During the Kazakhstan Growth Forum, the founder of Centras, Eldar Abdrazakov, noted that Kazakhstan needed to move to the tenge index against the currencies of the CIS countries. In response to this statement, Shayakhmetova, in her interview with an LS correspondent, agreed that the national currency needed to become stronger but this was not realistic in the short term.
“We talked about dollarization, then about rubleization. There is a question of trust in the tenge, that is, how stable the exchange rate is; there is no devaluation and an adequate rate for the return of funds in tenge. It must be adequate to the risk and bring sufficient income. Investing in tenge or tenge assets is quite risky today, especially in the medium and long term. The index is important, however, one must understand that the national currency should have strength not just like the tenge but be supported by the economy, so that our goods and exports are made in the national currency, at least on the territory of the EAEU. And when we sell only oil and gas in dollars to the West, and we are not competitive enough inside, it is utopian,” she stressed.
The executive of Halyk Bank adds that the tenge is used as a means of payment and accumulation today, but this is all in the short term. As for the long-term prospects, the question remains open.
As for the labor market, the situation is completely different here: there is a large influx of specialists to Kazakhstan. “This is good, because competent professional personnel are coming. Our legal entities-borrowers say that they are recruiting gas workers and production workers. Kazakhstan needs to be an open country and use it for good,” the interlocutor expressed the opinion.
Source: https://lsm.kz/shayahmetova-forum
Photos are from open sources.
