Foreign Investment in Kazakhstan's Minerals Industries

Abstract

An American commodity market specialist assesses the post-Soviet history of foreign investment in the minerals industries of Kazakhstan, drawing upon a variety of sources, including in-country interviews and contacts, industry and U.S. government publications, Internet postings, and Kazakh newspapers. She focuses on the means by which foreign firms obtained shares in Kazakh enterprises, the effects to date of foreign ownership on enterprise performance and activities, obstacles confronting foreign firms seeking to invest in Kazakhstan?s minerals industries, and shifts in opinion in Kazakhstan regarding the efficacy of such investments in promoting economic development.