Abstract
This chapter discusses opportunities for the new digital economy, a strategically important factor of the economic growth for contributing to the Central Asia Digital Silk Road concept. Focusing on new opportunities for international cooperation, including the development of digital technologies, the chapter also draws attention to the fact that technology advancement causes changes in the economic system which may result in digital inequality. It argues that the O&G industry can become a key driver of growth and development and could potentially boost competitiveness across all sectors. The authors consider a set of public policies in ICT-related sectors in Kazakhstan. These policies are focusing on diversification from the O&G sector, supporting domestic companies and research, encouraging export-oriented projects, and pushing companies to join international initiatives.
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Notes
- 1.
The new digital economy (NDE) is emerging from a combination of technologies, mainly from the ICT space, that are becoming pervasive across mechanical systems, communications, infrastructure, and built environment (UNCTAD, 2017).
- 2.
Co-creation puts the spotlight squarely on consumer-company interaction as the locus of value creation (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004).
- 3.
Dispersed business networks that are organized and coordinated by global firms as a common project of independent suppliers, which has its certain time frame and sequence of actions (Smorodinskaya & Katukov, 2017).
- 4.
The Karachaganak project brings expertise and knowledge from five oil & gas companies—ENI, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Lukoil, and KazMunayGas.
- 5.
An idea to establish KBTU belongs to the former President of the RK, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had a number of meetings with official representatives of the UK. This activity resulted in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two states in November 2000. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nursultan Nazarbayev became patrons of the university.
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Interoperability is the ability of entities of an organization to work together that covers aspects ranging from the technical to the business level (Li & Liu, 2018).
- 8.
Creative destruction as a process of industrial change that increasingly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, destroying the old one and creating a new structure (Schumpeter, 1934)
- 9.
Digital technologies include (1) advanced production equipment, robotics, and factory automation, (2) new sources of data from mobile and ubiquitous Internet connectivity, (3) cloud computing, (4) big data analytics, and (5) artificial intelligence. These technologies and processes are based, in one way or another, on advanced ICT, so that the driver of the NDE is the continued improvement in ICT (UNCTAD, 2017).
- 10.
Karachaganak news (2018). Available at: http://www.kpo.kz/fileadmin/user_upload/karachaganak_news_2018/NOVOSTI_SENTJABR__2018.pdf
- 11.
Digital divide between technological levels of domestic and foreign enterprises.
- 12.
A net exporter is a sector that contributes to the growth of the economy via the trade balance and therefore should provide more employment and business opportunities (McKinsey, 2016).
- 13.
Since 2018—Qazaqstan Industry and Export Center JSC or QAZINDUSTRY.
- 14.
Waldrop, M.M. (2001). Claude Shannon: Reluctant Father of the Digital Age. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/401112/claude-shannon-reluctant-father-of-the-digital-age/
- 15.
Inspur is a leading global data center and cloud computing solutions provider. Among the world’s top three server providers, they deliver and deploy robust, performance-optimized, purpose-built solutions to major data centers around the globe to address important emerging fields and applications. Source: https://www.inspursystems.com
- 16.
CITIC Bank Corporation Ltd., founded in 1987, ranks 7th in terms of assets in China and is represented in 130 countries. It offers various banking products and services to large corporate clients and individuals, both in China and abroad. The Bank’s total assets have reached US $900 billion. The ratings of the bank: BBB from Fitch and Baa2 from Moody’s.
- 17.
China Shuangwei Investment Co. Ltd. is a limited liability company wholly owned by China Tobacco Corporation. The company is responsible for managing and investing in a number of key strategic projects in the fields of energy, real estate, agriculture, education, medical services, logistics, infrastructure, culture, network information, financial products, energy saving, supporting projects in the tobacco industry, and related advisory business services.
- 18.
Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan is the leading financial group in Kazakhstan operating in various segments including retail, SMEs and corporate banking services, insurance, leasing, brokerage, and asset management. The bank has been listed in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange since 1998 and in London Stock Exchange since 2006.
- 19.
Operational technology (OT)—technology, which is used in specific operational processes, such as supply chain, manufacturing, and transportation. In the O&G, operational technology is also referred to as industrial control systems (Cisco, 2015).
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Ambalov, V., Heim, I. (2020). Investments in the Digital Silk Road. In: Heim, I. (eds) Kazakhstan's Diversification from the Natural Resources Sector. Euro-Asian Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37389-4_5
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