President: Kazakhstan-U.S. economic and investment coop strengthened significantly
The first day of the visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to New York ended with a roundtable meeting with the participants of major American companies.
The first day of the visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to New York ended with a roundtable meeting with the participants of major American companies, Akorda press service informs.
Addressing the meeting, the Kazakh Leader congratulated the members of the Kazakhstan-U.S. Business Association on its 20th anniversary and expressed gratitude for the organization of the event.
He drew the participants’ attention to the fact that since the moment of signing the Joint Statement on the Kazakh-U.S Extended Partnership during Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to the U.S. in January 2018, the trade-economic and investment cooperation between the two countries significantly strengthened.
He reminded that the U.S. had been one of the largest investors of Kazakhstan economy: the total volume of the U.S. investments in Kazakhstan exceeded $45bn. More than 500 U.S. companies are operating in Kazakhstan to date.
In 2018, the volume of foreign direct investments to Kazakhstan reached a record-breaking indicator – $5.3bn. The volume of mutual trade increased twofold and comprised $2.8bn in 2018," Tokayev said.
Speaking on the economic potential of Kazakhstan, the President pointed out three major components of the country’s progress: favorable investment climate, development of the market and communications and human capital strengthening.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev informed the American partners of the Kazakh Government’s work on improvement of investment climate by ensuring the rule of law, inviolability of contracts and intellectual property protection.
The President touched upon the potential of Kazakhstan in energy, agriculture, finance, human capital and the country’s transport and logistics opportunities.
Kazakhstan is an important transport hub connecting the East and the West. More than 70% transcontinental routes run via the territory of Kazakhstan," he noted.
Upon completion, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assured the representatives of the U.S. business communities that he would exert every effort to expand the economic partnership between Kazakhstan and the U.S.
On the same day, the Head of State had meetings with the top officials of a number of large international companies.
At a meeting with CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden, the sides discussed the cooperation in implementation of oil and gas projects.
The meeting with Chairman of the Board and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co Jamie Dimon, the parties discussed the interaction between financial institutions.
The issues of implementation of investment projects in agriculture were debated at the meeting with President of Tyson Fresh Meats Steve Stouffer and President and CEO of Valmont Industries Stephen G. Kaniewski.
Prospects of cooperation in start-up projects were considered during the meeting with CEO and Founder of Plug`n Play Saeed Amidi and Managing Partner, Vice President of 500 Startups Bedy Yang.
At a meeting with Vice President of Amazon Web Services Michael Punke, the sides discussed the interaction in e-commerce.
Source: Kazinform News Agency
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Kazakhstan turns to high-value added manufacturing with building polyethylene plant it Atyrau region
Images | primeminister.kz
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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