National Export & Investment Agency KAZNEX INVEST Ministry of Investment and Development. Factors of attractiveness of Kazakhstan

Transcription

1 National Export & Investment Agency KAZNEX INVEST Ministry of Investment and Development Factors of attractiveness of Kazakhstan

2 Industrial niches MMC - $12,7 bln. Machinery Industry - $10,3 bln. Chemical Industry - $1,7 bln. Import 3,8 8,9 Domestic production Domestic production 2,1 8,2 Import Domestic production 0,6 0,6 1,1 Import Foodstuffs - $3,8 bln. Construction materials - $1,3 bln. Domestic production 2,6 1,2 Import Domestic production 0,94 0,34 Import Petrochemicals - $0,5 bln. Import 0,4 0,05 Domestic production Domestic production Oil refining - $1,7 bln. 1,1 0,6 Import

3 Support for investors INVESTMENT PREFERENCES* NEW INCENTIVES (since 2014)* Tax benefits Investment reimbursement Migration benefits Stable legislation INCENTIVES Customs privileges CIT 0 % 10 years Land tax 0% 10 years Property tax 0% 8 years Up to 30% of construction and installation works and equipment The right to employ foreign labor without quotas and permits Visa-free travel for citizens of 19 countries Stability of tax legislation for all taxes except VAT and excise (subject to investment contract) Customs duties 0% on the import of: equipment and its components, spare parts, raw materials and supplies. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES Tax benefits CIT 0% Land tax 0% Property tax 0% VAT 0% (on all goods completely consumed in the production process) Other privileges Providing the land in the territory of the SEZ for a period of up to 10 years Simplified procedure for recruiting foreign workers SEZ SEZ Customs privileges Exemption from customs duties for goods imported into SEZ territory The "one window" principle for the investor and service support for investment Assistance in obtaining the required approvals and permits SEZ SEZ SEZ SEZ SEZ SEZ Provision of services to foreign investors and representatives of Kazakhstan business SEZ SEZ State in-kind grants Land plots, buildings, machinery and equipment in property. *for priority investment projects Priority types of activities: 1. Metallurgy 2. Chemical Industry 3. Petrochemical Industry 4. Machinery 5. Production of construction materials 6. Food Industry Information, consulting, organizational and other assistance to the investor Support for investment project till the start of the production

4 Market of the macro-region Kazakhstan is a member of the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan: - free trading without customs duties - access to population over 182 mln. people 1 st level Border regions of Russia d level Western regions of China 2 nd level Russia Ukraine Belarus Level of integration of the macro-region High Low 5 th level Iran Azerbaijan and other Caucasian countries 4 th level China Uzbekistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Kyrgyz Republic

5 Infrastructure LOCATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE St. Petersburg RUSSIAN FEDERATION mln. BELARUS 9.5 mln. Aktobe 17 mln. Shymkent MONGOLIA 2.8 mln. TURKEY 74.9 mln. IRAN 77.4 mln. PAKISTAN mln. INDIA 1.3 bln. The Kazakhstan s geographical position makes it a natural crossroads for major transit corridors from East to West, from North to South. The transcontinental automobile road corridor Western Europe Western China passes through the territory of Kazakhstan. The corridor will allow to deliver freights from China to Europe in 10 days. There is a territory with population of more than 3.3 bln. people within a radius of 2 thsd. km (1,243 miles) from Kazakhstan. The flight time from most European destinations is five hours. PEOPLE S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 1.4 bln. Lianyungang Western Europe Western China corridor (8,445 km=5,247 miles) Western Europe Western China corridor on the territory of Kazakhstan (2,787 km=1,732 miles)

6 Political stability and good investment climate PROTECTION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS Doing Business 2016 Kazakhstan 41 rank Russia 51 Turkey- 55 China - 84 The Global Competitiveness Index China - 28 Kazakhstan 42 rank Russia 45 Turkey - 51 Platforms for dialogue between public authorities and investor Foreign Investors Council chaired by the President Council for improvement of investment climate chaired by the Prime Minister on strategic issues on systemic issues Protecting Minority Investors Turkey - 20 Kazakhstan 25 rank Russia 66 China 134 Taxation Kazakhstan 18 rank Russia 47 Turkey - 61 China 132 Investment Ombudsman chaired by the Minister on Investments and Development on current problems of investors

