Business Activity Index Decreases in Kazakhstan

As Zhandos Shaimardanov, head of the monetary department of Kazakhstan’s National Bank reported, the business activity index in the country decreased in August, reaching 50.2 points (50.8 in July).

According to the expert, the decrease of the index was determined by worse performance in the sector of services (50.7 points vs. 51.1 in July) and industrial sector (49.1 vs. 50.5 points in July). Among the main factors that affected the trend were the weakening employment level and low demand for new products. However, in the construction sector, the rate of activity in August rose to 51.9 (50.1 in July).

In different regions the rate was also different. For example, the Turkestan region and the city of Shymkent both showed the highest level of business activity (54.6 and 52.8 respectively); the lowest was in the Aktobe region (43.2).

In an August survey by the National Bank, its participants complained about tax burden and many risks for entrepreneurs from the state agencies. At the same time, many of them were happy with softening of the quarantine measures in the country.

«Businesses in Kazakhstan are now less confident in the future. They estimate the business environment conditions in 17.6 points (21.1 in July). As a result, the business climate index decreased to 9.5 points (10.5 in July). For the August survey we interviewed 462 businesses: 67 from the construction industry, 175 from the industrial sector and 220 from the service sector,» Shaimardanov said.

In July the business activity index was also decreasing and reached 50.8 (51.6 in June).