17.06.2008 “Prospects of international business development in Kyrgyzstan”
On June 9th 2008 the round-table on the topic “Prospects of international business development in Kyrgyzstan” took place in the Bishkek Press Club. The participants of the round-table were those who represent business structures, international and non-governmental organizations, deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh and economic experts.
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18.04.2008 Bank supervision: the role of the human factor
The successful and – more importantly, stable – development of the banking system (aside from several cases of bank bankruptcy) is the result of improved macroeconomic conditions, an enhanced operating environment, and a strong system of regulation. However, positive growth indicators do not take into account latent threats, which might lead to a crisis in the financial system and, hence, the whole economy. The most important threat is the decreasing potential of specialists in the field of bank supervision, a key element of the system of state regulation of commercial banking.
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18.10.2007 Reducing regulatory and administrative barriers to entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan: major results and outstanding issues
Entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan has been considered to be an independent branch of economics for over ten years and is one of the most important targets for reforms directed on creation of an effectively functioning economic system or one of the components determining successful development of the state in general. During the last few years, private sector of economics continued developing despite complications in domestic political situation although in a slower pace. Based on official assessment, private sector provides 86 percent of the GDP. It is exclusively the private sector that prevails in economics of agriculture and services making up over 90 percent of the total volume of production and services, and over 20 percent in industry.
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12.10.2007 Perspectives of the financial market development in Kyrgyzstan and the socio-economic situation in the country
Sultan Mederov: "We have only points of view because we do not have a united systematic financial market in Kyrgyzstan. There are certain legal instruments for the National bank, and not many instruments for the government, there is not much freedom. Especially in recent days when the government has turned into the victim, parliament does not give an opportunity to the government to step right or left. The situation gets worse when the government does not have any possibility to regulate the financial market".
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28.09.2007 Prospects and Problems for the Development of Hydro-Power Engineering in Kyrgyzstan
The water and power potential of Kyrgyzstan is estimated at 142 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) per year. According to the estimates of specialists, 12 to 14 billion kWh is presently generated per year, meaning only 8-10% of the entire potential is developed. According to the testimonies of participants at a recent round table discussion, organized with the support of the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation and UNDP, the population does not have enough of an objective understanding of the potential of domestic power engineering. Opinion on water and power potential, much publicized in the mass media, may lead to a faulty, overstated idea of power self-sufficiency, and even its abundance. In short, the following is a widespread opinion: they say that if our rivers are inexhaustible and the water is free then hydropower is unlimited and cheap.
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26.09.2007 Priorities of Stock Market Development in Kyrgyzstan
The Kyrgyz government did practically nothing to effectively use capital formation by local enterprises, via the issuing and placing of corporate bonds, while these securities have been well circulated in Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
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21.09.2007 Strategy of Energy Sector Development in Kyrgyzstan – Purposes, Tasks and Mechanisms
As you all know, our main energy resource is hydroelectric power. According to the amount of hydro resources, Kyrgyzstan is third among CIS countries, after Russia and Tajikistan. To develop the hydro energy potential of Kyrgyzstan, about 142 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, is the main strategy to develop the energy sector of the republic. On the Naryn River and its tributaries, it is possible to build 22 hydroelectric power stations with an annual energy production of more than 30 billion kilowatt-hours. Today we exploit no more than 10% of our hydro resources.
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02.06.2007 Transparency is a Key to Solving Conflicts between State and Business
During the past few months, tension has grown surrounding a company that produces gold at the Kumtor mine. The company is the seventh largest in the world and third largest in the CIS. Politicians, who also initiate bills aimed at nationalizing mines and block the roads using a different group with different demands, are demanding an agreement between the Canadian CAMECO Corporation and the Kyrgyz government be reconsidered. Meanwhile, the company announced that it will suspend investment.
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02.05.2007 Tax Reforms: Myths and Reality
A tax regime, based on the principle of a partnership of business and the state, could be called a democratic tax regime. And a tax regime in which tax payers have no rights, the point of view of the state is the only correct one and there is a special body to control and suppress tax payers, could be called a totalitarian tax regime. The current edition of the tax code here (in the classification mentioned above) represents an authoritarian type of tax regime. The following norms prove such a notion...