7 PRODUCTION OF TIRES 5 million passenger cars of existing fleet with annual increasing demand of 110 thousand automobiles (as of ) 435 thousand trucks with annual increase by trucks ~ 100 thousand buses with annual increase by buses Every tire set is renewed at least every 3-4 years given the sharply continental climate of Kazakhstan and the vulnerability of the tires (55% - summer tires, 45% - winter tires) Potential consumption 3.3 million sets of tires required annually for passenger cars minimum 1.5 million units of tires required for buses and trucks annually (100% import dependent) Import structure, Kazakhstan, % For passenger cars For trucks and buses Other Import duty for synthetic rubber is 5% Import duty for ready new tires: from 5 to 14% Import duty for used tires: from 10 to 17% Starting from 2016 truck tires from China will be obliged by anti-dumping measure payment of 14.79% to 35.35% of the customs value Great potential of Iran market with annual import of 575 million USD Railway and sea connection available EAEU 33.6 million sets of tires required annually million units of automobiles Kazakhstan Russia Other membercountries Import of EAEU, million USD Trade balance of Kazakhstan: million USD Trade balance of Russia: billion USD Trade balance of EAEU: - 1, 39 billion USD (Kazakhstan accounts for 27% of the market) Source:

8 POTASH PRODUCTION 6 billion tons of proven reserves on potash 4 billion tons of proven reserves of phosphate Availability of raw materials: Major deposits: Satimola (West Kazakhstan region) indicated reserves of 3.1 billion tons with 16.89% K 2 O content and million tons of boron salts with 6.23% Вr₂O 3 content; Zhilyanskoe (Aktobe region) 1 billion tons where 853,1 mln. tons are polyhalite ores with 9.57% К 2 О content and mln. tons of sylvinite ores with 18.65% К 2 О content; Chelkar (West Kazakhstan region) confirmation of 1, 17 billion tons of sylvinite ores is expected Goal: Become one of the largest producer of potassium fertilizers in the macro region Potential markets, import volume China million USD Iran 56 million USD Kazakhstan 14 million USD Armenia + Kyrgyzstan total 5 million USD Opportunities: Additional investment needed for undergoing exploration works of potash salt deposits in West Kazakhstan (Satimola, Chelkar) and Aktobe regions (Zhilyanskoe) by Batys Kaly LLP in conjunction with Kazakhstan Potash Corporation (Fortis Mining, China) Operating producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers: KazAzot with annual production of 300 thousand nitrogen fertilizers and Kazphosphat with annual production of around 70 thousand tons per year open a great possibility to expand the variety of fertilizers by producing NPK (nitrogen(n)-phosphate(p)-potassium(k)) fertilizers NPK fertilizer plant is under construction by EuroChem Group (Russia) in Zhambyl region Source:

9 PRODUCTION PIGMENTS AND PREPARATIONS CONT. 80% OR MORE OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE, BASED ON THE DRY MATTER Kazakhstan holds 10 th place by the titanium reserves in the world Major titanium deposits: Kostanay region: titanium content 27.5%, balance reserves 407 thousand tons East Kazakhstan region: titanium content 12.5%, balance reserves 3.2 million tons Consumption of titanium dioxide in the production of laminated paper increases by 4-6% per year, plastics industry - by 4% per year, paint industry % per year on average. CIS has ONLY TWO major plants of titanium dioxide pigments production Sulfate method of production is proposed due to availability of sulfuric acid: Kazakhmys JSC Karaganda region Kazzinc JSC East Kazakhstan region Potential markets, import volume Turkey 311 million USD EAEU 206,3 million USD Russia 180 million USD Iran 30 million USD Uzbekistan 10 million USD Kazakhstan 7 million USD Opportunities: A project on the construction of chemical and metallurgical plant in the SEZ Pavlodar on the basis of deposits of titanium-magnetite concentrate ore "Tymlay", located in the Zhambyl region (2016 feasibility study development) is currently under development Import duty for the product is 5% Source:

