business and economy

Kazakhstan’s Astana Motors plans IPO in 2009

By SRI ⋅ July 16, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

(SRI) - Astana Motors, part of the Astana Group holding, is preparing for an initial public offering in 2009, said Astana Group President Nurlan Smagulov in an interview with Interfax.

“Until now, we have been actively borrowing funds on the Kazakh banking market. Today the cost of these loans has risen considerably and we are looking for different ways to raise funds. In addition to the IPO, we are considering bond issues, other instruments and attracting new investors to our projects,” he said.

Astana Motors plans to significantly expand its network of dealerships in the coming years and the IPO will help fund its expansion.

It already hired a large international investment bank as an advisor on the offering and begun preparations for an international audit of its financial results.

Astana Motors was set up in 1992. The company currently produces five brands of vehicles on the Kazakh market and is the official distributor of Subaru, Hyundai and BMW and a dealer of Toyota and Nissan.

Tags: Astana Motors, business, IPO, Kazakhstan

Related articles

• Kazakhstan Business and Economy Roundup - July 18, 2008
• ANALYSIS: UniCredit prepares to press on with integration of Kazakh bank ATF