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EBRD’s Lemierre visits Kazakhstan
EBRD President Jean Lemierre is scheduled to arrive in Kazakhstan on Wednesday
to take part in the Fifth Congress of Kazakhstan Financiers and the 14th
Plenary Session of the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC), which meet in Almaty
on Thursday November 24 and Friday November 25 respectively.
The objective of the Congress, organised by the Kazakhstan Financiers’
Association, is dialogue between Kazakhstan’s authorities and financial
community regarding the country’s economic modernisation. The FIC is a
consultative and advisory body established in 1998 to enhance the investment
climate and create a favourable framework for investments in Kazakhstan, and
to promote the integration of Kazakhstan into the global economy. One
important topic for discussion will be Kazakhstan’s progress towards
membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which will contribute
further to the diversification of the economy.
Mr Lemierre, who will address both meetings after President Nursultan
Nazarbayev, is also scheduled to hold talks on Kazakhstan’s transition
challenges and further improvement in the investment climate with President
Nazarbayev, senior officials and business leaders during his three-day visit,
which ends on Friday. Kazakhstan is the second leg of Mr Lemierre’s tour,
after a trip to Moscow at the beginning of the week. On Thursday, he will sign
an agreement with the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) to
make a second loan to finance the completion of the 500 kV North-South power
transmission line, facilitating the transfer of electricity from the north of
the country to the more populous south and supporting the development of
regional electricity trade. In 2004, the EBRD signed an earlier loan agreement
for $60 million to finance part of this project. Mr Lemierre is also due to
sign an agreement on Friday under which the EBRD will take a stake in
Kazakhstan’s GNPF Accumulation Pension Fund.
The EBRD’s operations in Kazakhstan are focused on diversifying its economy
out of the oil sector by building earning assets in the private sector and the
development of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. There are
well established and effective relationships between the Bank and the
government for financing in the transport and municipal areas. The EBRD’s
total commitments to Kazakhstan total more than $1 billion. The Bank
continues to be the largest lender and investor in the financial sector in
Kazakhstan. As of 31 October 2005, the Bank has approved £479 million of
business in the financial sector, from support for trade finance to
development of the agricultural sector, and from support for micro, small and
medium sized businesses to equity participations.
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