The share of small and
medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan’s GDP surged by 36.5 percent last year.
The number of SMEs increased by 27 percent, and the number of people employed
in this sector exceeded four million. Matters pertaining to entrepreneurial
support, particularly in the southern regions of the country, were discussed in
the government. Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov met with with
businesspeople. According to Smailov, production growth in the manufacturing
industry and the agro-industrial sector has been recorded in the Almaty,
Turkistan, Zhambyl, and Zhetisu regions over the first seven months of this
year. Additionally, all four regions witnessed an increase in the volume of
construction works and investment in fixed assets. Entrepreneurs, on their
part, presented ongoing projects and discussed plans for the launch of new
ones. They also made proposals to support metallurgy, meat and dairy cattle
breeding, poultry farming, and cotton production, as well as to enhance the
efficiency of the Khorgos-Eastern Gate special economic zone.
“Our company is located
on the territory of the Khorgos – Eastern Gate special economic zone. At
present, our project capacity is 74 million units per year. We now have full
foreign investment. Today we had a meeting in Astana with the country’s Prime
Minister and raised a number of issues related to small and medium-sized
enterprises. I hope they will be resolved in a positive way. Members of the
government and the country’s Prime Minister are keen on supporting businesses,” said
Mira Makhudayeva, medium-sized business representative.
Smailov spoke in detail about the creation of
favorable conditions for business in the country, including the participation
of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs. According to him, a number
of specific measures have been taken to accelerate economic growth to 10
percent in Kazakhstan.
“A new regulatory policy is currently being introduced with
the goal of reducing excessive requirements for entrepreneurs. Additionally, to
introduce regulatory principles from a clean slate, procedures for state control
and supervision will be legislatively simplified and automated. As you know,
work is underway to develop a new Tax Code aimed at streamlining and
digitalizing tax administration procedures. Under the new draft law on public
procurement, it is planned to simplify procurement processes and ensure their
full automation. This will give an additional impetus for the development of
competitive small and medium-sized businesses. The institution of
public-private partnership is carrying out infrastructure projects. It will be
fully utilized to stimulate businesses and attract investment in social
facilities,” said
Smailov.
