Archive for March, 2008
News Roundup - March 31, 2008
Forbes: Kazakhstan’s Zhaikmunai prices IPO at 10 usd per GDR
Zhaikmunai, a privately-owned Kazakh oil and gas group, said the global depositary receipts it is listing on the London Stock Exchange have been priced at 10 usd apiece, valuing the company at 1.1 bln usd…
Reuters: Kazakh ZhaikMunai raises $100 mln via London issue
Kazakh-focused oil and gas producer ZhaikMunai ZKMq.L said on Friday it had raised $100 million by placing a new share issue on the London Stock Exchange to fund growth and new projects…
Reuters: Nazarbayev says will not nationalise oil sector
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told Reuters in an interview on Friday he had no intention of following an example set by some Latin American states and nationalising his nation’s booming energy sector…
Reuters: Kazakh leader hints at succession plan
Kazakhstan’s long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a rare reference to the succession on Friday, saying the time would come when he had to make way for a younger generation…
Reuters: Excerpts of Kazakh president’s interview with Reuters
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev fielded questions from Reuters on Friday on issues ranging from his possible successor to domestic banking problems, democracy and relations with NATO…
Reuters: Kazakh credit crunch good for equity deals -bankers
The credit crunch that has slowed down Kazakhstan’s stellar economic growth and raised concerns about the stability of its financial system has also created good opportunities for equity investors, bankers say…
Reuters: Kazakh net FDI inflow up in 2007 - central bank
The net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Kazakhstan increased in 2007, central bank Deputy Chairman Daniyar Akishev said on Thursday…
Reuters: Kazakh state energy firm weighs foreign partnership
Kazakhstan’s state energy firm KazMunaiGas is considering strategic partnerships with Western players to gain access to technology as it ramps up production with a long-term aim of tripling output…
Guardian Unlimited: Kazakh president rules out help for banks
President Nursultan Nazarbayev ruled out state support for Kazakhstan’s beleaguered banking sector on Friday, saying it was already recovering from problems linked to the global credit crunch…
Forbes: Mangistau region’s long-term foreign currency rating raised to ‘BB+’ - Fitch
Fitch Ratings said it upgraded the long-term foreign and local currency ratings of the Mangistau region in Kazakhstan to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’ with a stable outlook reflecting the region’s almost debt-free status and strong and improving budgetary performance…
HULIQ: Deepest foreign debt dilemma of Kazakhstan is getting worse
Below find the comparison table on economic indexes of particular countries, both Kazakhstan’s partners and those having social, economic or political systems similar to Kazakhstan’s. The data was taken from the above-mentioned sources…
Fox Business: Tethys Petroleum Limited: Secondary listing on Kazakhstan RFCA approved
Tethys Petroleum Limited today announced that the listing of its securities on the Official List of the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty (”RFCA”) Special Trading Floor operated by the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange JSC (”KASE”) has been approved by a Resolution of the Expert Council of the RFCA…
Interactive Investor: Eurasian Natural Resources gets approval for Kazakhstan Stock Exchange listing
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp PLC (ENRC) said the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) has approved listing of the company’s shares on the exchange, and that trading on KASE is expected to be on or around April 7…
International Herald Tribune: Kazakh banker criticizes Fed’s help of troubled banks
If Marchenko were in charge of the Fed, some U.S. banks would already have been allowed to fail, and the unprecedented injections of liquidity over the last eight months might not have taken place…
Oil and Gas Journal: PetroChina’s Dushanzi refinery nears completion
China National Petroleum Corp. said the Dushanzi refinery, operated by subsidiary PetroChina Co. Ltd. as part of a larger petrochemical facility, will begin trial operations in August…
RIA Novosti: Apartment building fire hospitalizes 27 people in Kazakhstan
Twenty-seven people, including 14 children, have been hospitalized after inhaling combustion products in an apartment building fire in Kazakhstan’s capital, the republic’s emergencies ministry said on Sunday…
News Roundup - March 27, 2008
Bloomberg: Kazakhmys rises in London as Kazakhstan seeks stake
