Samruk-Kazyna JSC ("the Fund") has held a press conference on the theme of 'Samruk-Kazyna: Embedding International Best Practice to Become a World-leading SWF' as part of the XIV Eurasian Media Forum (EMF). The spokespeople at the press conference included Baljeet Kaur Grewal, Managing Director for Strategy and Portfolio Investments of Samruk-Kazyna JSC; Gani Bitenov, Managing Director for Legal, Governance, Risk and Compliance of Samruk-Kazyna JSC; and Victoria Barbary, Director for Strategy and Communications of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF).

Baljeet Grewal outlined the six key development initiatives being implemented by Samruk-Kazyna to achieve the Fund’s main goals: to increase the long-term value of its portfolio companies, to modernize the national economy, and promote sustainable development. Mrs. Grewal commented:

“Samruk-Kazyna continues to make progress towards becoming a world-class fund. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Samruk-Kazyna is among the world's top 30 largest sovereign wealth funds with assets valued at $67.4 billion. We are also ahead of some of our global peers on another important indicator of efficiency, ROE, and will keep striving to further improve our financial performance.”

 Samruk-Kazyna has been an official member of the IFSWF since 2014. IFSWF members adhere to 24 core principles, which are commonly referred to as the Santiago Principles. These principles define the legal and institutional framework for sovereign wealth funds, as well as investment and risk management structures. The Santiago Principles demonstrate to domestic and international markets that sovereign wealth funds operate transparently and take investment decisions on reasonable economic and financial grounds.

 Samruk-Kazyna’s Gani Bitenov noted in his speech:   

"Samruk-Kazyna is committed to ensuring that its activities comply with the Santiago Principles. Transparency, in particular, is an important marker for us and I am proud to announce that in the first quarter of 2017, Samruk-Kazyna received the highest possible rating in the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index. The index is the global standard benchmark based on which financial institutions and other stakeholders assess the transparency of sovereign wealth funds’ activities." 

The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) brings together the world's 32 largest sovereign funds from 31 countries, with total assets of approximately USD 3.5 trillion. Samruk-Kazyna is hosting this year's annual meeting on 5-7 September 2017 in Astana. The theme of the IFSWF meeting this year is 'Exploring new frontiers'. The heads of sovereign funds will gather together in Astana to discuss a variety of issues that are relevant to SWFs, including topics such as asset allocation and risk management in unstable world markets; the five-year global investment scenario for sovereign funds; and major trends in the digital economy. New investment opportunities in Kazakhstan will also be presented at the event.

Victoria Barbary spoke about the upcoming annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds in Astana, remarking:

"The annual meetings of the Forum bring together funds from all over the world to discuss important issues across their domestic and international operations and look for applicable solutions. A series of public and private meetings are held, with guests and media representatives invited to a number of sessions to hear these subjects debated in an open forum. For Kazakh journalists, this is a unique opportunity to ask questions to the heads of the world’s sovereign wealth funds.” 

Journalists are invited to attend the event from 3pm on 6 September 2017 in Astana. All attending journalists will require accreditation.