The country of Kazakhstan received its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. An economic recession immediately followed the advent of independence, and the country’s leaders knew they had to act quickly. Foreign investors can bring wealth, but allowing too much foreign currency into the country causes problems with inflation. Kazakhstan soon developed a plan for its own economic success.
When Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev was put in place in 1990, he immediately began a program to monitor the flow of foreign money into Kazakhstan and keep inflation under control. The first efforts were largely unsuccessful because the country needed the flood of foreign cash to survive. But as the oil trade began to take off, the influx of foreign currency was soon monitored and controlled.
Another economic indicator that the Kazakhstan government keeps a close eye on is the debt to foreign countries. By 2002, the foreign debt for Kazakhstan was limited to only $23 billion. The government had done such a good job at managing debt that the country was granted an investor grade credit rating from the international investment community. Kazakhstan was the first former Soviet Union country to receive such a rating.
Kazakhstan is now able to offset its debt by rising revenue from the oil trade and foreign investors. Part of the profitability of Kazakhstan has been its ability to maintain domestic financial growth while preventing foreign currency from undermining the economy by causing a spike in inflation.
As the export surplus rises in Kazakhstan, the people enjoy prosperity. By monitoring the economy, the government can sustain prosperity for many years to come.