 |
Anvar Saidenov, the new governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, talks about inflation, the tenge, and social development. What are your priorities as the incoming governor of Kazakhstan's national bank?
Although we've lost all oversight responsibilities to the agency for financial supervision, there are still three types of licences that we grant to banks and financial institutions. So the coordination with the agency, particularly in the first stages of its existence, is a priority for us.
Another is monetary policy. We are responsible for stability of prices and inflation and that's what we're focusing on at the moment. Of course, we should operate on the money market in such a manner as to keep inflation within the targeted range.
Then there is currency control liberalization. We plan to adopt a new law on currency control and regulation. The idea is that by 2007 we will reach full convertibility of capital account transactions.
Do you think the current inflation rate of 6% is reasonable?
Yes, our core target for inflation is 4% to 6%.