05.07.2023

KAZAKHSTAN, QATAR AND CHINA HAVE AGREED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

A trilateral memorandum of understanding was signed on the sidelines of the Astana International Forum by Qatar Power International Holding, China China International Capital Corporation and Kazakhstan's Baiterek Holding. Having signed the document, the parties agreed on investments in Kazakhstan in agriculture and a number of other areas of interest to the parties to the agreement.
The agreement provides for the creation of a direct investment fund in Kazakhstan with the participation of Qatari and Chinese companies for the development of a dairy cluster, including the production, processing and export of dairy products.

The Chinese partners of China International Capital Corporation (CICC) will ensure the participation of their large dairy enterprises at the level of providing offtake contracts and assisting in the sale of Kazakh products on the Chinese market.

China International Capital Corporation (CICC), which is one of the largest quasi-state companies in China and has more than 20 subsidiaries represented in various sectors of the economy.

The Qatari partners of Power International Holding, represented by its subsidiary Baladna, will act as a technology partner, striving to make the fund one of the ten largest processors of dairy products in the world.

Power International Holding is the largest conglomerate of Qatar and the Middle East (construction, agriculture, industry and healthcare).

The very idea of uniting investors from different countries in one project on the territory of Kazakhstan arose with the arrival of the new head of the national holding Kanat Sharlapayev.
Earlier, at the Qatar-Kazakhstan forum, which took place in October last year, Baiterek Holding established business ties with Qatari companies, which opened up new prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

Already in May of this year, as part of the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Xi'an, Baiterek Holding and CICC signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of agriculture and food industry.
On the eve of the Astana International Forum, Baiterek Holding, together with CICC and PIH, decided to take another step towards cooperation and developed a document allowing them to mutually benefit from investing in the agro-industrial complex in Kazakhstan.

For Kazakhstan, this means attracting long-term investments in order to develop the agro-industrial complex, the investments themselves at the first stage will be directed exclusively to the economy of Kazakhstan. Initially, the focus will be on the development of the dairy industry, but in the future it is planned to expand cooperation in other sectors of the agro-industrial complex, for example, such as the cultivation and processing of cereals and legumes with an emphasis on exports.

"For Qatar, Kazakhstan is of interest as an economy with the potential to enter the Chinese market. For Kazakhstan, this means attracting long-term investments and developing the agro-industrial complex. The Chinese side, attaching great importance to the quality of products produced in Kazakhstan, is interested in such products being delivered from Kazakh fields to trade shelves in China," says Asset Tazhikenov, Director of the national holding Department.

In June, representatives of the holding plan to hold a number of joint negotiations with Qatari and Chinese investors. Chinese investors are also interested in using their infrastructure on the border with Khorgos for labeling and packaging, analysis and sorting of products from Kazakhstan.

"This agreement unites the interests of two foreign investors from different regions and opens up opportunities for long-term investments in projects in the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan. It is a precedent for this industry and, in our opinion, will stimulate the development of the industry by increasing quality requirements and competition in the market," Asset Tazhikenov concluded.