10 GLASS CONTAINERS Annual production volume of alcoholic beverages: Beer (0.5 L) 980 million bottles Vodka (0.75 L) million bottles Wine (0.75 L) 35.5 million bottles Cognac (0.5 L) 13 million bottles Import Volume*: $135.1 million 309 thousand tons Trade balance: $(-135) million 8% 92% Import Domestic production 92% of the market is imported SAF Glassworks the only domestic player with 8% share 78.4% of all imports come from Russia Import duties range from % Raw materials basis: 96.9 million tons of quartz sand 6.17 million tons tons of feldspar Opportunities: Ranked number 12 amongst worldwide importers of glass containers (Russia 17 th )** $592 million production volume of alcoholic beverages in 2015** Forbidden to sell beer in plastic containers by Law Secondary circulation ban for beverage glass containers by technical regulations of EAEU *Source (conditionally converted from Liters) ** (code 7010)

11 LIGHT INDUSTRY Annual import volume*: 36 million m 2 cotton fabric Consumption Market**: Import structure** 3% 3% 4% Hosiery Carpets 1.4 million m 2 woolen fabric 13.3 million m 2 carpets Kazakhstan $2.5 billion (93.3% import) 40% 5% 20% Handbags, suitcases, etc. Outerwear Footwear 80.3 million pairs of footwear Russia $18 billion (75% import) 25% Male & Female apparel Others Annual raw materials production volume: 58.9 thousand tons of processed cotton 24.5 thousand m 2 of cotton fabric 37.8 thousand tons of wool Opportunities: 93.3% of domestic consumption market supplied by import 51% of all import are men s and women s apparel and footwear Local textile producers supply only 8% of the market Domestic production of footwear satisfies only 1% of overall demand Limited range of textile products production (no production of knitted, woolen fabrics, silk, velvet, suede, linen) SEZ Ontustik created specially for textile sector: 100 hectares of land available, close location to cotton factories, developed auto transport system, close to «Western Europe Western China» transit corridor Source * ** ***

12 PRODUCTION OF MEDICINES Market value 2 billion USD State procurement 35% of market Annually State procurement more than 800 drugs for the treatment of more than 50 kinds of diseases Procurement agreement with SK-Pharmacy up to 10 years 11 manufacturing facilities comply with GMP regulations Local production volume 100 mln USD VAT exemption on the import of materials, equipment and components used in production 78% Import volume 1.4 billion USD 4% Human & animal blood, vaccines, 18% micro-organism cultures Medicament mixtures put in dosage other Ranking in world pharmaceutical products imports - 50 Trade balance of Kazakhstan: million USD Great potential of Iran market with annual import of 1.78 billion USD Railway and sea connection available EAEU Market value 21 billion USD Import of EAEU, billion USD Kazakhstan Russia other countries 1,3 12,8 1,4 Trade balance of Russia: billion USD Trade balance of EAEU: billion USD (Kazakhstan accounts for 9.5% of the market)

13 PRODUCTION OF SANITARY WARE 30 Import structure, Kazakhstan, % 70 Ceramic Porcelain Abundance of raw material all over Kazakhstan which is more than 30 deposits with 1 billion tons of clay, quartz and feldspar 8.4 billion USD construction volume in 2015 (9% growth comparing to 2014) 8.9 million square meters of constructed buildings in 2015 (16% growth comparing to 2014) 20.2 billion USD investment volume in construction in 2015 (15% growth comparing to 2014) Import duties for sanitary ware Porcelain 12.5% Other ceramics 14% Flooral area of total construction in million square meters 8,9 6,5 6,7 6,8 7, EAEU Import of EAEU, million USD Kazakhstan Russia Other membercountries Porcelain Ceramics Import of EAEU, thousand tons Trade balance of Kazakhstan: - 35 million USD Trade balance of Russia: million USD Trade balance of EAEU: million USD Imported growth in value between (%, p.a.) for Kazakhstan: 14% Imported growth in value between (%, p.a.) for Russia: 7%

