Norwegian researchers on doing business in Kazakhstan

26 August, 2019 09:00

This summer a group of Norwegian researchers has issued a report titled “International Business” devoted entirely to Kazakhstan. The report was drafted during the year by the representatives of Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway’s Economics School and BI Norwegian Business School supported by the government corporation Innovations Norway. More about this report can be read in the article below.

Divided into three chapters, the first presents an overview of the country and an analysis of the most pressing issues impacting on the business environment, including the demography, political development, macroeconomics, education, labour market, infrastructure, start-up environment. The authors stress the significant shifts towards reshaping Kazakhstan into a more appealing country for investments in the region.

They note First Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev set forth the strategy Kazakhstan2050 aimed to improve State governance, social security and taxation, support for small and medium-sized businesses and infrastructure development, so as to join Kazakhstan to 30 top countries by 2050.

To that end, Kazakhstan will have to integrate its economy into the global and regional environment using the transit potential and harnessing the power of information technologies.

“Kazakhstan is a mandatory transit point for the new Silk Road, the project designed to accelerate and reduce the delivery of goods from China to Europe via Central Asia and the Caucasus. Its strategic location will be more privileged in the future due to the significant geo-economic changes coupled with innovations in the transport sphere”, the paper reads.

The second chapter depicts the major manufacturing sectors of Kazakhstan, their investment capacities and expansion as well as the existing problems. It centers on the oil and gas sector, mining, agriculture, renewables as well as emerging industries involving construction, information technologies and tourism, according to the authors.

The third chapter includes ease of doing business in Kazakhstan, including such specialized topics as the tax system and social corporate responsibility.

The report was based on multiple sources as well as meetings and interviews by the report’s authors held in Kazakhstan and are designed to be a guide for Norwegian businesspeople in Kazakhstan.

“For many Norwegian companies, Kazakhstan and Central Asia remain uncharted territory. We hope this report will offer Norwegian businesses the information on the market and new opportunities in Kazakhstan”, Frode Mo, an Innovation Norway representative, marked in the report.

“Using the participants’ critical surveys we made an attempt to come up with an objective view on the economic, cultural and social aspects of this unique country”, the project leader said.

International Business is a non-profit project carried out to identify the distinctive opportunities for international businesses on the emerging markets. The report is produced annually on one country.

Established in 1984, the project is used by the Norwegian Government to support innovations and develop Norwegian enterprises and manufacturers.

They in Innovation Norway say that the project facilitates an unbiased and a more positive perception of the emerging markets.

The text of the report can be found here: http://www.ib.no/news/2019/06/report-available-on-the-business-opportunities-in-kazakhstan/