Business support in Kazakhstan during COVID-19 pandemic 2021 - FCHAIN

Another package of urgent measures to support the entrepreneurs has been developed and approved in Kazakhstan. Since 2020, a number of anti-crisis support packages providing for employment promotion, business operations expansion, digitalization, agrarian business unlocking, as well as for development of the housing and utility, transport, social and trade infrastructure has been adopted in order to ensure a recovering dynamics of the national economy.

One of the most seriously affected economy sector during COVID-19 pandemic was small and medium business in 2020. Therefore, in this year an opinion poll of more than 50 thousand of entrepreneurs has been held concerning the need for any supplementary support measures. Based on the results of such polling, the supplementary package including 24 measures by 4 areas of activities has been developed as follows:

• slashing business rates,
• financial inclusion, access to the greater market of demand and skilled human resources.

The set of measures includes following:

• extension of the SMEs CCEA list in the affected economic sectors from 29 to 174 for the purposes of refinancing on attractive terms until June 1, 2021.
• extension of time periods for exemption of the affected SMEs from rental charges for the public property and quasi-public facilities until July 1, 2021.
• extension of time periods for exemption from property tax until the end of 2021
• exemption from Individual Income Tax on the income of the business entities employees received from the employer as remedies
• extension of moratorium on bankruptcy of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs until July 1, 2021 on the recommendation of public authorities and entities of quasi-public sector
• enhance of domestic commodity producers access to the public procurement
• application of the guarantee tool provided by «DAMU» Entrepreneurship Development Fund» JSC to the Favorable Credit Facilities Program of the National Bank.

The supplementary package of measures will ensure the superior recovering dynamics and development of ecosystem that encourages the business activities in the climate of new economic reality.  Such direct effect measures will ensure 3% GDP growth during the current year and provide assistance to more than 1,2 million of business entities wherein upward of 3,3 million people are engaged.

Article is prepared by Ekaterina Kassumova