Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world, (the largest land-locked) and most economically advanced country in Central Asia.
With a population of just shy of 18 million people, it is also one of the most sparsely populated countries too. Kazakhstan is known for its rich reserves in Oil, Gas and other valuable minerals.
G Corner had been invited on a UKTI Mining Mission, all organised by UKTI Kazakhstan and due to our previous experience in the Kazakhstan market, it was an opportunity to re-introduce G Corner, discuss our new products/capabilities and build some good contacts for the CIS Region. After meeting with the Vice Minister of Trade and Investment, it was clear that a lot of investment has entered this country from various sources, including the UK ($1.2 billion in 2014). I was invited to meet with the CEO and his team at Almaty Tech Garden, who are the new government-funded innovation business start-up, tasked to source the latest technologies worldwide to advance Kazakhstan into becoming a “World-Class Supplier for CIS Region”. In this meeting, it was mentioned that all mining companies based in Kazakhstan, by law, have to give 1% of their total revenue, or they will lose their mining licence. The fund created from this, will in turn bring large amounts of external investment from overseas, hence the importance of the market.
G Corner were present in Kazakhstan for 10 days, visiting clients at the capital city “Astana”, the largest city in Kazakhstan “Almaty” and in a small town in the East of Kazakhstan called “Ust-Kamenogorsk”. On behalf of G Corner, I’d like to thank UKTI Kazakhstan for organising and co-ordinating this mining mission, it was a great success and we will be visiting Kazakhstan again in the near future.
Benjamin Caveen – Business Development Manager
