BFM.ru: Kazakhstan is going to sell to the UAE 49% of shares of the country's largest energy company 
joint projects, which was signed as part of the working trip of Prime Minister of the Republic Askar Mamin to the UAE on October 9-10, 2021. At the first stage, Arab investors will be sold 49 percent of the shares of the largest energy company in Kazakhstan – Samruk-Energo. BFM.ru informs about it.
The sale of Samruk-Energo's block of shares owned by the National Welfare Fund of Kazakhstan is just one of the points of an intergovernmental agreement worth over $ 6 billion. The main partner of Kazakhstan in the implementation of the agreement is the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Fund.
The portal writes that it is not clear how much Arab investors will pay for 49 percent of Samruk-Energo, which includes the main coal mining enterprises, heat and hydroelectric power plants in Kazakhstan, as well as sales and service assets. Despite the fact that the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan is already considering a future deal, its parameters are not disclosed, the share price is unknown, the deal is not publicly discussed.
“I think that here, probably, we are talking about some kind of agreements between specific clans that are in the power of Kazakhstan, with the Arab world. If we are talking about the transfer of some assets to the ownership of another state, then the society should know about this, and Kazakhstan has its own funds. There is the same Pension Fund, which contains about $ 30 billion. We have our own reserves, we have our own domestic business and our own capital, which could participate in this process. Therefore, this issue should be discussed in society, “- quotes BFM.ru commentary of a Kazakh politician, ex-presidential candidate Amirzhan Kosanov.
Within the framework of the agreement, it is planned to implement a number of joint projects in the field of energy, including construction in Kazakhstan of solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 5 gigawatts. The government of Kazakhstan has agreed to an internal rate of return on these projects of 13 percent in US dollars.
To simplify greatly, this is the kind of profitability that will allow investors to go to zero by the completion of projects, taking into account projected inflation and a number of other factors, BFM.ru believes. According to the portal, the figure raises questions, especially given the fact that today in the dollar zone rates tend to zero. It is planned to ensure such profitability by increasing the selling price of electricity, which will be generated at these capacities that have not yet been built. But it is hardly possible to count it now.
“The very idea of a partnership with the United Arab Emirates in the field of renewable energy sources looks rather strange,” says the author of the publication on BFM.ru. – The UAE is not among the world leaders in green energy. Of course, they have money, but modern technologies are unlikely. And the renewable energy sources themselves can not yet be called either reliable or cheap. Despite the gradual transition to “green” energy, traditional sources cannot be dispensed with in the coming years. And, for example, the consumption of natural gas will grow. “
” It is necessary to use – for now, for a while – and fuel oil, and natural gas, and coal. The first two non-renewable sources – they are already on the way out. These are coal and fuel oil. Gas is a cleaner source – much more is needed. Yes, we are entering a transition period where natural gas will play a very important role. And therefore, the price of natural gas has practically become untied from the price of oil. If you follow the dynamics of prices, then relatively recently, four or five or six years ago, these prices operated in parallel. They no longer operate in parallel. As you know, spot gas rose to 2 thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters. At the same time, the dynamics of oil prices remained at the same level, “- comments the founder and president of the TechInput group of companies, partner of the Neftegazconsult company Boris Aronshtein.
Meanwhile, in the lower house of the parliament of Kazakhstan at the end of October 2021 of the year discussed an increase in the tariff of Alma-Ata thermal power plants by one third.