Kazakh President receives Head of National Bank

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has met today with the Governor of the National Bank, Daniyar Akishev, Kazinform has learned from the press service of Akorda.
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During the meeting, Daniyar Akishev reported to the Head of State on the results of the National Bank's activities in 2018 and presented information on the current situation in the country's financial market.

Highlighting the upward trend for a number of economic indicators, the President of Kazakhstan dwelt on the effectiveness of measures being taken to reduce the inflation rate.

"The inflation rate at the level of 5.3 percent is a good figure. However, it is achieved by reducing the volume of market liquidity, not by the efficiency of the economy. The National Bank and the Government do not work well on that front. By withdrawing money it is possible to reduce the inflation rate to a greater extent, while it is not known how this decision will affect the economy. Alongside this, it is worth mentioning a noticeable decrease in the number of long-term loans," said Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Pointing to the adoption of a number of amendments to the existing legislation, the Head of State also underlined the need for appropriate oversight in this regard by the National Bank.

In turn, Daniyar Akishev told about the implementation of the instructions on process industry lending outlined in the latest Presidential Address.

Besides, the Governor of the National Bank reported to the President of Kazakhstan on the factors, which influence the change in the national currency rate.

"The exchange rate of the Kazakhstani Tenge to the US Dollar decreased by 15.6 percent in the space of a year. The main reasons are external factors. World oil prices remain very volatile, just as the external conditions, including the persisting protectionist and sanctions policies. However, the floating exchange rate let us absorb all the shocks and preserve the gold and foreign exchange reserves, which amounted to $30.9 billion at the end of the last year. The National Fund's foreign-currency assets amounted to $57.7 billion," said the head of the National Bank.

Akishev also presented information on the work being done in the field of lending and stabilization of the financial market.

"Improving the financial sector, we make it possible for sound players of the market to develop. I believe that after the measures taken, the volume of loans will increase significantly. We expect an increase of more than 10 percent in 2019, which is higher than nominal GDP. Accordingly, loans will become more affordable, and the situation will gradually improve. We are in favor of a more balanced growth rather than an explosive one, which in the future can lead to problems," said the Governor of the National Bank.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of State entrusted him with several specific instructions.

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