AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan’s move to let tenge free float is a mainly domestic factor that will allow the country to increase the competitiveness of its economy, experts questioned by TASS said.

The chief analyst of the VTB24 investment department, Stanislav Kleschev, said Kazakhstan’s decision was predetermined amid the growing flexibility of currency exchange rates of its neighbors Russia and China.

Yaroslav Lisovolik, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank’s Russian branch, said the impact of the Kazakh currency devaluation on Russia won’t be significant.

"It is most likely that Kazakhstan is catching up with Russia and any competitive factors of pressure on the Russian manufacturers will not be serious, and this also comes as the Russian ruble already depreciated significantly last year," he said.

Alexey Devyatov, the chief economist at Uralsib Capital, also believes the consequences for Russia will be minor.

"Kazakhstan is a small country, and despite geographic proximity, it is not among Russia’s major trade partners," the expert said.

Vladimir Tikhomirov, the chief economist at the BCS financial group, shares the opinion. "Kazakhstan is an important partner for Russia, but its share in the overall trade turnover is not big," he said.

According to Gazprombank, the share of Kazakhstan in Russia’s trade turnover does not exceed 3%.

Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, a new integration association, which came into force in January 1, 2015 and comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.