National forum «Corporate Governance: new insight into investment potential of Kazakhstan» is held in Astana on March 30-31.

First Deputy of Prime Minister of Republic of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev and the regional Head of the International Finance Corporation, a member of World Bank Group, in Central Asia Moazzam Mekan opened the forum. The speakers noted that the implementation of corporate governance principles in accordance with generally accepted international standards is a key condition to increase the investment attractiveness of Kazakhstan companies.

Sovereign Wealth Fund «Samruk-Kazyna» allocated improving of the corporate governance as a priority strategic objective.

«Improving corporate governance - is one of the key directions of Transformation Program of «Samruk-Kazyna». The Fund elaborated a new Corporate Governance Code, where we have taken into account standards of the OECD and the best international practices. The Code focuses on key areas such as the management of companies through professional boards of directors, risk management, sustainable development, transparency increasing, fair treatment to shareholders », - Managing Director for Finance and Operations of «Samruk-Kazyna» JSC Yelena Bakhmutova said in her speech.

The Fund and portfolio companies are in the active phase of the implementation of the new Code. The fund significantly increases the role of boards of directors of portfolio companies through the formation of highly professional and balanced compositions, the expansion of their powers and increasing of the requirements in terms of the effectiveness of Board. This is especially true taking into account the output of companies of «Samruk-Kazyna» JSC to the IPO and the creation of an International Financial Center in Astana.

In 2013, during the visit of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Kazakhstan, a memorandum of cooperation between «Samruk-Kazyna» JSC and the Institute of Directors of the United Kingdom (IoD) was signed. Within the framework of this cooperation, the Fund published for the first time a unique publication of IoD «The Effective Board» in Kazakh and Russian languages, which represents a collection of practical recommendations about the effective implementation of the role of directors and solving issues encountered in their work.

«IFC cooperates with the companies of private sector in Kazakhstan to establish a sustainable business through the implementation of best practices of corporate governance, which helps to reduce risks, improve access to capital, and provides protection from abuse of leadership», - Moazzam Mekan noted.