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Highlights of Kazakhstan April 2021

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Highlights of Kazakhstan 1 April 2021 CONTENTS: AGRICULTURE Kazakhstan aims to attract large investments in agro-industrial sector Kazakhstan to restore iconic apple orchards Investors come to Kazakhstan to breed pigs Mega-farm appears in Kazakhstan ENVIRONMENT Kazakhstan will spend 130 billion tenge (€261 mln) on renewable energy in 2021 Kazakhstan builds another solar power plant Eni begins construction of solar power station 2 billion trees in forests and 15 million trees in cities to be planted ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES Kazakhstan’s new large oil field in the Caspian assessed Gazprom delivers gas for Europe Kazakhstan returns to pre-coronavirus oil production MACRO-ECONOMICS & FINANCE Kazakhstan to establish new arbitration tribunal for investors Kazakhstan launches National Development Plan Kazakhstan’s population reaches 18.9 million TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS Kazakhstan in top-10 countries with cheapest mobile Internet New freight train route links China's Guangxi with Kazakhstan Kazakhstan takes 51st place in rating of countries with worst traffic conditions The Economic Section of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan intends to distribute this newsletter as widely as possible among Dutch institutions, companies and individuals from the Netherlands. The newsletter summarises economic news from various Kazakhstani and foreign publications and aims to provide accurate information. However, the Embassy cannot be held responsible for any mistakes or omissions in the bulletin. HIGHLIGHTS OF KAZAKHSTAN, April 2021 Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan AGRICULTURE Kazakhstan aims to attract large investments in agro-industrial sector By 2025 the export of products should double. The volume of gross agricultural production will be increased by 1.3 times. It is planned to gradually implement about 400 investment projects totaling over 4 trillion tenge (€8 bln). Prime Minister Askar Mamin: “According to forecasts of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), our country has a real opportunity to become one of the world's food hubs.” Source: press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan to restore iconic apple orchards According to Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov, it is planned to plant more than 2.000 hectares of orchards annually in the country. Currently the total consumption of apples is 344.300 tonnes, imports are 144.000 tonnes. The new orchards will be located in the main horticultural regions: Almaty, Zhambyl, Turkestan and Shymkent. Source: Kazakhstanskaya Pravda Investors come to Kazakhstan to breed pigs In the Almaty region, which directly borders with China, investors plan to build a hybrid breeding complex based on Swiss technologies with a capacity of 50.000 pigs per year. The main sales market will be China. Currently there are 822.200 pigs in Kazakhstan. Source: Kazakh Zerno Mega-farm appears in Kazakhstan In the Karaganda region it is planned to build a sheep-breeding mega-farm for 500.000 heads until 2026. At a second stage, a meat processing plant with a capacity of up to 8.000 tonnes per year is to be built. Source: LS (Kazakhstan) ENVIRONMENT Kazakhstan will spend 130 billion tenge (€261 mln) on renewable energy in 2021 In 2021 the introduction of 23 renewable energy projects with 391.09 MW is expected. Of these, 12 wind power plants at 244.56 MW, 6 hydroelectric power plants at 69.49 MW, 5 solar power plants at 76.95 MW. It is expected that the share of renewable energy in 2021 will reach 3.3%. The total number of renewable energy facilities will reach 138. Source: LS (Kazakhstan) Kazakhstan builds another solar power plant In Kazakhstan, interest in renewable energy in recent years has increased. Currently, there are 116 renewable energy facilities with an installed capacity of 1.685 MW. The generation of green energy at the end of 2020 amounted to 3.24 billion kWh. The country is building a new solar power plant with a capacity of 50 MW in the Almaty region. Source: Zakon (Kazakhstan) Eni begins construction of solar power station Italy’s Eni started construction of a solar power station with a capacity of 50 MW in Turkestan region. This is Eni’s first mayor investment into Kazakhstan’s solar power sector. Total cost of the investment project amounts to some 12 billion tenge (€24 mln). 