Kazakhstan’s sustainable investment opportunities showcased to UK business executives
The visit took place on the eve of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin’s participation in the Summit of the 26th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow on 1-2 November on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The headquarters of the London Stock Exchange hosted the Kazakhstan Investment Forum themed «The Future of Sustainable Investing – A Decisive Decade for ESG».
The forum was put together by the London Stock Exchange, Samruk Kazyna sovereign wealth fund, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UK.
The forum sessions focused on Kazakhstan’s transition to low-carbon development, improving the renewable energy market, and introducing the green finance mechanism through the prism of Kazakhstan’s commitment to ESG standards, as well as sustainable and inclusive investment. The event was an important addition to Kazakh delegation’s participation in COP26 in Glasgow and set the tone for further negotiations at the Summit.
Over a hundred business executives from the financial, alternative energy, metallurgy, logistics and digital technologies sectors attended the forum.
Murray Roos, London Stock Exchange Group Head of Capital Markets, opened the event by highlighting the history of the Exchange’s successful cooperation with Kazakh companies in both private and public sectors.
He noted the goal to achieve zero emissions by 2060 set by President Tokayev at the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020 and added that «we commend Kazakhstan’s ambition to embark on a sustainable transition journey and join the world race to net zero.»
Almasadam Satkaliyev, CEO of Samruk Kazyna, highlighted that over the 30 years of independent development, Kazakhstan has undergone transformations in both economic and social spheres, in line with the global drive for inclusive and sustainable growth, which is why today Kazakhstan has committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
«In 2020, the United Nations included Samruk Kazyna in the list of twenty advanced funds that ensure sustainable development. This is a clear recognition by the world community of our approaches and measures to integrate ESG principles into development initiatives and investment policies,» he stressed, adding that Samruk Kazyna has recently updated its strategy with a goal of reducing carbon footprint by ten percent in the next 10 years, and achieving its low-carbon ambitions by 2060.
The forum participants’ attention was tied to the section dedicated to sustainable and inclusive investment in the Kazakh economy where AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov delivered keynote remarks. He highlighted the vast cooperation opportunities that lie at the AIFC platform which operates based on the principles of English common law. The Centre has become an important platform for attracting investment as it offers complex financial instruments and provides world class services.
Kazakh fintech company Kaspi.kz’s CEO Mikhail Lomtadze said that his company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange changed the investors’ perception of Kazakhstan and helped them see it as a convenient platform for developing innovations. He also stressed that Sustainable Development Goals are embedded in the structure of all the company’s operations.
The panel sessions also included such speakers as Goldman Sachs Managing Director Ryad Yousuf, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster, Arabesque Group Partner and CFO Nick Page, Kazakhtelecom Board Chairman Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev, KazMunayGas Deputy Chairman of the Management Board for Strategy, Investment and Business Development Dastan Abdulgafarov, and Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Energy in Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia Aida Sitdikova.
The visit programme also included the 4th meeting of the Kazakhstan-UK Business Council under the co-chairmanship of Mr Satkaliyev and UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Kazakhstan Baroness Emma Nicholson. The meeting focused on the two countries’ climate agenda, concrete measures to achieve sustainable economic development and carbon neutrality, environmental and social management, and the development of clean technologies and attracting investment.
Baroness Nicholson commended Kazakhstan’s climate leadership, outlining some important interim targets: improving energy efficiency, planting two billion trees in the next five years, committing to 80 percent non-fossil fuel electricity generation by 2060 and phasing out coal by 2050.
«The key issue now is what concrete policies, regulatory frameworks and carbon pricing will incentivise the public and private investment needed,» she added.
In his concluding remarks, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK Erlan Idrissov noted that the substantive negotiations that took place at the Business Council are to lay a solid foundation for further trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. They are also to provide the bilateral Kazakhstan-UK agenda with quality content for the 8th meeting of the Kazakhstan-UK Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation which is to take place on 4 November in Nur-Sultan.
The meeting participants included AIFC Chief Investment Officer James Martin, UK Export Finance Regional Head for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Rose Trigg, Bluewater Founding Partner Thomas Sikorski, Hambro Perks CEO Dominic Perks, Da Vinci Capital Managing Partner Dennis Fulling, Arq Founder and CEO Julian McIntyre and EBRD Director for Kazakhstan Hüseyin Özhan.
The Business Council also saw the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Samruk Kazyna and Arq. The parties agreed to consider launching joint projects aimed at implementing Kazakhstan’s vision of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Kazakhstan’s carbon neutrality ambitions and investment opportunities linked to them were also discussed at a round table themed «Kazakhstan@30: The Road to Carbon Neutrality» hosted at Dentons law firm’s London office.
Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Energy Kairat Rakhimov spoke in detail about the concrete steps aimed at achieving the goals set by the head of state to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. He noted Kazakhstan’s vast renewable energy potential and invited prospective investors to participate in the upcoming renewable energy auctions. Investors who win the auctions will be provided with state support including 20-year power purchase agreements, annual price indexation, and exemption from payment for electricity transmission services.
The discussion was joined by Samruk Kazyna Managing Director for Strategy, Sustainable Development and Digital Transformation Yernat Berdigulov, AIFC CIO James Martin, EBRD Principal Banker Marat Yelibayev, Senior Investment Specialist of the Asian Development Bank Alibek Abdrakhmanov, as well as Dentons Kazakhstan Partner Birzhan Zharasbayev, who elaborated on the regulatory aspects of Kazakhstan’s renewable energy auctions. The session was moderated by Charles July, Partner at Dentons UK, Ireland and Middle East.
