Kazakh president orders government to prepare for serious crisis

"Nursultan Nazarbayev has drawn attention to the fact that nowadays the republic's economy is operating in a critical mode," nur.kz wrote.

"Budget receipts have shrunk by 40% due to a decrease in prices of energy resources. What is more, prices of other export-oriented staples, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, coal have dropped. While agriculture posts a slight growth, industrial enterprises, including machine-building ones, have seen a reduction in production," the portal quoted the Kazakh president as saying when he was meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov.

Nazarbayev also pointed out that his conclusions about the crisis on the world's market were also based on the outcomes of recent talks in China, the United States with Russian leaders.

"It's almost impossible to forecast an improvement in the situation in the near future if one takes into account the economic situation in the world, including Europe and East Asia. Our population should be aware of the situation, which will translate into a decline in our companies' profit, a decrease in incomes and a possible reduction in jobs. A real crisis is coming – it will be even more serious than the one seen in 2007-2009. In this connection, I order the government to analyze [the situation], draw up an anti-crisis action plan, determine necessary measures and keep the population informed," Nazarbayev said.

He also said that his government would not let the deterioration of living standards in the country.

"Companies should not expect that the state will give them money. This won't happen – I ban the use of assets from the National Fund for the construction of new facilities and support of ineffective enterprises. Under such conditions, it will immediately be seen if companies work effectively or not. We're also carrying out privatization to attract more efficient management," he said.