Kazakhmys Plc, Kazakhstan’s biggest copper producer, rose in London trading after saying the country is seeking to acquire as much as 15 percent of the company in return for natural-resource assets…
A Kazakh military court Wednesday sentenced the former son-in-law of President Nursultan Nazarbayev in absentia to 20 years in jail on a range of charges, including planning a coup, the Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement…
BBC News: Kazakh son-in-law ‘gets 20 years’
The court said Aliyev and 16 others trained elite forces, and secretly imported military equipment, in order to overthrow the state…
Guardian Unlimited: Bankers urge Kazakh govt to stay out of business
Kazakhstan should not overdo efforts to boost state influence over strategic sectors of the economy if it wants to stay attractive for investors, two senior bankers said on Wednesday…
TREND: Kazakhstan’s parliament approves of bill on ratification of agreement on Azerbaijan’s BTC
On 26 March, Kazakhstan’s Parliament approved of the bill on ratification of the agreement with Azerbaijan on support and assistance to transportation of oil from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan to the international markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) system…
Reuters: Kazakh Alliance bank sees lower profit in 2008
Alliance, Kazakhstan’s fourth-largest bank, expects its net profit to decline this year following a surge in last year’s profits, the bank’s chief executive said on Wednesday…
Reuters: ENRC’s Sittard looking west from Kazakh mines
A family tradition has taken Johannes Sittard from a German classroom to the helm of one of the newest entrants to the FTSE 100 share index, mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources Corp…
Financial Times: Oriel Resources agrees takeover by Russia’s Mechel
Mechel, the Russian miner and steelmaker, has agreed a £749m takeover of London-listed Oriel Resources, a mining company with assets in Russia and Kazakhstan…
Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Mechel to buy Oriel in $1.5 billion deal
OAO Mechel said it agreed to pay $1.5 billion for Oriel Resources PLC, a London-based owner of chrome and nickel mines in Kazakhstan, in a move to boost its access to raw materials…
EurasiaNet: US Diplomat: Gazprom’s gains from Central Asia are put to “nefarious uses”
A US official has welcomed recent news that the Kremlin-controlled gas company Gazprom will start paying higher prices for natural gas from Central Asia, saying that it represents a victory of market forces over state-orchestrated monopolistic practices…
News Roundup - March 26, 2008
Reuters: Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank 2007 profit jumps 49 pct
Halyk, Kazakhstan’s third-largest bank, said on Tuesday its net income rose 49 percent in 2007 to 40.5 billion tenge ($336 million), but projected slower growth of 30 percent this year…
Reuters: Kazakh Alliance bank sees assets shrinking
Alliance, Kazakhstan’s fourth-largest bank, reported a surge in 2007 net profit on Tuesday but said its assets would shrink more than expected this year…
Reuters: Kazakhmys says Kazakh govt wants to take a stake
Kazakh copper producer Kazakhmys Plc said on Tuesday it welcomed a recent statement by the government of Kazakhstan that it wished to acquire a minority interest of up to 15 percent in the company…
Financial Times: Kazakhs eye stake in copper producer
The government of Kazakhstan is considering swapping mining assets for a stake in London-listed Kazakhmys, its biggest copper producer, in a move that would increase the Central Asian country’s control over its lucrative metals and mining industry…
Mineweb: Frontier Mining gives exploration license update
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (”MEMR”) of the Republic of Kazakhstan has extended the exploration period for commercial discoveries appraisal at Frontier’s gold project Koskuduk, and at its copper-gold prospects Baritovy, Beschoku, and Yubileiny, for an additional 2 years…
Gazeta.KZ: Tender announced for construction of Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railway
To start construction of the railways connecting the three countries, Turkmenistan will hold a tender in Ashkhabad in the presence of Iran, Turkey, Russia, Japan, China, Kazakhstan and European Union…
“Our banking system is strong enough to handle the situation (in the world financial markets), stated B. Sultanov. “Regardless of external funding deficit for banks of the second level, the local financial system stayed intact, even when the default cases occurred in some largest financial institutes in the West,” he expanded…
Reuters: Kazakhs forget hardships to celebrate spring