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28.03.2007 What Hampers Economic Growth in the Kyrgyz Republic?
Taking into consideration that the country is significantly dependent upon external economic relations, the trade barriers could be noted as having negative effect on economic growth in the Kyrgyz Republic. According to various authors, the removal of trade barriers would increase the real GDP within 10 years to 50-55 percent or 4, 2-4, 5 % per year as. It should be noted that the increase of economic growth to 4 or more percent is seen as the significant increase, which can imply sustainability of economic growth. At the same time, this increase of potential economic growth creates a legitimate question: does it mean that the development of Kyrgyzstan is impossible without solving the problems with trade cooperation?
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16.03.2007 Kyrgyzstan in Search of a Recipe for Competitiveness
The idea of turning Kyrgyzstan into a competitive state was announced by the country's President in his message to the nation last September. Earlier in February of 2006, the Regulation on the Center for Economic Strategies under the Cabinet of the Kyrgyz Republic was approved, and recently the new Prime Minister Azim Isabekov proposed the idea of the possible economic specialization of each oblast. All these events prompt reflection and raise numerous questions. The main question is - how real is the idea of a ‘Kyrgyz miracle' and what will be the recipe for achieving competitiveness?
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12.01.2007 Lessons for Central Asia: A Socio-Economic Development Model in Eastern Asia
Is it possible to use the socio-economic development model of the Eastern Asian countries for the Central Asian states? It is possible but only if the Central Asian elites are willing to make two fundamental acknowledgments on a nationwide scale: a) admit their own disadvantages which hinder development and b) acknowledge foreign countries’ achievements which served to promote development.
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26.12.2006 Management of Water Resources in Kyrgyzstan
On December 15, 2006, the Institute for Public Policy hosted a round table on “The Problems of Water Resource Management in Kyrgyzstan.” The discussion was summoned in light of an increasingly tense situation in the energy sector, continuing disputes about the role of water resources in geopolitics, the increasing engagement of external players interested in the water-energy complex of the country, and the obvious absence of a clear and coherent strategy on the part of the government in this sphere.
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01.12.2006 The “Carrot and Stick” Policy of the HIPC
Lately, Kyrgyzstan’s entrance into the HIPC Initiative has been the subject of serious debates in the country. This issue is perceived ambiguously by both the ruling establishment and ordinary citizens. However, current debates over the HIPC Initiative are more related to financial, economic and psychological factors, while political and geopolitical aspects are ignored.
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30.11.2006 Who Governs the Marketplace? The Politics of Bazaars in Kyrgyzstan
A discussion of “Central Asian political economy” usually begins with the region’s vast oil and gas reserves, or the significant amounts of wealth generated from metals, gold and cotton production. Yet in Central Asia, aside from these natural resources, economic opportunities for the average person have not come from the sphere of production and industry, but rather from trade and distribution. In particular, the bazaar has emerged as an integral part of social, economic, and political life in many regions across the Newly Independent States (NIS) and especially in Central Asia. However the bazaar as an institution has not been addressed by political scientists in studies of post-communist political economies.
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17.11.2006 Reform of Inter-Budget Relations and the Tax System: Risks for the Budget of the Capital
The suggested scenario of reforming intergovernmental fiscal relations jeopardizes the future income of Bishkek’s budget. The process of reforming intergovernmental fiscal relations foresees the implementation of two steps: Step #1: Transition to a two-tiered budget – “one tax, one budget” – to be initiated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Step #2: Approval of the new Tax Code draft – to be initiated by the State Tax Inspection under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic
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03.10.2006 The Reform of Inter-Budget Relations: Effectiveness is in Question
During a conference on “The process of budget reform: a draft of the budget for 2007,” the Minister of Economics and Finance, Akylbek Japarov, stated that “decentralization is impossible without transition to a two-tiered budget system which gives more capacity to local governments for economic development of the regions.” The transition to a two-tiered budget system is planned to be implemented by 2007. However, experts state that the effectiveness of this reform depends on the timely solution of a series of important issues.
