Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASTANA1266
2009-07-27 04:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Astana
Cable title:
KAZAKHSTAN TAKES FURTHER STEPS TO PROTECT INVESTORS
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UNCLAS ASTANA 001266
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, F
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EINV SOCI KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN TAKES FURTHER STEPS TO PROTECT INVESTORS
THROUGH NEW LEGISLATION
UNCLAS ASTANA 001266
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, F
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EINV SOCI KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN TAKES FURTHER STEPS TO PROTECT INVESTORS
THROUGH NEW LEGISLATION
1. SUMMARY: On July 14, President Nazarbayev signed legislation
that will toughen and improve general reporting requirements for
joint stock companies (JSCs) as well as certain business
transactions of JSCs. The new provisions will also require
disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by managers, officers,
and members of corporate boards of directors. These legislative
changes further incorporate international best practices related to
corporate responsibility and governance, and should lead to a more
attractive business environment for investors. END SUMMARY.
2. On July 14, President Nazarbayev signed legislation, "On
Payments and Remittances, Accounting Reports, and Financial
Statements for Financial Institutions and the National Bank," which
was developed through assistance provided by the USAID Business
Environment Improvement Project to the Agency for the Regulation and
Supervision of Financial Markets and Financial Organizations (FSA).
This legislation amended the law "On Joint Stock Companies" and is
designed to improve the protection of investors through increasing
the disclosure requirements for businesses as well as their key
executives. Since JSCs were not previously required to make annual
reports publicly available, it was difficult for shareholders,
investors, and the public to obtain essential information on the
health of businesses, or to ensure appropriate ethical behavior of
corporate officers and adherence of officers to their fiduciary
duties. With the new legislation, members of corporate boards of
directors must disclose annual reports of their companies to their
shareholders as well as to the public, and include any transactions
in which members of the board or key officers have a personal
financial interest.
3. These new reporting requirements will increase transparency and
should help attract foreign and domestic investment in Kazakhstan by
providing additional information to potential shareholders. This
additional information will allow investors to better assess the
risks of investment in a company. The new legislation will also
permit shareholders to take legal action if a transaction in which a
member of a board of directors, an officer, or key manager has a
personal financial interest results in harm to a company. These
legal improvements are also an important step toward protecting
minority shareholders, who previously had few opportunities to
obtain information about company operations.
4. Previous amendments to the law "On Accounting and Financial
Reporting" required JSCs to prepare accounts and financial reports
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, of
which Standard 24, "Related Party Disclosures," required companies
to report on transactions in which directors or key managers have a
personal financial interest. With the July 14 amendments, these
annual reports and disclosures will become publicly accessible
information. These requirements conform to international best
practices for corporate governance and bring Kazakhstan's business
environment into greater harmony with international standards
investors have come to expect in attractive markets.
5. Moreover, the change in reporting requirements is expected to
improve Kazakhstan's rating in the World Bank Doing Business
Report's "Protecting Investors" indicator, by improving the
underlying "disclosures in published periodic filings" measurement
from its current rating of zero to as high as 2. This could
potentially improve Kazakhstan's overall "Protecting Investors"
country rank from 53rd to 24th (assuming all other variables in next
year's report stay the same). While these reforms were adopted
after the June 1, 2009, cut-off for the Doing Business 2010 report,
they will be taken into account in Doing Business 2011.
FAGIN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, F
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EINV SOCI KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN TAKES FURTHER STEPS TO PROTECT INVESTORS
THROUGH NEW LEGISLATION
1. SUMMARY: On July 14, President Nazarbayev signed legislation
that will toughen and improve general reporting requirements for
joint stock companies (JSCs) as well as certain business
transactions of JSCs. The new provisions will also require
disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by managers, officers,
and members of corporate boards of directors. These legislative
changes further incorporate international best practices related to
corporate responsibility and governance, and should lead to a more
attractive business environment for investors. END SUMMARY.
2. On July 14, President Nazarbayev signed legislation, "On
Payments and Remittances, Accounting Reports, and Financial
Statements for Financial Institutions and the National Bank," which
was developed through assistance provided by the USAID Business
Environment Improvement Project to the Agency for the Regulation and
Supervision of Financial Markets and Financial Organizations (FSA).
This legislation amended the law "On Joint Stock Companies" and is
designed to improve the protection of investors through increasing
the disclosure requirements for businesses as well as their key
executives. Since JSCs were not previously required to make annual
reports publicly available, it was difficult for shareholders,
investors, and the public to obtain essential information on the
health of businesses, or to ensure appropriate ethical behavior of
corporate officers and adherence of officers to their fiduciary
duties. With the new legislation, members of corporate boards of
directors must disclose annual reports of their companies to their
shareholders as well as to the public, and include any transactions
in which members of the board or key officers have a personal
financial interest.
3. These new reporting requirements will increase transparency and
should help attract foreign and domestic investment in Kazakhstan by
providing additional information to potential shareholders. This
additional information will allow investors to better assess the
risks of investment in a company. The new legislation will also
permit shareholders to take legal action if a transaction in which a
member of a board of directors, an officer, or key manager has a
personal financial interest results in harm to a company. These
legal improvements are also an important step toward protecting
minority shareholders, who previously had few opportunities to
obtain information about company operations.
4. Previous amendments to the law "On Accounting and Financial
Reporting" required JSCs to prepare accounts and financial reports
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, of
which Standard 24, "Related Party Disclosures," required companies
to report on transactions in which directors or key managers have a
personal financial interest. With the July 14 amendments, these
annual reports and disclosures will become publicly accessible
information. These requirements conform to international best
practices for corporate governance and bring Kazakhstan's business
environment into greater harmony with international standards
investors have come to expect in attractive markets.
5. Moreover, the change in reporting requirements is expected to
improve Kazakhstan's rating in the World Bank Doing Business
Report's "Protecting Investors" indicator, by improving the
underlying "disclosures in published periodic filings" measurement
from its current rating of zero to as high as 2. This could
potentially improve Kazakhstan's overall "Protecting Investors"
country rank from 53rd to 24th (assuming all other variables in next
year's report stay the same). While these reforms were adopted
after the June 1, 2009, cut-off for the Doing Business 2010 report,
they will be taken into account in Doing Business 2011.
FAGIN