RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol 1, No. 34, 20 May 1997

KAZAK PRESIDENT ON PRIVATIZATION. Nursultan
Nazarbayev, in an interview published in today's
Komsomolskaya Pravda., has defended his country's
privatization process. He admitted that 50 enterprises had
been sold to foreign firms but noted that Kazakstan is
second only to Hungary in terms of foreign investment
among the former east bloc countries and republics of the
Soviet Union. He pointed out that Kazakstan has invited
Russian companies to take part in tenders for Kazak
enterprises but "without success." He also criticized
Russian industrialists and ministries that are attempting
to "bring [Kazakstan] to its knees" in their dealings. In this
connection, he mentioned the Karachaganskoye natural gas
field, which, he said, sent its product to Orenburg to be
refined but received only 13%-17% of the profits "thanks
to [Gazprom Director] Rem Vyakhirev."

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