Life may be tough in some of the remotest corners of the vast Kazakh steppe, but once a year people put aside their hardships to celebrate Navruz, an ancient holiday marking the onset of spring…
Transitions Online: Not a Golden Ticket
Some alumni of a prestigious scholarship supported by the Kazakh president find their foreign diplomas less valuable than expected…
RIA Novosti: Nabucco trans-Caspian gas pipeline in jeopardy - paper
The future of the Western-backed Nabucco trans-Caspian gas pipeline that is designed to bypass Russia could be in jeopardy, the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet said on Tuesday…
Interfax: Astana hosts metallurgical conference in April
On April 2-3 Astana hosts first Kazakhstan Metallurgical Conference 2008. RUSMET group arranges the event under the auspices of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Trade. Interfax-Kazakhstan News Agency is an information sponsor of the conference…
Interfax: EU experience could be used in Central Asian integration
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and renowned Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov discussed prospects of integration amongst Central Asian countries in Astana on Tuesday…
News Roundup - March 25, 2008
Moscow Times: Credit crunch slows building
“The banks aren’t offering new liquidity to construction companies, which has slowed building,” said Sadyr Shaguzhayev, head of lending and capital markets at Almaty-based Bank TuranAlem, the state’s second-biggest lender…
Reuters: Flood in Kazakhstan leaves thousands without water
Thousands of people were left without fresh water in Kazakhstan on Monday after a major flood disrupted water supplies in the southwest of the Central Asian state, the Emergencies Ministry said…
CACI Analyst: Russia and Central Asian gas: Recent trends and their implications
On March 11, 2008, Russia and Gazprom announced that beginning in 2009 Russia would buy gas from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan at world market prices. Western commentary has centered on Russia’s efforts to retain its status as gatekeeper to Central Asian energy exports to the West, and that Ukraine and Europe will likely be the losers. But there are deeper insights to be gleaned from this event, and important implication…
The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange has finalized its “Requirements for Listing on the Special Trading Floor of the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty City.” The new rules were written by London-based Bracewell & Giuliani associate, Conor D. Funston, in conjunction with the office of the Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Regulation of the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty City (RFCA)…
Inhabitat: Norman Foster’s Almaty Twin Towers in Kazakhstan
World-renowned architect Sir Norman Foster seems to be making a lot of friends in the former Soviet Union, with news of new Foster design proposals in Russia and Central Asia being approved almost every month. Kazakhstan’s capital city Astana already features two Foster designed marvels: a stunning Palace of Peace and Reconciliation pyramid structure and another tent-like development called Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center soon to be completed late next year…
Gulf Times: Damac bags top award at Kazakh realty show
Damac Properties, a leading private-sector master developer, has won the ‘Best Debut Stand’ award at the recently concluded KazRealty 2008, in Kazakhstan. At the KazRealty - a road show, Damac showcased its wide range of properties spread across the Middle East…
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Norouz In Kazakhstan
Families throng to Almaty for a day of food, music, and fun for the children as they celebrate Nouroz…
News Roundup - March 24, 2008
Bloomberg: Kazakhs get craters, not homes as credit crunch halts builders
In Almaty, the biggest city in the oil-rich Central Asian state, about 30 people on March 18 rallied against the hole in the ground where their new apartments should be. Work stopped after builder AO Corporation Kuat couldn’t get funding…
Reuters: Kazakh court fines gas field over flaring
A court in Kazakhstan has fined a group of Western energy majors developing the huge Karachaganak gas field $15 million for environmental damages, a consortium spokesman said on Thursday…
Reuters: Kazakh govt gains full control over key TV channel
The Kazakh government on Friday took full control of the country’s largest television channel Khabar after buying the 50 percent it did not hold for $100 million. State-owned holding company Samghau bought the stake on the Kazakh Stock Exchange, Khabar said in a statement…
Resource Investor: Kazakhstan’s oil contract review - Only guilty the need to worry!
