Former Prime Minister Proposes Involving Citizens in Financing Railway Construction

Сергей Мацера Economy
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Felix Kulov, who held the position of Prime Minister, proposed involving the citizens of Kyrgyzstan in financing the construction of a railway connecting China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. In his social media message, he indicated that this could be achieved through a mechanism for purchasing registered shares, which would allow dividends to be directed to Kyrgyz citizens rather than foreign banks.

According to his estimates, the cost of this large-scale infrastructure project is $4.7 billion, with Kyrgyzstan's share amounting to 24.5%. Kulov believes that the state could allocate 30% of its share to citizens. With an even distribution, the basic package of shares would cost an adult 4,000-5,000 soms. He also noted that with an installment plan over several years, the monthly payments would be only 60-90 soms, which is affordable for most citizens, considering that the total savings of the population of Kyrgyzstan exceed 300 billion soms.

In Kulov's opinion, implementing this idea would allow Kyrgyzstan to reduce its dependence on external loans and strengthen economic sovereignty. Instead of paying interest to foreign creditors, the state would be able to distribute dividends among citizens, which, upon reaching a strategic volume of transit, could amount to 15-25% per annum. To protect the shares from speculation, he proposed making them registered, prohibiting free sale and allowing buybacks only by the state, while preserving the possibility of inheritance transfer.
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