Kazakhstan ready for a new wave of financial crisis

Kazakhstan is ready for a new wave of the financial crisis, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing Aidan Karibzhanov, Samruk – Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund Vice Chairman of the Board. “The backbone of our economy is oil, gas and metals. Recently prices for these commodities have been high, with budget and National Oil Fund revenues on the rise. Things will depend on the depth and length of the crisis. Should prices for oil take a nose dive and remain low for five years, it will pose a huge problem”, he said. According to him, “Kazakhstan’s budget is based on oil at $60 per barrel, whereas Russia’s budget is based on oil at $120 per barrel. In case of oil prices dropping, we have a substantial margin of safety. However, should the crisis be lingering, we will have to review approaches to the budgeting process”. When commenting on possible devaluation of the US Dollar, Karibzhanov said “all the talks about the forthcoming demise of the Dollar or of the Euro are premature. It’s like a roller-coaster and of temporary nature (…) I don’t think the future belongs to a single currency – whether it be Renminbi, Euro or Dollar. Rather, it should be a currency basket (…)”.