Oil and gas companies with operations in Kazakhstan are once again scrambling to explain a new controversy. This time it is over the government’s decision to review oil contracts in order to determine whether companies have met their contractual commitments on licences. Ensuing uncertainty has left oil companies with exposure to Kazakhstan in a less than favourable stock market position…
Trading Markets: Kazakhstan to spend $830 million on construction
The Kazakh government will spend 100 billion tenge ($830 million) to boost residential construction and economic growth in Kazakhstan’s two largest cities after banks curtailed lending…
Hemscott: Caspian Energy says Aral Petroleum spuds Baktygaryn 703 exploration well
Caspian Energy Inc said Aral Petroleum Capital LLP, in which it holds a 50 pct indirect interest, has now spudded the first exploration well, Baktygaryn 703…
UPI: Analysis: Foreigners ply Volga-Don Canal
While most discussions of Caspian oil exports revolve around pipelines, since 1991 there has been a mini tanker boom on the inland sea, which services not only domestic markets but also transships oil for transport from Baku’s Sangachal terminal via the $3.6 billion, 1,092-mile Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey’s Mediterranean terminus…
Toronto Star: Steppe-ing out in hard times
Life may be tough in some of the remotest corners of the vast Kazakh steppe, but once a year people put aside their hardships to celebrate Navruz, an ancient holiday marking the onset of spring…
When Russia and China held joint military exercises last summer, it appeared that a powerful new strategic alliance was about to come of age…
NATO newly began dialogue with the countries of Central Asia and Caucasus regarding energy security and the priority in this direction is the defence of the energy infrastructure, said the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Robert Simmons…
Global Voices: Kazakhstan: Oddities of the Digital Present
In the most recent counple of weeks the Kazakhstani blogosphere - usually heavily politicized - was focused more on the developments in telecoms sector and Internet-related novelties in Kazakhstan…
News Roundup - March 20, 2008
Financial Times: Kazakhstan court ruling fuels gas row
An environmental dispute brewing between Kazakhstan and a foreign oil consortium tapping the Karachaganak field might herald further moves by the central Asian country to gain influence over the crown jewels of its oil industry…
Bloomberg: Kazakhstan Curbs Foreign Borrowing by Banks to Ease Dependence
Kazakhstan will curb foreign borrowing by domestic banks as it seeks to strengthen its financial markets in response to the global credit squeeze…
Forbes: Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom upgraded to ‘BBB-’; outlook cut to stable - Fitch
Fitch Ratings upgraded Kazakhstan-based JSC National Atomic Company Kazatomprom and revised the outlook to stable from positive…
Reuters: Kazkommertsbank sees net profit up 20 pct in 2008
Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s biggest bank, expects its 2008 net profit to grow by about 20 percent compared to last year, a senior bank official said on Wednesday…
Reuters: Kazkommertsbank 2007 profit more than doubles
Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s biggest bank, said on Wednesday its net profit more than doubled to 57.8 billion tenge ($478 million) in 2007 largely due to higher interest income…
Reuters: Kazakhstan gold/forex reserves rise to $19.5 bln
Kazakhstan’s net gold and foreign currency reserves rose to $19.5 billion as of March 14 from $19.0 billion on Feb.29, the central bank said on Wednesday…
CNN Money: Bank Centercredit IDR outlook changed to evolving on Kookmin’s stake buy - Fitch
Fitch Ratings said it has changed the outlook on Kazakhstan-based Bank Centercredit’s ‘BB-’ long-term issuer default rating to evolving from negative and affirmed the rating, after South Korea’s largest lender, Kookmin Bank, said it has agreed to purchase a majority stake in BCC in a bid to expand its global operations…
Hemscott: Roxi Petroleum gets approval for acquisition of seismic survey in Kazakhstan
Roxi Petroleum PLC said it has received all environmental and regulatory approvals for the acquisition of a 121 square kilometre 3D seismic survey over the Beibars contract area in western Kazakhstan after a three-month delay…
Interfax: FSA introduces new requirements to support stability of commercial banks
The National Financial Supervision Agency (FSA) is introducing new requirements aimed at supporting the stability of the commercial banks…
Leaders of Kazakhstan’s trade unions may go to court against the government to get a raise in the salaries of the employees paid from the budget…
Ferghana.ru: Kazakhstan: 25,000 domains in the national web-zone
Kazakhstan Today reported 16,431 domains registered in the .KZ zone in early 2007. PROFIT Online evaluated their number at 25,000 a year later…
Regnum: Kazakhstani expert: Serious struggle for Chinese energy market may start in Central Asia
The expert was commenting on Kazakhstan and China’s agreement to construct a section of a gas pipeline through which Turkmenistan has taken an obligation to annually supply 30 bn cubic meters of gas to the Chinese Republic of China, starting in 2009…
Neweurasia.net: Turkish Saga Continued
Nearly a month ago neweurasia reported on the incident that had taken place in Almaty in late January - then a group of 30 masked men attacked 40 Turkish employees of the construction firm BN Pegasus…
RIA Novosti: Kazakhstan bus crash claims 7 lives
Seven people were killed and 20 injured in a bus crash in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, the emergencies ministry said…
News Roundup - March 19, 2008
Reuters: Kazakhstan sees 70 pct gas price rise from 2009
Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas said on Tuesday its gas export prices were likely to rise by up to 70 percent from 2009 as part of a wider plan by Central Asian producers to charge Russia more for their supplies…
Forbes: MOL seeks assets in Kazakhstan as part of Oman Oil Co deal
Hungary’s MOL Nyrt may secure production and exploration assets in Kazakhstan as part of an asset swap deal with Oman Oil Co, according to an unsourced report by Energy Intelligence Group, cited by website Portfolio.hu…
Kazinform: KPO delivers outstanding performance in 2007
Karachaganak, one of Kazakhstan’s largest producing fields, delivered an outstanding performance in 2007, setting record levels of production and meeting a number of key milestones…
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Gazprom deal imperils hopes for trans-Caspian pipeline
A landmark deal reached this month between Russian gas giant Gazprom and three energy-rich Central Asian states is likely to usher in dramatically higher prices for countries reliant on Russia for their natural gas…
EurasiaNet: Turkmenistan: Playing the energy export field
Turkmenistan has selected a British firm to conduct an independent audit of its natural gas reserves. To date, speculation surrounding Ashgabat’s holdings has been a major factor driving the Caspian Basin energy development competition among the United States, European Union, China and Russia…
Interfax: Accounts frozen at Karachaganak Petroleum Operating - tax committee
The accounts of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO), which is developing the largest gas condensate field in Kazakhstan, have been under a freeze for the last several months, the deputy chairman of the tax committee for the Western Kazakhstan region, Aklima Kaidasheva said…
News Roundup - March 17, 2008
Reuters: Kookmin Bank to buy Kazakh bank stake for $623 mln
South Korea’s Kookmin Bank said on Monday it would buy a 30 percent stake in mid-size Kazakh bank CenterCredit CCBN.KZ for $623 million and raise its holding to more than half over the next few years…
Kazinform: Kazakhstan and Oman activate coop in energy sector
Kazakhstan and Oman activate cooperation in energy sector, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Marat Tazhin has told during a briefing after the bilateral meeting with his counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah…
Rigzone: Parker takes reduction in final resolution of Kazakhstan tax case
Parker Drilling Company, a global drilling contractor and service provider, announced a $20 million reduction in the interest assessment in accordance with the recent ruling of the Kazakhstan court…
Interfax: Petrolinvest to create oil drilling firm in Kazakhstan, hopes to floatit in London
Polish oil firm Petrolinvest wants to build a new oil drilling company in Kazakhstan and possibly float it on the London Stock Exchange, the company’s chief executive Pawel Gricuk said, according to Polish daily Puls Biznesu…
Interfax: Kazzinc acquires Kaz-Tyumen
Kazzinc has become an owner of Kaz-Tyumen (Ridder city, East-Kazakhstan) processing lead accumulator scrap, Kazzinc said in a press release…
Interfax: KazMunaiGas acquires Naftrans assets for $220 ml
The KazMunaiGas group has acquired all operating assets of Naftrans for $220 ml, ENR Russia Invest, one of Naftrans investors, said in a press release…
Interfax: Government approves farm produce supply policy for northern regions
State committee on Modernization of Economy backed the proposal submitted by civic entrepreneurial corporations (SEC): Sary-Arka (Akmola oblast) and Ontustik (South-Kazakhstan oblast) suggesting ways to meet the farm produce demand in the northern regions of the republic…
Hemscott: JSC Halyk Savings Bank awarded licence to carry out operations in Mongolia
JSC Halyk Savings Bank of Kazakhstan said its Mongolian subsidiary Halyk Astana Dornod LLC has been awarded a licence to carry out non-banking financial operations in the territory of Mongolia for three years…
EurasiaNet: Russia makes financial gamble to retain control of Central Asia energy exports
Kazakhstan, along with its Central Asian neighbors Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, will receive a huge increase in energy-related revenue following a flurry of regional diplomatic activity. Ukraine, meanwhile, stands to lose the most under the new pricing framework for Central Asian natural gas…
UPI: Analysis: Central Asia and Gazprom
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have long chafed under Gazprom’s pricing arrangements for their natural gas exports, as the energy giant has long adhered to the policy of buy cheap, sell dear…
Neweurasia.net: A Central Asian gas OPEC
The fact that Russia may pay ‘European prices’ for the Central Asian gas next year does not necessarily mean that the Great Game is over and that the West and China have nothing to look for in the region…
Last month, police and state security forces subjected Grace Church of Almaty to a 17-hour raid, confiscating computer hardware and Christian literature. State-run media alleged that the church was engaged in espionage, financial impropriety, and possession of drugs…
TREND: Turkmenistan to take part in Caspian and trans-Caspian gas pipeline projects: President
Turkmenistan will participate both in the Caspian and trans-Caspian gas pipeline projects, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said, ITAR-TASS reports…
Kazakh IPOs in London: Past and Future
Currently, ten Kazakh companies are listed on the Main Board of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), all of which have conducted their IPOs in the last three years. The post-IPO performance of their shares on the exchange may an indicator of the trends and prospects of the Kazakh economy.
