Kazakhstan banking: Emirates' Alnair to buy 25 percent of Kazkommertsbank's shares

business and economy

Emirates’ Alnair to buy 25 percent of Kazkommertsbank’s shares

By SRI ⋅ June 23, 2008 ⋅

Alnair Capital Holding has bought an 8 percent stake in Kazkommertsbank and expects the Financial Supervision Agency (FSA) to approve its plan to bring its holdings to 25 percent.

According to Almair’s press release, the group owns 8.03 percent of ordinary shares in Kazkommertsbank. “It has entered into binding agreements to acquire a further 17.12 percent of the ordinary share capital of Kazkommertsbank, conditional on receiving the necessary regulatory approvals,” Kazkommertsbank said.

“Alnair Capital Holding has approached the Financial Supervision Agency of Kazakhstan for a status of a banking holding in compliance with the Kazakh laws in order to secure a permit to acquire more than 25 percent ordinary shares in Kazkommertsbank JSC,” Alnair announced on Friday.

Upon receiving the necessary regulatory approval, Alnair Capital expects to have a representative at Kazkommertsbank board of directors, according to the investment group’s news release.

The bank did not disclose how much Alnair was paying for the stake, Reuters reported.

Purchase of the shares was made on open market and did not result into any major changes in shareholdings structure. Kazkommertsbank Chairman Nurzhan Subkhanberdin and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the two main shareholders in the bank, will retain their stakes in Kazkommertsbank, and about 19.3 percent of its shares will remain in free float.

Alnair Capital is a company incorporated in Kazakhstan and owned by Alnair Investment Group with capital of Sheikh Tahnun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi.

Kazkommertsbank was the largest bank in Kazakhstan and fourth largest in the CIS by assets in 2007.

Read more: Financial Times, Reuters, Gulf Times

(Silk Road Intelligencer)