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What should be done in order to live like in Singapore


31.03.2014
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What should be done in order to live like in Singapore

Forbes.kz already reported that the Kazakhstan-Singapore Business Forum was held on March 27th in Almaty. Serikbay Bisekeev, the head of Arman Holding company, explained why he has chosen this city-state as his place of residence and registration of the holding company's headquarters.

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F: Serikbay, during the forum you called yourself a patriot of Kazakhstan, but you live and run your business in Singapore. Why is this?

- For a long time I considered which country to live in, to be closer to knowledge, finance, technology - where there are large emerging markets. Development in the BRICS countries is slowing down, and the more rapidly developing states are in Southeast Asia, which is home to 600 million people. This population is 20 times that of Kazakhstan or 4 times that of Russia. Of course, our company is interested in such a market.

All businesspeople are trying to reduce their tax base. We have offices in different countries, we ship equipment and obtain financial streams; as such we were looking for a country where there are no double tax burdens. Choosing between Dubai, Hong Kong and European countries, we decided not to remain offshore but in a zone with a favourable tax climate - Singapore: there is no double taxation, and income tax does not exceed 17%.

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"I applaud the country where there are no double standards"

F: According to the World Bank, the republic ranks first in the world for ease of doing business. Have you experienced this yourself?

- It is actually very easy to open a business here — it can be done in a few days over the internet. An acquaintance of mine, a Russian businessman who was addressing issues in Singapore, by force of habit began to ask: "How can we speed up the process? Maybe it's worth phoning someone, or calling a meeting?" To which the Singaporean Ministry employee replied: "We have created a system so that there is no corruption. Please contact us through our website — we will respond within 3-4 days, as is right and proper under the rules. You do not personally agree with anyone." This is the advantage of Singapore.

F: e-government is also being implemented here, but why hasn't this put a stop to corruption among officials?

- It is necessary to bring this to a level where citizens no longer communicate with the official in person, so that all communication takes place via the computer, over the Internet, which allows the processes to be made transparent. In this country it is often the case that a document remains in the hands of an official for an extended period of time, since he is sure that: "The time will come when somebody comes running for this piece of paper." Over there such things do not happen. Transparency allows you to work with government officials, irrespective of their personal interests.

We need to hold an open competition for public offices, where applicants are evaluated by an independent certifying commission, so that the salaries of senior officials may be at the same level as those of senior executives in multinational companies. Until this happens in Kazakhstan, nothing will change.

F: But the bribe givers will always have access to more resources than those of the treasury. How, then, do we "spoil the appetite" of officials?

- The incomes and expenses of civil servants and their families need to be strictly controlled. Those unable to prove the origins of any monies should be sent to prison.

F: In order for thieving officials to be imprisoned, an independent court is required - but we do not possess one.

- No. But we can create an international legal environment. It's necessary to introduce common standards and, once again, to control the expenses and revenues of officials and their relatives. Investors will only be attracted to our country when they see that international laws are clearly defined and implemented here.

I witnessed such a situation at the recent Singapore Jazz Festival, which billed some of the world's best jazz bands. On the last day one of the greatest jazz musicians played, and the audience was made up of several thousand Singaporeans and visitors who had come especially for the performance. The musicians were warned that they had to finish their set before midnight. And at midnight, in the middle of their hit tune, the sound was turned off. Can you imagine how many people were upset! I was probably the only one who applauded. I applauded the country where the laws and rules apply the same to everyone, where there are no double standards.

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They just asked the investors: "What do you want?" – and fulfilled their requests

F: Foreign companies often bring their own specialists to Kazakhstan. In Singapore, how do you solve the problem of personnel?

- Singapore is different from us, since there are conditions for investors to manufacture their own products: they are not burdened by excessive taxes, and are able to bring into the country the best specialists in their respective fields. We don't try to bring over our engineers: there are a sufficient number of companies that are reliable partners of ours, and we outsource many things in Asia. The personnel there are very educated, strong, and competent. I am glad that the Nazarbayev University has set up a joint project with Singapore. However, we should not stop at one university in Astana: we need to create an industry profile university for every field, with the best teachers in the world. Again, I refer to the experience of Singapore, where many similar universities invite the most renowned experts.

F: What else has this city-state done to attract investors?

- They just asked the investors: "What do you want?" - and fulfilled their requests. But over here investors speak, and they are not heard. Businessmen walk around with migration cards, stand in queues; and if they do not register in time, they can be jailed or deported. Or take issues with visas. A visa to Singapore can be applied for over the Internet. To get a visa to Kazakhstan, you need to visit the embassy, to queue up. When I prepared this Kazakh-Singapore Forum, I had to lead each member of the delegation there by hand, to tear them away from their affairs - and yet these people own companies that have turnovers of millions. Where do they get the time to go and get a visa?

Another example. For the last 10-15 years I've heard talk of crazy winds through the Dzungarian Gate that could be harnessed and used to generate electricity for supplying Almaty. However, nobody uses wind energy because there are no high-voltage power lines. Why not? Because legislation has not been introduced that would guarantee investors return on their investment. Had such a law been adopted, investors would long ago have arrived and constructed the necessary power facilities.

Besides which, we have to make English the second official language. Essential documents should be in the language of international communication. Investors do not understand how to communicate with us. This would enable us to be on an equal footing with other states - even with Singapore, where all the residents are speakers of English.

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"There is nothing preventing us from producing environmentally friendly meat and growing organic vegetables"

F: How can Kazakhstan assert itself on the Southeast Asian markets?

- We can make use of our advantages - not every country has such a large area on which organic products can be grown and produced. On the shelves in Singapore there are currently the same amounts of organic and inorganic products - roughly 20-30 types of each. They are imported from Australia and New Zealand, and there is nothing preventing us from producing environmentally friendly meat, growing organic vegetables and supplying that market. We are doing little to develop this: after all, the oil and gas business keeps us relatively reassured, and there are fewer and fewer enterprises. Someone once said: "While we have oil and it can be exchanged for sausage, little will change,". But I hope that forums such as this can transform the situation and our revenues will be less dependent on the sale of raw materials.

F: In order to establish business relations, one needs to fly back and forth, to transport goods. What about logistics issues?

- Logistics are not completely up and running; the Ministry of Transport still has work to do. Currently I have to fly via Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. This is inconvenient, since I have to get a connecting flight and then wait; problems can arise because the political situation in Bangkok sometimes changes. In order not to be affected by things like this, we need direct flights at affordable prices. It is therefore necessary that "Air Astana" makes it possible for other companies to enter the market, since only competition drives prices down. That's to say we need to start by solving elementary problems. Once we have solved those, investors will be attracted to do business here.

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"Not everyone is cut out to be a businessman"

F: Speaking at the forum about the success of your holding company, you mentioned the fundamental truth: "Plan, believe in yourself, go after your goals". Some people succeed by using such "step by step instructions", while others do not. Why is this?

- Because not everyone is cut out to be a businessman in their mindset, in their nature. I always say that 90% of people are good performers, 5% are committed to psychiatric hospitals, and the remaining 5% - these are businessmen. They see the potential, look at the broader picture - more globally than managers who are simply focused on issues of "here and now".

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Source: forbes.kz.

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