14 PRODUCTION OF CERAMIC TILES AND REFRACTORY BRICKS Import structure, Kazakhstan, % Glazed ceramics Unglazed ceramics Refractory bricks Other ceramics Abundance of raw material all over Kazakhstan which is more than 30 deposits with 1 billion tons of clay, quartz and feldspar 8.4 billion USD construction volume in 2015 (9% growth comparing to 2014) 8.9 million square meters of constructed buildings in 2015 (16% growth comparing to 2014) 20.2 billion USD investment volume in construction in 2015 (15% growth comparing to 2014) Import duties for ceramic goods: Glazed ceramic : 15% Unglazed ceramic : 15% Refractory bricks: 20% Other ceramic: 20% Flooral area of total construction in million square meters 8,9 6,5 6,7 6,8 7, EAEU Import of EAEU, million USD Kazakhstan Russia Other membercountries Imported growth in value between (%, p.a.) for Kazakhstan: 16.25% Imported growth in value between (%, p.a.) for Russia: 32% Trade balance of Kazakhstan: million USD Trade balance of Russia: million USD Trade balance of EAEU: million USD (Kazakhstan accounts 30% of the market)

15 PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM PROFILES, RODS AND BARS Cost of raw aluminum per USD per ton: Kazakhstan - $1410 China - $2090 Russia - $1500 Import Volume $32 million USD (9.8 thousand tons) Trade Balance $(-30) million USD Domestic supply of aluminum: Pavlodar Electrolysis Plant (north-east Kazakhstan) produces 250,000 tons per year 84.2% of domestic aluminum goes for export Refinery of aluminum products requires only 5% of energy spent on its primary production (low cost production opportunity) Import duties for aluminum goods: Rods and bars 10% Profiles 12% Rods for aircraft engines 0% Import dynamics of aluminum profiles, rods and bars, tons EAEU Import of EAEU, million USD Kazakhstan Russia 40 Other membercountries $ 226 million USD (55 thousand tons) total for EAEU member states $ 154 million USD total for Russia with annual growth in quantity (2010 to 2014) is 26% $ 348 million USD total for CIS member states

16 PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY Tractors Combines Seeders Planter Implements pcs pcs pcs pcs pcs. 70% of equipment over 16 years in commission 8-10% equipment required to be renewed annually (currently 1-3%) 85% of agricultural machinery in RK exceeded depreciation period Annual demand for 30,000 pieces of agricultural machinery Import duties, Kazakhstan, % Import duty for combine harvester 5% Import duty for tractors 10% Import duty for harvesting 5% Market Volume $400 million agricultural machinery market in Kazakhstan Market of Raw Materials Average steel price $330 per ton EAEU $2,5 billion total for EAEU member states Import volume Market segment of attachments & implements machinery imports raising in Russian market (+19% annually) Potential domestic suppliers: ArcelorMittal (1.2 million tones) $466 million Total for Kazakhstan Trade Balance of Kazakhstan (-)73.3 million U.S. Dollars JSC Casting (300k tones) JSC KSP Steel

17 PRODUCTION OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Annual Sales* (2015): Buses 2,572 pcs (2,209 imported) Trucks 11,005 pcs (9,350 imported) Market overview 85% of market demand for commercial vehicles filled by import Local Manufacturers: Semaz, Hyundai, JAC and Kamaz 1600 units per year Trade balance** -$664,2 million Government subsidies for small and medium businesses for car loans and leases Leading manufacturer JSC Asia Avto is planning expansion in order to double production capacity up to 120,000 light vehicles per year. Import Duties: Buses 7.5% - 10% Freight Trucks 5% - 15% EAEU Opportunities : Euro-4 import ban for non-compliant vehicles to EAEU zone increasing demand for new cars 0% excise duty in Uzbekistan for commercial vehicles (HS code 8704) imported from Kazakhstan (3% Russian and Ukrainian imports) Import value: $671.5 million Top brands in the market: GAZ (56%) UAZ (21%) Hyundai Truck & Bus (7%) Established production of brands: Hyundai, Iveco, Jac, Daewoo, Shacman, Kamaz

18 PRODUCTION OF EQUIPMENT FOR MINING INDUSTRY Market overview Production volume of equipment for mining industry- $102 mln. The share of production machines and equipment for mining industry in the manufacturing industry - 0,4% The share of production machines and equipment for mining industry in machinery industry - 2,7% Deterioration level of equipment 38% Import duties, Kazakhstan, % Import duty for shovels and excavators: 5% Import duty for front end shovel loaders: 5% Import duty for bulldozers and angledozers, crawler type: 7,5% Import duty for graders and levellers, self-propelled: 6% Import duty for self-propelled excavating machinery nes: 5% Import duty for tamping machines and road rollers, selfpropelled: 7,5% Import Volume 423 million USD total for Kazakhstan 613 million USD total for Russia Shovels and excavators with a 360 revolving superstructure $144 mln. Front end shovel loaders $141 mln. Graders and levellers, self-propelled $35 mln. Bulldozers and angledozers, crawler type $49 mln. Self-propelled excavating machinery nes $34 mln. Tamping machines and road rollers, selfpropelled $20 mln.

