More Than 60 National Companies in Kazakhstan Are Going to Be Private

Kazakhstan’s government is aiming to sell 674 property units it directly or indirectly owns, including eight objects of national property, 448 of communal property, 65 property units of national holdings and companies and 153 of the property of Social-Entrepreneurship Corporation (SEC). 

According to Erulan Zhamaubayev, minister of finance, as of February 1, the ministry has already prepared road maps for 384 property units. Seven of them might be sold this year and another one in 2022; the delay is caused by problems with registering the land parcel.

«We are still waiting for road maps for 290 property units, including 183 of communal property, 39 property units of national companies and 68 of SEC property. According to the president’s edict, we have to speed up the process and that is why I am asking local authorities, national holdings and companies to prepare and approve proper road maps as soon as possible. We need to sell the vast majority of these property units in 2021,» the official said.

The issue of denationalization has been raised by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He has described this process as new possibilities for entrepreneurs and investors. Under the denationalization plant, about 700 state enterprises should be sold before 2025.

Tokayev also stated that people should be aware of all nuances of the program because this is a national property. To make denationalization transparent, society has to have effective tools to control this process. One of the options is the so-called People’s IPO. «All our citizens who have some savings and want to invest them should have a chance to acquire part of the national wealth,» the president said.

As Kazakhstani media has reported, Tokayev has ordered to resume the People’s IPO program. Even though there is no detailed information about the program, market participants are full of positive expectations.