Kazakhstan to decide the question on metals duty in two weeks

/REUTERS, Astana, Raushan Nurshaeva, May 21, 08/ - Kazakhstan government intends to accept the decision on metals duty in two weeks, Bahyt Sultanov, the minister of Economic and Budget Planning, said. "There is no any decision yet...We need nearly half of month for working group to decide key points. We don't reject (from duty introducing)" - he said. Kazakhstan, in the middle of April, announced possibility of introducing export duty on metals. At the same time, the Vice minister of Finance Daulet Yergozhin said that duty on metals should be lower than duty on oil. "The objective is...at the expense of supplementary rent for raw sectors, to give the opportunity...to non-primary sectors of economic" - Sultanov said on Tuesday. In his opinion, the problem on introducing of duty we should examine in complex with tax changes. "(We should determine) with fortune of introducing of tax on mining operations or with the fortune of rental tax" - Sultanov said. After the news on government plans, shares of major exporters of Kazakhstan decreased significantly, quotation of copper corporation Kazakhmys in Lonodn decreased by 7.2%, shares of metallurgic giant Eurasian Natural Resources - by 6.5%. Another major participant on domestic market is producer of steel ArcelorMittal, which quotation didn't show decreasing. After announcement on possibility of introducing duty on metals, the government agreed on dialogue with metallurgic companies. The president Nursultan Nazarbaev in February message to nation said that it is necessary to increase tax loading on extracting sector, with the aim to develop processing one. Kazakhstan in May will introduce export custom duties on oil in the amount of $109.91 per ton and already banned wheat and oil products export till September 1, explaining it by necessity of struggle against inflation and protection of domestic market. [2008-05-21]