Expert Rasul Rysmambetov explained the principle of investment and assessed the tourism potential of the republic.
On November 23, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the special economic zone (SEZ) Saryarka. He discussed the work of domestic enterprises and partnerships with foreign companies from Western countries. It is logical that besides SEZ, the republic has other areas for investment and economic cooperation. Rasul Rysmambetov, financial expert, director of the public fund Financial Freedom, told CentralAsia.news about them and assessed the tourism potential of the republic.
What areas receive investment?
Kazakhstan, of course, implements several investment projects. However, more than half of them are in the subsoil use, in other words, most of the businessmen prefer to invest in the extraction of natural resources.
— The export of raw materials represents at least 80% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, it is obvious that the most attractive projects in Kazakhstan are projects in the field of mining, — said the interviewee.
Major investments in subsoil use come from American, Chinese, and Russian companies. Companies from several European countries also invest in the extraction of resources. The influx of money is provided by oil fields in Mangistau, Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, Aktubinsk, and Kyzylorda regions.
The metallurgical industry of the republic is also attractive. In this direction the expert named an Indian-Luxembourg company as a key investor.
The next area that actively attracts foreign partners is the banking sector. The expert noted that here the leading positions are occupied by two well-known large banks from the Russian Federation. In most cases, they are specialized in corporate service.
Rasul Rysmambetov added that companies take into account one nuance when investing in the Kazakhstani economy.
— It is obvious that with a fairly weak currency and an undiversified economy, investors choose the simplest areas with a fast payback period, — said the financier.
Tourism that has been talked about a lot
Separately, the editors asked the expert to comment on the prospects for tourism in Kazakhstan. Over the past two years, the Central Asian countries have discovered that they have tourism potential and can surprise foreign visitors.
As for Kazakhstan, it has the opportunities and prerequisites for the development of this area, said the expert.
— The strong and at the same time weak side of Kazakhstan is the large size of the country. On the one hand, there are all possible climatic zones in the republic, on the other hand, all sights are located 500-1000-1500 km away from each other, — noted the interviewee.
For lovers of solitude and «cleanliness», there are practically untouched places. However, it is related to the fact that the infrastructure there is poorly developed. Now, however, some businessmen have begun to pay serious attention to the comfortable transportation of tourists.
It must be added that earlier the south of Kazakhstan was part of the historical region — Turkestan. According to the expert, taking into account historical realities, in terms of tourism, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan complement each other. It is no coincidence that the two republics decided to introduce a Silk Road visa so that guests could visit these two countries without bureaucratic delays.
As for Turkestan in Kazakhstan, it is difficult to call it a tourist city, added Rysmambetov.
