Republic of Kazakhstan

Economic – Overview

Kazakhstan possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals, such as uranium, copper and zinc. It also boasts a significant agricultural sector featuring livestock and grain.

Extractive industries have been and will continue to be the engine of Kazakhstan’s growth, although the country is aggressively pursuing diversification strategies.

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked state and subsequently relies heavily on its neighbours to export its products, especially oil and grain.

In 2010, Kazakhstan joined the Belarus-Kazakhstan-Russia Customs Union in a bid to boost foreign investment and improve trade relationships.

GDP

$420.6 billion (PPP, 2014)

$217.9 billion (nominal, 2014)

Composition of GDP

• Services: 56.9%
• Industry: 37.9%
• Agriculture: 5.2%

Exports

Oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat and coal.

Imports

Machinery and equipment, metal products and foodstuffs.

Principal trading partners – exports

• China: 19.3%
• Italy: 18.1%
• Netherlands: 8.8%
• France: 6.6%
• Switzerland: 5.8%
• Austria: 5.8%

Principal trading partners – imports

• China: 28%
• Ukraine: 10.9%
• Germany: 8.5%
• USA: 7.9%

Ports and terminals:

N/a (Landlocked from Ocean) – Cargo routed via Baltic ports (Riga, Tallinn, Klaipeda, Bandar Abbas)

Exchange controls

Exchange transactions performed in Kazakhstan are regulated by Kazakhstan law on exchange regulation and control.

Exchange transactions between residents are unlawful, with the exception of transactions defined in the list, for example:

• Fees paid to banks for performing exchange transactions and fines paid on contracts for bank services in a foreign currency.
• Transactions associated with the acquisition, sale and payment of premiums on redemption of securities denominated in a foreign currency.
• Purchase and sale of fine gold bars.
• Payment and remission of cash under commission contracts in relation to exports and imports using transferrable letters of credit as the mode of payment.
• Transactions associated with the payment of taxes and other compulsory payments under Kazakhstan law.

Residents may enter into transactions with non-residents in the national or a foreign currency as agreed between them in accordance with the exchange regulations of Kazakhstan.

Non-residents may, without any restrictions, receive and remit dividends, commission fees and other income on deposits, securities, loan and other exchange transactions entered into with residents and performed in accordance with this law.