Kazakhstan may lift moratorium on new rights for natural resources development

Kazakhstan’s Government may lift the moratorium on issuing new subsurface use licenses, Newskaz.ru reports. The moratorium was introduced in 2008 when the Government started drafting a new tax legislation which abolished Product Sharing Agreements. The new tax code renouncing contract stability and toughening taxes on the extraction sector came into force January 1, 2009. “For individual country regions to be interested in attracting investments, the Government should think of lifting the moratorium on issuing new subsurface use licenses with regards to certain natural resources”, President Nazarbayev said when meeting regional governors in his Astana-based Residence today. Head of State emphasized that if a country region attracts investments to a deposit of natural resources, part of the proceedings should be retained by this particular region. “I commission the Government to work out respective suggestions in partnership with country regions’ governors (…) so that country regions could have an incentive to attract investments”, President summed up.