| When Astana launched its sovereign-wealth fund in 2008, authorities asserted that Samruk-Kazyna would modernize Kazakhstan’s economy and help attract foreign investors. Six years later, critics say the fund is bloated and lethargic, and privatization plans are stoking concerns among employees and analysts.
Modeled after Malaysian and Singaporean funds, Samruk-Kazyna is a central pillar in President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s economic and political system. The fund exerts influence over almost 600 state companies involved in, among other things, oil and gas (KazMunayGaz), railways (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), telecoms (Kazahtelecom), energy (Kazatomprom), the state air carrier (Air Astana) and the postal service (Kazpochta). Last year it announced approximately $3.5 billion in profits. Overall, Samruk-Kazyna accounts for roughly 45 percent of Kazakhstan’s economy, Larissa Zyamzina, an advisor to the head of the fund, told business magazine Delovoi Kazakhstan in June...............................................Full Article: Source
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