Carlsberg Interested in Expanding Investment Activities in Kazakhstan
Nazira Nurbayeva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Yerzhan Yelekeyev, Chairman of the Board of JSC NC KAZAKH INVEST, met with the leadership of the Danish corporation Carlsberg Group on the eve of the opening of a new production of non-alcoholic beverages worth $50 million in Almaty. During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of expanding investment cooperation.
"Kazakhstan is a leader in the inflow of foreign direct investment in the region, and it guarantees security, stability, and favorable conditions for your investment projects. We highly appreciate the contribution of Carlsberg Group to the development of the brewing industry in Kazakhstan and are confident in the successful implementation of your plans to export products to neighboring markets," N. Nurbayeva said.
In turn, Lars Lehmann, First Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe of the Carlsberg Group, thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the support provided at all project stages. He noted that the corporation is committed to further expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan.
L. Lehmann pointed out that the launch of a new production facility in Almaty will help ensure 100% localization of brewing and non-alcoholic products for the Kazakh market and will also create additional opportunities for exports to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia.
"Over the past years, Carlsberg Kazakhstan LLP has been consistently included in Kazakhstan's TOP 50 largest taxpayers. Our regional hub is also located here. Over the past two years, the share of local raw materials and materials used for the production of products has increased from 30 to 65%; in the future, we plan to increase this share to 80%," L. Lehmann said.
By investing in Kazakhstan, the Group is already contributing to the development of related local production industries. In the packaging industry, it is the production of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and packaging film. Grain and malt are used in the agro-industrial complex. Thus, it helps a number of domestic industries to achieve premium standards of technology and product quality that can adequately represent Kazakhstan in export markets.
Carlsberg Kazakhstan provides jobs for more than 500 production employees in Almaty and over 2,000 in distribution companies in the regions of Kazakhstan.
