Kazakhstani businesses generally remain confident in their long-term resilience, with 62% of executives saying their companies are sustainable over the long term. The figure was nearly unchanged from last year, according to PwC Kazakhstan’s 14th annual CEO Survey 2026.
That confidence, the survey noted, is driven by market diversification, strong industry positions, accumulated experience and the ability to adapt to changing conditions.
At the same time, executives said external factors are playing a growing role in business sustainability. The importance of regulation has increased significantly: while 29% of respondents cited legislative changes as a major factor a year ago, that number has now risen to 56%.
The shift is partly linked to the introduction of the new Tax Code and the need for companies to adapt their internal processes.
Aitas Holding founder criticizes growth model
Serik Tolukpayev, founder and CEO of Aitas Holding, said the global economy is increasingly fragmenting and argued that Kazakhstan has become overly focused on economic growth.
«In Kazakhstan, we’ve been developing in an unhealthy economy for the past three years. We’ve become obsessed with the idea of growth. And growth is happening, but it is being stimulated by budget spending and the quasi-public sector,» Tolukpayev said.
He also criticized plans to increase the tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses under the new code.
«I’m surprised that the calculation is based on generating 30% additional revenue from small and medium-sized businesses. Their role in the economy is completely different. Their role is to create jobs, not to serve as the main source of budget revenue,» he said.
Tolukpayev is ranked among Kazakhstan’s richest and most influential businesspeople by Forbes Kazakhstan. He ranks No. 39 on the publication’s rich list, with an estimated net worth of $302 million.
His holding company produces products under the Kus & Vkus and AMP brands. Major Aitas assets include the Makinsk Poultry Farm in the Akmola region, the Ust-Kamenogorsk Poultry Farm in the East Kazakhstan region and the Almaty Breeding Poultry Farm.
InDrive founder calls for civil service reform
Entrepreneur and InDrive founder Arsen Tomsky proposed reducing the number of civil servants in Kazakhstan, arguing that the move could improve governance, accelerate decision-making and reduce corruption.
«A possible way to improve the quality of governance within the administrative system, and therefore the country as a whole, would be to reduce the number of civil servants while simultaneously increasing salaries and introducing performance-based bonuses for the remaining employees,» Tomsky said.
«In addition to improving the quality and speed of decision-making and reducing bureaucracy, this could help reduce corruption, as happened, for example, in Singapore,» he added.
According to Kazakhstan’s Agency for Civil Service Affairs, the country currently employs 82,951 civil servants, compared with an approved staffing level of 91,555.
Tomsky ranks No. 11 on Forbes Kazakhstan’s list of the country’s richest people, with an estimated net worth of $850 million as of May 2025. Born in Russia, he renounced his Russian citizenship and later obtained Kazakh citizenship.
Read also: Kazakh president orders cabinet to stop using new investment to cover old blunders.