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07.08.2006 The Real Estate Market: Is It Possible to Overcome Chaos?
Local and foreign businessmen maintain that setting up a manufacturing firm is risky, as it could be taken away, but so far there are no other sectors in which to invest. Investing into real estate is the only opportunity for safe and profitable investment. Hundreds of thousands of labor migrants invest into real estate upon returning home, as expenditures connected with maintenance are minimal compared to the skyrocketing prices for buying real estate. According to many, this is a safe kind of business compared to, for instance, manufacturing.
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10.07.2006 Direct Investment to Kyrgyzstan: What Is the Problem?
Throughout the years of reform, we have been able neither to attract the planned volume of investment, nor to provide the proper quality of foreign capital. In many respects, these failures can be explained by political and macroeconomic conditions, as well as the mistakes made during the incomplete implementation of market reforms. However, to a substantial degree, the failures are connected with the deficiencies in, or even lack of, policy aimed at attracting foreign direct investment.
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06.07.2006 Roundtable transcript: “Reforming the Energy System of Kyrgyzstan: Issues and Solutions”
On 22 June 2006 the Institute for Public Policy hosted an expert discussion on “Reforming the Energy System of Kyrgyzstan: Issues and Solutions.” Experts and political figures were invited to analyze the most acute problems of the energy system of the country and identify the best options for reforms. The discussion was chaired by Muratbek Imanaliev, President of the Institute for Public Policy. The full transcript of the roundtable is available here.
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30.06.2006 Reform of the Energy Sector: A Tough Choice to Make
The issue of hydroelectric power stations cannot be postponed, even for only a few years. Today, we have already given a significant head start to Tajikistan, and the issue is whether we can enter the market at all with our electric power. The capacity of the Rogun hydroelectric power station alone, which is being constructed at full speed, considerably exceeds the capacity of the entire Naryn cascade, which still only exists in our dreams. Every month, even every day missed turns around into irreversible consequences for the competitiveness of Kyrgyzstan. Tomorrow, we may not bother building any hydroelectric power stations, as nobody will need them.
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19.06.2006 Brotherly Banks: Blessing or Curse?
Experts are divided in their evaluation of the growing influence of Kazakh banks in Kyrgyzstan’s financial market. Some argue that the intervention of Kazakh banks may lead to a shrinkage of the share of domestic banks in the national banking sector, which is already plagued by the strengthening of Kazakh business on the territory of the country, increasing dependency of the country’s economy on foreign capital, and weakening control over the currency market on the part of the Kyrgyz Government and the National Bank. Others are convinced that Kazakh banks give a push for competition, which bears good fruit.
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20.04.2006 Kyrgyzstan’s Entry to HIPC: Risks and Opportunities
On March 30, the Institute of Public Policy held a roundtable discussion on “Kyrgyzstan’s entry to the HIPC: risks and opportunities.” The IPP invited Ernis Abdurazakov, Head of Public Debt and Assets Management in the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, Yuruslan Toychubekov, Director of the State Agency for Financial Control and Accountability, and Bolot Maripov, Member of Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament) to the meeting as speakers. Muratbek Imanaliev, President of the IPP, acted as moderator of the roundtable discussion.
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19.04.2006 Emil Umetaliev: “Unprotected business does not have confidence in further development, and is set to withdraw capital from the country.”
Our guest is Emil Satarovich Umetaliev, President of the company Kyrgyz Concept and Chairman of the Bishkek Business Council. Mr. Umetaliev is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most experienced and successful businessmen; Kyrgyz Concept, founded 1990, is one of the biggest players in the service sector today. Our conversation is about the processes that are taking place in the sphere of private property, and their consequences for business in the country.
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19.04.2006 The Dangers of Property Redistribution
Increasingly chaotic redistribution of property in Kyrgyzstan, triggered by the Tulip Revolution in March 2005, poses a real threat to economic and social stability in the country.
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