2 HIGHLIGHTS OF KAZAKHSTAN, April 2021 Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan Overall, it is planned to build 9 large solar power stations and 6 hydropower stations in this region. Source: Kazinform 2 Billion trees in forests and 15 million trees in cities to be planted Kazakhstan has launched its Taza Tabigat (Clean Nature) campaign aimed at planting trees across the country. The measures will also include cleaning national forests and water reservoirs, and improving the parks. The campaign is part of a nationwide effort to make the cities greener. General idea is to plant 2 billion trees in forests and 15 million trees in cities. Source: Astana Times ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES Kazakhstan’s new large oil field in the Caspian assessed The largest oil and gas field in the last three decades was discovered in the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The oil in the field appears to have a low sulphur content compared to oil produced elsewhere in Kazakhstan, potentially making it easier to refine and transport. Source: Vestnik Kavkaza Gazprom delivers gas for Europe The first batch of green liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe was supplied by Gazprom to the British-Dutch Shell. Gas comes from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Source: RIA Novosti (Russia) Kazakhstan returns to pre-coronavirus oil production In 2021, the volume of production of liquid hydrocarbons in Kazakhstan will grow to 86 mln tonnes. This forecast is based on voluntary production adjustments following the OPEC+ meeting in March 2021. Growth in liquid hydrocarbon production will begin in 2022 as global oil demand is expected to recover. The total volume of liquid hydrocarbon production in Kazakhstan in 2025 will amount to 100.7 mln tonnes. Source: Forbes Kazakhstan MACRO-ECONOMICS & FINANCE Kazakhstan to establish new arbitration tribunal for investors Arbitration of disputes with investors will be transferred to the specialized inter-district economic court of the capital city. Source: Astana Times Kazakhstan launches National Development Plan Kazakhstan adopted a National Development Plan in March, which is based on ten national priorities: a fair social policy, an accessible and effective healthcare system, quality education, a just and effective state to protect the interests of citizens, a new model of government, cultivating the values of patriotism, strengthening national security, building a diversified innovation-based economy, development of economic and trade diplomacy, and balanced territorial development. They are cut across three main blocks – improving the welfare of the population, building a stronger economy and enhancing the quality of institutions. Source: Astana Times 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF KAZAKHSTAN, April 2021 Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan’s population reaches 18.9 million The estimated population of Kazakhstan has hit 18.9 million as of February 1. Since 2002, Kazakhstan’s population has been growing steadily associated primarily with a decrease in migration loss and an increase in natural population growth. Source: Astana Times TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS Kazakhstan in top-10 countries with cheapest mobile Internet In the world ranking, Kazakhstan is in the TOP-10 countries (6th place) with the cheapest Internet. An average of US $0.46 is paid for 1 gigabyte of Internet in the country. In total, the rating examined prices in 228 countries. By the beginning of 2021, there were 16 million cellular subscribers in Kazakhstan with access to the Internet. Over the past 5 years, the indicator has grown by an average of 7.8% on-year. Source: Ranking Kazakhstan New freight train route links China's Guangxi with Kazakhstan A new route of the China-Europe Freight Train service links south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Kazakhstan. The length of the new route is 5.031 km. Source: Xinhua (China) Kazakhstan takes 51st place in rating of countries with worst traffic conditions In the rating of the worst countries in the world in terms of traffic congestion, Kazakhstan took 51st place out of 85. The country's traffic index amounted to 128.37. The index assesses time spent commuting to work, dissatisfaction with time spent, CO2 consumption in road traffic and general inefficiencies in the traffic system around the world. Nigeria, Costa Rica and Kenya are at the top of the rating of the most unfavourable countries. Denmark, Estonia and Austria are on the last lines with the most comfortable indicators in the world. Source: Finprom CONTACTS Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 62, Kosmonavtov Str. Chubary district, 3rd floor 010000 Nur-Sultan (Astana) T: +7 7172 555450 Comments and subscriptions Highlights of Kazakhstan appears every month and is distributed by e-mail. 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