Kazakhstan plans to increase IT services exports to $1 bln by 2026
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The issues of realization of new tasks within the framework of IT-industry development were considered at the Government session under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, primeminister.kz reports.
Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Bagdat Mussin noted that currently the state policy is aimed at intensive development of the innovation ecosystem in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This includes measures to improve the quality of human capital, create IT infrastructure and venture funds, attract foreign technology companies and create favorable conditions for local startups.
In recent years, as a result of the proactive policy of the state, there has been a sharp increase in interest in the IT sphere. In particular, the number of students at the relevant faculties in universities is increasing. Modern IT schools supplement the personnel base necessary for the creation of innovative economy. Under the TechOrda program, Kazakhstan residents can study in advanced private IT-schools under the voucher system. In the future, in order to improve the quality of education, the issues of allocation of vouchers for the training of teachers and the introduction of quality standards at IT-faculties will be worked out.
The Minister noted that in order to increase the export of Kazakhstan IT services, Silkroad hub representative offices will be opened in South-East Asia and the Middle East in the near future. Also for attraction of qualified specialists the project Digital Nomad Visa will be realized.
In parallel, the work on opening new technological hubs in the regions of the country will continue. To date, 9 sites have already been opened, by the end of the year it is planned to launch 4 more hubs.
It was noted that today 24 venture funds work in the market of Kazakhstan, which have already invested in startups $145 million. However, despite the growth in the number of venture agreements, there is a shortage of funds. In this regard, the Ministry together with market representatives will develop legislative initiatives that will remove restrictions in the venture capital industry.
At the same time, the development of the sphere of artificial intelligence will continue, the Caspian optical infrastructure and data processing centers meeting international standards will be put into operation. It is also planned to create a special economic zone for IT-investors.
During the meeting the akim of Karaganda region Yermaganbet Bulekpayev informed about the work of regional IT-hubs. In addition, Mirat Akhmetsadykov, head of the Most Hub private technopark, and Maksat Kadyrov, co-founder and technical director of the Kwaaka startup, made speeches.
Prime Minister emphasized that today IT-industry is one of the fastest growing in the world economy. Thus, according to experts, this year the volume of the global IT market will reach $4.5 trillion.
In his Address, the Head of State set the task to bring the export of IT services to $1 billion by 2026. This is quite a realistic goal," Alikhan Smailov said.
He noted that in recent years Kazakhstan has made a significant leap in the development of the IT sector. Large global companies and investors are attracted. Favorable conditions for local startups are created.
Only for 3 years the export of IT-services has increased 5 times. At the end of this year it can reach $500 million. IT-hubs and venture capital funds should become the main drivers in achieving this task," Prime Minister said.
Prime Minister also emphasized the need for training of highly qualified specialists in this industry. In this regard, it is required to further develop educational programs, to attract big business for this purpose.
World trends are changing rapidly. To date, artificial intelligence neural networks are actively developing. Even today, many of them not only generate texts and create images, but also write programs several times faster than humans. According to a McKinsey study, by 2030, artificial intelligence will take over most routine operations. In this regard, it is necessary to properly build education and IT-infrastructure," Alikhan Smailov pointed out.
According to him, Kazakhstan should strive to become a full member of the world IT-market. For this purpose it is necessary for each region to have its own IT-hub and modern IT-schools.
There are successful examples. Regional IT-hubs and schools are functioning in Almaty and Karaganda region. It is necessary to scale their experience to other regions," Prime Minister emphasized.
He added that there are also questions on the development of startup projects. In general, at the initial stage there is a whole line of support measures for them, but with the expansion of business there are problems with lack of capital and, as a consequence, the development of the project.
Because of this, many of them remain at the project level. This hinders the development of the IT industry. The export potential of the industry is lost. Here it is necessary to involve big business, banks, venture funds and other instruments. We must use all available opportunities and resources," Alikhan Smailov said.
According to the head of the Government, IT-schools should be created for training and retraining of programmers, designers, engineers and other specialists of this sphere, the training program for IT-specialists should be made more flexible so that it could follow the world trends, as well as programs for exchange of students and experience, internships with leading universities should be established.
In conclusion, Prime Minister instructed to develop amendments to legislation to ensure the development of venture capital financing taking into account international experience and to provide approaches to financing startup projects at the expense of subsoil users' funds allocated for research and development.
