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Президент Alina Group обратился к казахстанским СМИ

To all interested mass media
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
from Ye. K. Balfanbayev,
President of Alina Group

 

OPEN LETTER

I, Yerlik Balfanbayev, founder of the multi-industry holding Alina Group, appeal to all Kazakhstan mass media so that no one has any speculation or distortion about me, my business and my civic position.

I've been in the business for 32 years, so the interviews I gave can be counted on the fingers of one hand. My closed position in relations with the mass media is connected only with the fact that I am a man of action and results, and to a lesser extent – a man of words. However, the massive public outcry around my request to reconcile the mentions of my name and my Company prompts me to highlight a number of questions that, to my surprise, were not asked by any media that caught up the discussion of my finances.

I was 25, when I started the business. I was driven by a sincere desire to create material valubles for the Country that gave me upbringing, education and opportunities. At the beginning of my career I did not realize what kind of business would become my vocation. In 1996, AlinEX appeared, which was created not primarily for profit, but in order to make “European-style renovation” accessible to every Kazakhstani. The brand success is not in numerous awards for quality, but in the fact that repairs in 8 of 10 apartments of Kazakhstanis are made with the products that we make.

Based on the idea of ​​the usefulness of our products, we began to create new and new brands that still set the bar for quality for other players.

Within all 32 years of existence of Alina Group, we regularly pay all due taxes, as well as salaries to employees transparent for the state. For the Company – it is another way to help the Country 100% with its activities. Everything that the holding earned was invested and is invested exclusively in the development of projects within and for the Country. Our ideas are aimed at ordinary people in the real sector of economic activities, our production facilities have become city-forming in several regions, and our products have become favorites. These products are not made by me, but by ordinary Kazakhstanis for themselves and their near and dear ones.

My request for reconcilement of publications of my name and the Company name in the ratings is connected only with the desire to prevent distortion of facts. For example, in the publication of 2015 it was mentioned that we received funds from the state. In fact, all the money that the Company received was provided at interest from second-tier banks as loans, and there was never any talk of any gratuitous support.

It is strange for me to read “oligarch” about myself, when an oligarchy is a type of autocracy in which the state power is in the hands of an irremovable small group of people to which I never belonged and I don’t belong now.

My Company has never had any relation to the governmental authorities. I am not a public person, simply because publicity is not my mission. And I will never go into politics or government, because I want to do business and contribute to the economy of Kazakhstan. I am a private entrepreneur who creates benefits for the people in the form of products and services that are also known outside the Country.

In my opinion, certain ratings mix entrepreneurs with different philosophies, sometimes directly opposite, and give rise to the discussed headlines “businessmen who have enriched themselves by dishonest ways should share”. Every tenge that I earned, I earned in an honest way. The source of my capital is not by any means of luck, participation in government purchases or rent-seeking behaviour, but in honest and hard work, which I do every day, like any worker in my quarries and factories.

My business has never been under the patronage of the authorities and “grey cardinals”, as many try to speculate. Yes, it is possible to create a big business in our Country, if you work openly, transparently and if you are fundamentally honest with every employee, customer and government not once a year, but constantly. And my life example confirms this.

I also want to answer a question that for some reason have not ever been asked by anybody of the media representatives. Why did Alina Group not contribute funds to “Kazakhstan Khalkyna” Fund? While some media are wondering, whether it is nihilism or greed, I will answer as it is. There are several reasons:

  1. Difficult current situation of the Company. This state of things was caused by pandemic restrictions, disruptions in global supply chains, significant increase in the cost of rail transportation and purchased raw materials. At the moment, we are looking for solutions so that we do not have to reduce thousands of employees, as at the time of the 2008 crisis. The experience of overcoming past crises over the past 30 years, after which the Company has recovered and moved on, inspires optimism.
  2. I am sure, the experience of the existence of such initiatives causes many fears that the allocated funds will not reach the people who need them. Unfortunately, from the same mass media we learn stories of well-intentioned “milking” and theft. I think that by the time “Kazakhstan Khalkyna” Fund has more specifics in the structure, personalities and transparency of control over the use of funds, we will be able to recover and consider financial participation. The Fund encourages voluntary participation in it. This gives us the opportunity to make an independent choice: a massive downsizing of employees during a difficult financial situation or a reputational scandal. We chose the second because we have always been on the side of our employees. In addition, I hope that in the near future the Fund, representing the position of the state towards the business, will adopt the experience of other developed countries. In our reality, it may also be appropriate to reduce tax rates for companies engaged in active charitable activities and preferences in the development projects lending.
  3. We did not refuse to allocate finances, we offered NCE “Atameken” and Almaty Akimat to help with building materials, as we do on an ongoing basis. It’s improper to advertise good deeds, and I have always been against public charity. However, for the convenience of the media, yesterday we collected the information in one page with an incomplete history of the Company's social projects from 2010 up to the present day: https://alina.kz/site/page?page_id=23. At the moment, we are waiting for a list of facilities in need of building and finishing materials from the Department of Improvement of Almaty city.

In conclusion, I would like to address the media representatives, as the fourth power of any secular state. In my opinion, the impact on public consciousness can be more efficient, if the efforts and talents of the Mass media and Business are directed at finding answers that really concern the civil society:

  1. Prompt completion of the investigation of “the January Tragedy” with full transparency, objectivity and legality.
  2. Early start of active work on the return of hundreds of billions of dollars stolen from the people over the past 30 years, with the development of a mechanism for protection against repeated looting.
  3. Early start of work to ensure the Сountry's reforms in the political, economic, judicial, law enforcement and social spheres, health care and education.

Combining the efforts of the Mass media and Business will help the State to implement reforms and restore order in the Country as soon as practically possible.

Faithfully yours,
Yerlik Balfanbayev