Prospects and development plans of Kazakh economy in 2018 discussed
By Kamila Aliyeva
The government of Kazakhstan has adopted a joint statement with the National Bank on the main directions of economic policy for 2018.
At the government meeting, Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov noted that the statement was developed in order to inform the general public about the priorities of the country's macroeconomic and monetary policy for the current year, Kazinform reported.
The main directions of the economic policy for 2018 will be the preservation of macroeconomic stability, the provision of a favorable business climate, the development of economic sectors, including the digital component, as well as the development of transport and logistics infrastructure, according to the minister.
The preservation of macroeconomic stability will be achieved through coordinated measures of monetary and fiscal policy, as well as ensuring financial stability, he noted.
“Effective fiscal policy will be pursued to maintain the sustainability of public finances with a flexible and favorable tax environment. Thus, the budget deficit is planned to decrease from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2017 to 1.1 percent this year. This will keep the government's debt at a safe level - no more than 20 percent of GDP. The non-oil deficit is planned to be reduced to 7.4 percent of GDP. The attention of the government will be focused on preventing unjustified price increases, removing the prerequisites for creating an artificial deficit, price collusion and unfair competition,” the official explained.
In addition, Suleimenov informed that a new package of systemic measures will be prepared to radically improve the business climate, especially at the regional level, to stimulate businesses to come out of the shadow through simplification of tax and other administrative issues.
“At the legislative level, an improvement in the legal regulation of business is envisaged. So, this year it is planned to reduce 114 spheres of control by 25 ones and 18 areas of supervision by 3 of them, to minimize the total number of inspections by 30 percent and to decrease the amount of reporting provided by business to state bodies by 30 percent,” he said.
Also, the development of economic sectors, including the digital component, will continue due to the implementation of the industrialization policy, according to the official.
“Work will be carried out to stimulate the introduction of elements of Industry 4.0., such as Big data, cloud technologies and 3D-printing. The development of the Third Five-Year Plan of Industrialization, aimed at the establishment of the industry of the ‘digital age’ will begin,” he said.
Meanwhile, to ensure the replenishment of the country's mineral and raw materials base, the implementation of the new Code “On Subsoil and Subsoil Use” will be launched. A set of measures to improve approaches to extracting minerals through the introduction of information technology platforms will be developed. Also, in 2018, modernization of oil refineries, which will provide the country’s domestic market with high-quality K4 and K5 gasoline, will be completed.
Finally, further development of the transport and logistics infrastructure will be facilitated by the continuation of the Nurly Zhol implementation, the minister added.
“Thus, the economic policy pursued by the government and the National Bank will allow to ensure further sustained economic growth and maintain inflation in the new target corridor of 5-7 percent in 2018,” he concluded.
The main result of 2017 for the Kazakh economy was the activation of recovery processes with the country's progressive transition to higher growth rates. According to the preliminary results of 2017, GDP growth was 4 percent. Economic growth was balanced with synchronous improvement in virtually all segments of economic activity.
The main catalysts for growth were the expansion of production in the traded sectors, the increase in investment activity and the gradual recovery of domestic demand.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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