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Kazakhstan turns to high-value added manufacturing with building polyethylene plant it Atyrau region
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Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with the heads of the world's largest oil and gas chemical companies – President of China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC) Zhao Dong and Chairman of the Board of SIBUR LLC Mikhail Karisalovб primeminister.kz reports.
The key issue is the joint construction of the first integrated gas chemical complex for polyethylene production at a cost of about $7.7 billion and a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year, which will account for 1% of the world's total capacity.
A tripartite protocol was signed during the meeting, officially finalising SINOPEC's entry into the project. The ownership structure of the plant is as follows: KazMunayGas 40%, SINOPEC 30%, SIBUR 30%.
Head of the Government emphasised the importance of the project due to its focus on the production of high value-added products.
A gas separation complex (GSC) will be built at the Tengiz field to supply the "Polyethylene" project with feedstock (ethane). The capacity of the GSC is 9.1 billion m3 of dry gas processing per year, of which 1.6 million tonnes of ethane is expected to be produced.
Ethane will be sent through the main pipeline from Tengiz to the Karabatan site (territory of FEZ NINT, Atyrau region), where the polyethylene plant will operate.
It is planned to produce about 22 grades of polyethylene using American licence technologies of Chevron Phillips and Univation, 40% of which will be premium grade. A wide range of applications for both industrial and household purposes makes polyethylene the most popular polymer in the world.
Polyethylene is used in the fields of medicine, prosthetics, defence, food industry, construction, space industry and others. This polymer is used in the production of a wide range of goods: from plastic wear-resistant pipes, construction materials, medicines, syringes, prostheses to bulletproof vests, clothing for astronauts and car parts. Target markets include Kazakhstan, CIS countries, China, Turkey and European countries. At the same time, for domestic consumption, the realisation price will be lower than the import price.
The Head of State has identified deep processing of hydrocarbons as one of the key areas of development of the oil and gas sector. The priority for our economy is high conversion production producing products with a rapid increase in added value in the technological chain with an export orientation. The added value between the initial feedstock ethane and the third conversion product polyethylene increases 20 times, from $80-90 to $1600-1800 per tonne. The Polyethylene project will certainly give a serious impetus to the development of both the manufacturing industry and the country's economy as a whole. According to experts' calculations, the contribution to the country's GDP by 2030 from the implementation of the project is estimated at approximately 1.2%," Olzhas Bektenov said.
The construction of the plant is planned to be completed by 2029. During the construction period more than 8 thousand jobs will be created, during the operation period about 850 jobs will be created.
It was noted that the project is realised with the support of the Government. The plant will be built on the territory of a special economic zone with the provision of appropriate infrastructure and special tax regime. In this regard, Prime Minister emphasised the attention of the project participants to the need to maximise the use of local potential.
We on the part of the state provide comprehensive support in the implementation of projects important for the country's economy. At the same time, we expect you to increase the share of local content. For this purpose, it is necessary to determine the list of goods and equipment that will be mandatorily purchased from domestic producers. Special attention should be paid to training of Kazakhstani specialists and transfer of competences. It is important for us to maximise the attraction of local personnel, including for management positions in the project. We count on a similar approach in the implementation of other joint projects," Prime Minister emphasised.
Thus, in addition to the plant "Polyethylene" it is planned to build a gas separation complex and a trunk pipeline.
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Olzhas Bektenov and Head of the Sakha Republic Aysen Nikolayev discuss issues of trade and economic cooperation
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Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aysen Nikolayev, who arrived on a visit to Astana to participate in the opening ceremony of the Days of the Republic of Sakha in Kazakhstan, primeminister.kz reports.
The Republic of Sakha contributes to the development of Kazakhstan-Russia trade relations. The implementation of agreements reached at the level of the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia on further expansion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation was reviewed.
Over the year, trade turnover between the regions of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Sakha has grown almost 2-fold, exceeding $160 million, with over 99% of exports of Kazakhstani goods. During the discussion a wide potential of mutual trade was noted and the parties' readiness to increase turnover in agricultural, industrial and IT spheres was outlined.
The parties confirmed their intention to intensify joint work on expanding the range of supplied goods and services, establishing direct contacts between business circles. It is expected that a new impetus to trade and economic relations will also be given by the launch of five major cross-border trade centres in Kazakhstan, including the Eurasia Cross-Border Trade Centre on the border with Russia.
Special attention was paid to the exchange of experience and technologies in the field of creative industries and digitalisation, as well as interaction between research institutes and educational institutions of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Sakha.
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