BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12
Trend:
New competitive conditions for the functioning of commodity markets and the sale of resources will be offered on Kazakhstan’s petrochemical market, Serik Zhumangarin, chairman of the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition, said on Facebook, Trend reports citing his respective publication.
"Today, due to the state of emergency, exchange trading has been suspended in the country, but the development of exchange trading continues," Zhumangarin noted.
"Our proposals will include exchange trading in petrochemicals in a "rigid" framework, excluding any price manipulation. The sale of the products outside the exchange will be carried out within the rules for access to the "key capacity", which determine the procedure for selecting contractors and the grounds for refusing to sell," added the agency’s head.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.