Kazakhstan, Astana / corr Trend K.Konirova / An active presence of foreign banks in Kazakhstan will positively affect the development of the domestic banking sector, Maxwell Watson, an adviser to the General Directorate for the Economy and Finance of the European Commission, said in a meeting with MPs of the Kazakh Senate on 13 December.
"The foreign banks should play an active part in Kazakhstan," he said. Next year the country's financial sector will undergo another test.
"The financial boom as a result of the development of the raw materials economy of Kazakhstan acted as a campaign and the boom (drunken) period will most likely arrive for the country's public budget next year. Therefore, income from the oil and gas industry might be weak in 2008," he said.
"In this respect the fiscal and budget strategy of the country should become more flexible in the short term," Watson said.