According to Kazakhstan’s Finance Minister Madi Takiyev, the government is not liable for the obligations of national companies and other quasi-public sector organizations unless state guarantees are provided.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, responding to journalists’ questions.
«What we’re talking about here are relationships between economic entities; if these companies borrow funds, they must repay them themselves. We have not provided state guarantees for them,» the minister emphasized.
However, he admitted that the government does issue state guarantees for specific projects.
“We provide state guarantees, for example, for road repairs and so on. But there is a cap of $4.1 billion. For the remaining debts exceeding $17 billion, there are no state guarantees, so the state is not liable for those obligations,” Takiyev added.
Journalists asked whether it could be said outright that the government does not guarantee the repayment of national companies’ debts. In response, the minister reiterated that the state is only liable for obligations secured by state guarantees.
«As I said, our external debt is $17 billion, or 4.5% of GDP. We are not liable for all other debts. We have no state guarantees for them,» Takiyev stressed.
Takiyev also announced that the 2026 budget allocates $7.1 billion for servicing the national debt. By restructuring its borrowing and issuing bonds denominated in Japanese yen, the government saved $236 million.
According to the Ministry of Finance, as of April 1, 2026, Kazakhstan’s total public debt stood at $76.5 billion, with external government debt estimated at approximately $17 billion. The country’s total public and guaranteed debt, including surety obligations, reached $81.15 billion.
