakhstan companies is developing successfully.

Representatives of the British business community also noted the good dynamics of relations with the Fund, confirming their mutual desire to strengthen cooperation and highly appreciated the investment climate in Kazakhstan.

“Summing up the current picture for investors like you, a favorable investment climate has already been created in Kazakhstan: there is a simplified tax regime, national legislation is constantly being improved, and the package of investment preferences is expanding. Investors implementing projects in priority sectors of the economy are guaranteed the stability of tax legislation”, - Suma Chakrabarti said.

Despite the global COVID-19 crisis, the Fund continues to seek opportunities to add value and remains open to a changing world and investment environment. In the last year alone, the Fund has supported attracting investments in Kazakhstan through private equity funds totaling $ 600 million.

A. Yessimov also said that the Fund will continue to implement the privatization program. Note that in June of this year, the Fund has already placed an additional 6.27% of shares and global depositary receipts of NAC Kazatomprom JSC on the London Stock Exchange and the stock exchange of the Astana International Financial Center (AIX). The share of investors attracted through the London Stock Exchange was 43%.

At the end of his speech, A. Yessimov invited British companies to jointly invest in promising industries. In turn, representatives of the British business community noted the good dynamics of relations with the Fund, confirming their mutual desire to strengthen cooperation and praised the investment climate in Kazakhstan.

Let us remind you that in June this year the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings confirmed the long-term and short-term credit ratings of Samruk-Kazyna JSC at the level of BB + / B, the forecast is Stable. Fitch Ratings has assigned ratings to the Fund at “BBB” with a Stable / “F2” outlook.