#Kazakhstan investment helps bring success to #Romania

Speaking yesterday (14 November) at the Brussels Press Club, HE Almaz N. Khamzayev, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the EU, told the audience about Kazakhstan’s expectations for EXPO 2017, which is due to take place in Astana next summer, writes Helen Jones.   

Kazakhstan is not only the leading destination in the CIS for foreign direct investment from around the world, but the country is also busy developing new energy markets through overseas investment across the entire Black Sea region and into Europe.

Kazakh companies are already investing in Eastern Europe and in the EU’s member states; traditional energy resources are a key sector for them, and in EXPO 2017 Kazakhstan will also be focussing on other new energy technologies including hydro and wind power. The strap line for EXPO 2017 will be “Future Energy” and it will house an Energy Hall, and an Energy Research Centre as a central part of the exhibition. “Kazakh businesses will be looking for opportunities to invest in new energy technologies both at home in the domestic market, and in developing markets outside our country,” Ambassador Khamzayev said.

Kazakhstan companies already have a successful record of making important economic contributions to member states. For example, KazMunayGas International (KMG International) has invested more than $1.6 billion between 2007 and 2011 in Romania, where most of its EU assets and operations are located, making it an energy powerhouse and hub for the region. It also operates in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

KMG International is now the third largest contributor to fiscal revenues in Romania, with a contribution of about $1.5bn in taxes per year, totalling $13bn from 2007 (taking into account all taxes, including excise, profits tax and social contributions) or up to 3% of the government’s total annual tax receipts. To put this into the context of government spending, according to a recent Economic Impact Assessment report produced by the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, that is more than enough to pay for almost 50 new hospitals or more than 10,000 schools In Romania.

KMG International’s activities and investments in Romania account for more than 1% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. The main activities are refining and the distribution of petroleum products and petrochemicals. In terms of jobs on the domestic labour market, KMG International is one of the largest employers in Romania, and directly supports 4 772 jobs. For each of these direct employees, the company additionally generates more than 2 extra jobs indirectly in supplier or partner companies.

This means that the total combined workforce in Romania supported by the company is over 15,000 jobs. As a company KMG International also actively seeks to attract, retain and develop young talented graduates, and to this end has recruitment partnerships with the leading universities in Romania. More than three quarters of the new hires by the company in recent years have been in the under 35 age bracket, which is an absolutely critical sector for job creation in the labour market for Romania.

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In a nutshell, KMG International’s operations in Romania are vital to the country’s national economic stability and continued growth, and represents an important model for the successful integration of Kazakh investment, business cooperation and partnership in Romania and across the EU.

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