Timur Kulibayev wants independent audit of national companies' Boards of Directors

Timur Kulibayev, Head of the Smaruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, admitted that national companies that are part of Samruk-Kazyna do not introduce innovations. “We are fully aware that innovations do not work in our companies … we want independent directors to share their experience to introduce innovations in our companies”, the Press Service of Samruk-Kazyna quoted Mr. Kulibayev as saying on Twitter. October 19 Kulibayev met independent directors of the largest companies of the Fund in Astana. He also commissioned independent audit of the companies’ Boards of Directors. According to him, “such efforts are already taken in KazMunaiGas”. Nigmatzhan Issingarin, independent dicrector at Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Railways Operator, suggested turning to local consaltancies as foreign consulatncies not always take into account Kazkahstan’s specifics. “Eventually it takes time to get things adjusted to Kazkahstan”, he said. Bazarbai Baltabayev, Independent Director of Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), suggested launching a club of independent directors to exchange experience and opinions. Serikkzhan Ramazanov, Independent Director of KazAtomProm, believes that at the threshold of the People’s IPO independent directors should attend to the issue of minority shareholders’ interests’ protection.