News Roundup - March 14, 2008
Financial Times: ENRC’s debut gets mixed reaction
ENRC and Kazakhmys have much in common. Each was founded by Kazakh-based businessmen who took ramshackle collections of failing ex-state-owned mining assets in Kazakhstan and turned them into highly profitable businesses…
Bamboozled by globalisation? British investors in FTSE 100 index trackers will soon own a mining company controlled by two Kyrgyzstanis (one with Israeli citizenship) and a Belgian passport-carrying Uzbek. A fifth of Eurasian National Resources Corporation is held by the government of Kazakhstan…
Bloomberg: Kazakhmys says no bid received from ENRC; shares drop
Kazakhmys Plc, Kazakhstan’s biggest copper producer, fell the most ever in London trading after saying it hasn’t received a bid proposal from Eurasian Natural Resources Corp…
Forbes: Kazakhmys: Not over yet
A day after Kazakhmys shares soared by over a fifth on takeover speculation, the copper miner has burst the bubble by confirming that it has received no formal offer from Eurasian Natural Resources. Yet this may not be the end of the story: with the two companies still in their infancy, the creation of a Kazakh national champion could still be in the cards…
Reuters: Kazakhs want more from Gazprom for Asia gas transit
Kazakhstan wants Russia’s Gazprom to pay more for the transit of Turkmen and Uzbek gas in 2009 when the latter states start charging more for their gas, the head of the Kazakh state energy firm said on Thursday…
Reuters: Court allows UniCredit to buy Kazakh unit stock
A Kazakh court has cancelled its prior ruling barring UniCredit from dealing in the shares of its Kazakh unit ATF Bank — a small initial win for the Italian bank in a legal battle with an ATF minority shareholder…
Reuters: Kazakh TV channel stake sale delayed
The sale of a 50 percent stake in Kazakhstan’s largest television channel, Khabar, has been put off until March 21, the Kazakh Stock Exchange said on Thursday…
Neweurasia.net: Mittal separates Kazakh oil assets
As it is known, Mittal Investment Sarl, the holding company of Mittal family, had in April 2007 acquired Russian oil firm Lukoil’s 50 per cent stake in Caspian Investments Resources for $980 million…
Asia Pulse: Kazakhstan’s Food Corp books 70 percent jump in net profit
Kazakhstan’s National Food Corporation, which buys and sells grain and handles State grain reserves, increased net profit 70 per cent to a tentative 433 million tenge (US$3.6 million) in 2007, the company said in an unconsolidated financial report…
Interfax: Kazakhstan’s Development Bank borrows over $1 bln
The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) said it has raised more than $1 billion in loans on international markets, despite the ongoing liquidity problems on global markets…
Interfax: President Nazarbaev to personally supervise government programs
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev intends to personally supervise the implementation of top priority government programs…
Yahoo! Finance: BTA Bank has repaid USD 530.9 mln
On March 13, 2008 BTA Bank has repaid USD 530.9 mln representing the first tranche of USD 1,111 mln. Global syndicated loan facility and USD 15 mln accrued interest thereon…
RIA Novosti: Caspian gas pipe project more realistic than Nabucco - ministry
The project to build a gas pipeline along the Caspian Sea coast is more feasible than the rival Western-backed Nabucco trans-Caspian pipe bypassing Russia, a Russian senior diplomat said on Thursday…
Russia on March 13 went on the diplomatic offensive in an attempt to undermine Azerbaijan’s credibility as an energy exporter, and cast doubt on the financial viability of a Western-backed pipeline plan…