19 PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT Market overview Import duties, Kazakhstan, % Production volume of electric transformers ,3 th.kva Production volume electric accumulators units electrical transformers 7,5%, electrical accumulator 10%, fiber optic cables 15%, electrical motors 12%, electrical generators 0%. Production volume of fiber optic cables 14,1 mln. m. No domestic production of electrical motors and generators The share of electrical equipment in manufacturing - 1,5% The share of electrical equipment in the amount of mechanical engineering - 10% Deterioration level of equipment 35% Availability of main components: Motor housing and cover, 0% custom tax (available in Kazakhstan and Russia); Electrical steel, normally 5% custom tax (available in Russia with 0 custom tax); Copper wire, normally 5% custom tax (available in Kazakhstan) Possible preference with 0% custom tax on import of raw materials in case of Priority Investment Project Import value: 793 million USD total for Kazakhstan 2,7 billion USD total for Russia Transformers electrical million USD Electrical accumulator - 74,7 million USD Insulated wire/cable million USD Electrical motors and generators million USD Import value: Insulated wire/cable Import volume of electric conductors, for a voltage not exceeding 80 V $ 182 mln. Electric conductors, for a voltage exceeding 1,000 V $ 71 mln. Electric conductors for a voltage <= V, insulated, fitted $ 23 mln. Optical fibre cables, made up of individually sheathed fibres - $ 18 mln.

20 PRODUCTION OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Market overview Production of bulldozers 14,4%, import 85,6% Production of special vehicles 5,5%, import 95,5% Import of Kazakhstan on the bulldozers pieces loaders pieces self-propelled tamping machines and road rollers pieces. EAEU $ 3.4 billion Total for Russia $ 380 mln. Total for Kazakhstan Import Volume Given that the import of road construction equipment in the country is almost 90%, there are prospects for the creation of Kazakhstani enterprises on manufacture of the equipment to cover the domestic market. Market of Raw Materials Average steel price $330 per ton Potential domestic suppliers: ArcelorMittal (1.2 million tones) JSC Casting (300k tones) JSC KSP Steel

21 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE TRANSPORT AND LOGISTIC CENTER IN SEZ KHORGOS Project: Construction and operation of the transport and logistic center Place of implementation: Special economic zone «KHORGOS EASTERN GATE» on the border with China Management by: About SEZ: Already invested by government 426 mln. US dollars Total area ha, include: Dry port 129 ha, Logistics zone 225 ha, Industrial zone 225 ha Project planning capacity (2020): Traffic volume 4.4 mln. tons Containers handling capacity 500 k TEUs Using Kazakhstan as a logistics solution decreases time of delivery between China-Europe-Middle East more than 3 times from 45 days (sea route) to 15 days (Kazakhstan) Details of high-speed container trains: Chengdu (China) Lodz (Poland) ~ km / 14 days Chongqing (China) Duisburg (Germany) ~ km / 16 days or traditional sea route Chongqing-Duisburg (deep sea) ~ km days High-speed international transcontinental automobile corridor Western Europe Western China : Lianyungang (China) - Saint-Petersburg (Russia) ~ 8500 km/ 10 days Transport and Logistics one of the basic sectors of the Kazakhstani economy (around 6.7% GDP) million ton cargo transported in 2014, increase 72 % since 2009 (2 103 mln. ton) million passengers transported in 2014, increase 80 % since 2009 ( mln. passengers) Rail roads: > km; Motor roads: > km; Number of Airports: 23 Main Seaports (Caspian shore) Aktau, Bautino, Kuryk;

