Kazakhstan

Tributum, Kazakhstan – Global Accounting Alliance Member

Economic Overview & Business Opportunities

Nestles in the north of the central Asian republics, Kazakhstan is bounded by Russia in the north, China in the east, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the south, and the Caspian Sea in the west (it has almost 1,894 km of coastline on the Caspian Sea). As of now, the population of Kazakhstan is 18,014,280 and is equivalent to around 0.2% of the total world population.

As a member of the Customs Union and Common Economic Space along with Belarus and the Russian Federation since 2010, Kazakhstan’s economy is currently the largest in Central Asia. Its rich natural resources like enormous oil reserves as well as minerals and metals, making the nation the 6^th place in world reserves of natural resources. In addition, it has considerable agricultural potential with its lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. Furthermore, the political stability in the country has become one of the factors that attract foreign investors. The political stability, together with a booming economy, has positioned Kazakhstan as the regional leader in Central Asia.

In 2015, Kazakhstan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and signed a cooperation agreement with the EU. In 2017, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation Doing Business 2017 ranks Kazakhstan the 35^th country for Ease of Doing Business, 3^rd place in “Protecting Minority Investors” and 9^th place in “Enforcing Contracts”. When talked about the labour market efficiency, Kazakhstan is the only country in the region with a high efficiency of the labour market, and it ranks 22^nd in the remuneration of labour and labour productivity. The government of Kazakhstan welcomes foreign investment where the attraction and effective use of foreign investment have become the main trends in mutually beneficial trade and economic ties of Kazakhstan with other countries.

What’s more, Kazakhstan is strategically located right in the heart of Eurasia, where the Silk Road extended throughout the whole Kazakhstan. As such, the major overland routes that bind Asia and Pacific Region with Near East and the Middle East and Europe also pass through Kazakhstan. The strategic location that connected Kazakhstan with the Silk Road has further boosted Kazakhstan’s connectivity with markets nearby. Many investors view Kazakhstan as the ideal revenue to venture into nearby markets in Central Asia as well as big markets like China, Russia, and India.

On a final note, Kazakhstan is one of the favourable places to do business due to its political and economic stability, the abundance of natural resources, as well as high annual economic growth over the past several years.

Olzhas Tolubayev
Partner