National Fund Earns As Much As It Spends

According to the Ministry of Finance, 2.76 trillion tenge have been withdrawn from the National Fund of Kazakhstan since the beginning of the year, almost equal to the total amount of receipts into the fund for the same period, Orda.kz reports.

Economist Galymzhan Aitkazin has raised a significant concern. In his Telegram channel, he pointed out that the growing withdrawals from the National Fund of Kazakhstan, which have increased by 26.5% over the year, are outpacing the decrease in receipts, which fell by 6.6%. 

It is essential to understand that the amount of revenue is supported by investment income of 464 billion tenge, and without it, the amount of revenue was 2.32 trillion tenge, or 439 billion tenge less than the withdrawals,
 the expert points out.

The increase in withdrawals is due to the rise in guaranteed and targeted transfers from the fund. Galymzhan Aitkazin emphasizes the need for a more balanced approach to fund use to maintain the fund's long-term sustainability.

Thus, against the backdrop of a slight decrease in tax revenues from the oil sector to the National Fund compared to last year, withdrawals at the same time increased by more than a quarter.

Senate deputy Sergei Karplyuk has previously noted the high profitability of the National Fund in 2023 - 11.38%.

However, in his opinion, the budget policy being pursued does not contribute to the increase in funds. He spoke of both transfers and non-budgetary withdrawals: the acquisition of KazMunayGas shares for one trillion tenge and the Samruk-Kazyna bond loan for 336.5 billion tenge to finance the construction of a railway section.

Original Author: Artem Volkov

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece published on 18/07/24 in Russian for accuracy.