AKIPRESS.COM - President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev met on Tuesday with the business community of Tokyo. 

In his remarks, the President of Kazakhstan noted that the two countries cooperate in a wide range of fields - oil and gas, metallurgy, finance, mining industry - and have more than 50 Japanese companies working in Kazakhstan, the press office of Akorda said.

Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan is taking systematic measures to improve the business and investment environment and was ranked the 35th in World Bank's  Doing Business 2017.

"We have a liberal tax regime and the tax administration is quite simple, only 13 taxes. Consistency of regulations in respect of tax rates and employment sector is guaranteed. In 2015 we expanded the list of visa-free regime for citizens of 35 countries, and the next year there will be 56 countries. Investors from Japan can freely enter Kazakhstan," the President of Kazakhstan said.

Nursultan Nazarbayev also drew attention to the opportunities offered in connection with the implemented large-scale privatization program in the country, which covers about 800 companies worth about $ 10 billion.

In addition, the President of Kazakhstan spoke about the activities of special economic areas with a package of incentives and easing of licensing procedures as well as industrial zones, where the participants are provided with necessary infrastructure by the government.

He highlighted that Tokyo’s experience is significant for Kazakhstan in establishing “Astana" International Financial Centre, which will enforce the best practice and has already got the cooperation with Japan Securities Dealers Association going.

The President of Kazakhstan called the Japanese companies to take an active part in the international trade show "EXPO-2017", adding that the "Mixed Smart Technology - Experience and Challenges" pavilion of Japan promises to be the biggest and most interesting.

Nazarbayev expressed confidence that Kazakhstan's large-scale economic initiatives will make Japanese businesspeople interested.