22 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE TLC IN THE MAJOR REGIONS OF East-Kazakhstan region (Semey c.) Specialization: Atyrau region (Atyrau c.) Pavlodar region (Pavlodar c.) Kostanay region (Kostanay c.) Karaganda region (Karaganda c.) Specialization: Specialization: Specialization: Specialization: West Kazakhstan region (Oral c.) Specialization: Mangystau region (Aktau c.) Specialization: GRP EXP IMP (mln.) (bln. USD) (mln. ton/year) (bln. USD) (bln. USD) (bln. USD) (bln. USD) (bln. USD) Special Economic Zone KHORGOS * ADVANTAGES from Partner: Willing to provide up to 30% of capital investments Support in cargo attraction TENDER CONDITIONS: Carried in 2 stages: 1 stage participants registration* 2 stage- participants choosing * application would be gathered from 1st of April until 18th of April 2016 * - detailed information on SEZ Khorgos teaser High-speed container trains Chengdu (China) Lodz (Poland) ~ km / 14 days Chongqing (China) Duisburg (Germany) ~ km / 16 days Traditional sea route Chongqing-Duisburg (deep sea) ~ km days High-speed international transcontinental automobile corridor Western Europe Western China Lianyungang (China) - Saint-Petersburg (Russia) ~ 8500 km/ 10 days Transport and Logistics one of the basic sectors of the Kazakhstani economy (around 6.7% GDP) million ton cargo transported in 2014 (increase 72 % since 2009) million passengers transported in 2014 (increase 80 % since 2009) Rail roads: > km; Motor roads: > km; Number of Airports: 23 Main Seaports (Caspian shore) Aktau, Bautino, Kuryk;

23 NATURAL RESOURCES Kazakhstan in the world ranking for reserves Kazakhstan in the world ranking for production Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2014; BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2014; U.S. Energy Information Administration, Independent Statistics and Analysis; The Global Source, The Silver Institute; Thomson Reuters GFMS, Gold Survey 2013 Update 1.

24 PRODUCTION OF WOLFRAM Balanced reserves of tungsten trioxide up to 2.1 million tons (out of worldwide 20 million tons), A + B + C1 1.9 million tons, C2 150 thousand tons, Off-balance sheet 2 million tons 18 deposit ores: 11 balanced and 7 offbalanced Major deposits oriented in Karaganda region (Central Kazakhstan): 85.2% of balanced and 98.7% offbalanced 12 deposits Major deposits with on-balanced indicators: Verhnee-Kairaktinskoe 1.1 million tons Karaobinskoe 222 thousand tons Bogutinskoe 220 thousand tons Bayan 56 thousand tons North Katpar 90 thousand tons Koktenkol 107 thousand tons Kazakhstan s on-balanced reserves (tons): 18.6 billion tons of iron ore; #6 in the world according to reserves 400 million tons of chromium ore; #1 in the world according to content in ore 40 million tons of copper ore; # 12 in the world according to reserves 53 thousand tons of silver ore; #4 in the world according to reserves Great worldwide potential with annual import of 1,3 billion USD Main Importers European Union $545 million USD USA $215 million USD (4800 tons) Japan $90 million USD (1400 tons) China $66 million USD (450 tons)

25 PRODUCTION OF MOLYBDENUM Balanced reserves of molybdenum deposits is more than 1 million tons, including category A + B + C1 950 thousand tons, C2 100 thousand tons, Off-balance sheet 1 million tons 44 deposit ores: 31 balanced and 13 offbalanced Major deposits with on-balanced indicators: -Complex deposits Koktenkol (Central Kazakhstan) 450 thousand tons Aidarly (East Kazakhstan) 155 thousand tons Aktogay (East Kazakhstan) 120 thousand tons -Own deposits Shalginskoe (Central Kazakhstan) Smirnovskoe (Kostanay region) Shorskoe (East Kazakhstan) 122 thousand tons Kazakhstan s on-balanced reserves (tons): 18.6 billion tons of iron ore; #6 in the world according to reserves 400 million tons of chromium ore; #1 in the world according to content in ore 300 million tons of nickel ore; #12 in the world according to reserves (#7 cobalt) 5.5 thousand tons of niobium ore; niobium production 97 tonnes in 2015 Great worldwide potential with annual import of 1 billion USD; 25,5 thousand tons Main Importers European Union $390 million USD USA $120 million USD (3300 tons) Japan $105 million USD (2800 tons) China $50 million USD (290 tons)