Kazakhstan is to create a National Privatisation Office. The new agency is tasked with developing criteria for selecting state assets to be privatised and forming a list of them. The President signed the corresponding Decree "On Measures to Liberalise the Economy" on 10 May.
According to Atameken Business, the document also provides for measures to "increase the autonomy, quality and independence" of corporate governance of JSC "Samruk-Kazyna" National Welfare Fund and its subsidiaries, as well as improving procurement processes. Additionally, the Decree provides for the digitalisation of consumer access to commercial services.
"It is intended to simplify and automate (digitalise) consumer access to commercial services provided by quasi-state organisations, procedures for obtaining technical conditions and connection to utility networks," the statement says.
Furthermore, for construction without the project and estimate documentation mandatory in Kazakhstan, the President proposed allowing the use of projects that comply with advanced international standards.
"A separate block in the Decree is a set of measures aimed at strengthening the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of business, including through the decriminalisation of criminal offences in the sphere of economic activity, coordination with prosecutors of prohibitive and restrictive measures initiated by state bodies, etc.," the statement said.
In turn, members of parliament expressed a desire to participate in the work of the new National Privatisation Office. At the same time, they expressed concerns about reprivatisation using old methods.
It is worth recalling that earlier we wrote about how the targeted actions of JSC "Investment Fund of Kazakhstan" (IFK) and JSC "Development Bank of Kazakhstan" (DBK), LLP "Operator ROP" and a number of state bodies led to the bankruptcy of LLP "Mils-Group" and the unique tyre recycling and processing plant LLP "Kazakhstan Rubber Recycling".
Also earlier, it was reported that IFK and DBK left no chance of survival for the "Semipalatinsk Fur and Leather Factory" (SFLF). The enterprise, recognised as the largest in Central Asia and unique in Kazakhstan, went bankrupt. Largely, as reported in the media, due to the conditions created by the subsidiary organisations of NHC "Baiterek".