Last year, the Kazakhstan’s economy maintained a moderate growth rate. The development of manufacturing industry, construction and agriculture has become sustained growth driver. The key macroeconomic indicators in all areas were announced by ministers of relevant departments at a government meeting.
The country’s economy, including the real sector, has increased by more than three percent over the year. Investment in fixed assets grew by eight percent, while the foreign trade turnover rose by more than a third. It exceeded US$122 billion in 11 months. Imports amounted to around US$45 billion, while exports stood at US$77 billion. At the same time, supplies of processed goods to foreign markets have increased by almost 34 percent and reached US$24 billion.
“In terms of manufacturing industries, the production growth in mechanical engineering reached 9.4 percent, in automotive industry 19.1 percent and in electrical equipment production 22.2 percent. The output growth is also observed in the following sectors: food products - by 3.9 percent, refined products - by 1.9 percent, chemical products - by 10.2 percent, beverages - by 11.2 percent, plastic products - by 2.1 percent, and light industry - by 6 percent,” said Alibek Kuantyrov, Kazakh Minister of National Economy.
The economy is projected to grow by at least four percent in 2023. The priority must be given to the saturation of the country’s market with domestic goods. The tasks for 2023 were announced at the meeting by Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, who instructed the ministries and governors’ offices to attract at least US$24.5 billion of investments by the end of the year. Also, the government shall cut inflation in half to 9.5 percent and increase the number of people employed in SMEs to 3.8 million.
“The development of businesses is the key factor in the sustainability of the national economy. The new regulatory policy in relation to business should be clear and fair. The effectiveness of monitoring through the automation of risk management systems should be ensured this year. An important issue is the development of a new Budget Code. This year we need to strengthen fiscal discipline, expand the budget transparency system and improve the efficiency of public spending,” Kazakh PM noted.
Also, this year, the country will continue the privatization process. The share of government involvement in the economy should fall to 14.4 percent of GDP. To this end, the most part of the Comprehensive Privatization Plan should be completed over the next 12 months. Ministers, mayors and governors are responsible for monitoring the achievement of all planned indicators of socio-economic development. Overall coordination will be carried out by the deputy prime ministers.
