analysis
ANALYSIS: Foreign banks drive M&A activity in Kazakhstan
Unlike in most emerging economies, Kazakhstan’s banking sector has so far remained largely in local hands. However, recent acquisitions of local lenders by European and Asian banks suggest that the trend is changing.
ANALYSIS: UniCredit prepares to press on with integration of Kazakh bank ATF
With a long-standing share dispute now nearing resolution, UniCredit is preparing to start rebranding and growing Kazakhstan’s ATF Bank, its Central Asian acquisition.
ANALYSIS: Kazakhstan’s flagship oil company KazMunaiGas E&P expected to significantly increase reserves and production
KMG E&P, the flagship oil firm of Kazakhstan, represents a strong long term buy at the current market capitalization of $US12Bn.
ANALYSIS: Kazakh rail on track for private money
Private sector involvement in the development of the infrastructure sector is a key objective for the Kazakh government in its quest to create a network of roads and reilways and become an important link in the transfer of goods and resources between China and Europe.
ANALYSIS: Kashagan leads Kazakhstan to increase trans-Caspian oil exports
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have culminated years-long negotiations with agreements that increase the amounts of Kazakhstani oil to be shipped across the Caspian Sea, supplementing Azerbaijani crude in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
ANALYSIS: Lack of export infrastructure hinders Kazakhstan’s bid to become oil power
Kazakhstan, with its vast reserves of hydrocarbons, is on a path to become a petro-power on a global scale. That, at least, is the plan of the Kazakh government, oil companies with access to the rich oil fields of Kazakhstan, and those seeking alternatives to OPEC oil.
ANALYSIS: M&A Kazakh style
The merger and acquisition processes have become more dynamic in Kazakhstan and have shown significant changes in terms of both quality and quantity over the past year. The trend is an important indication of the development of sectoral markets and is a reflection of the current processes.
ANALYSIS: Some niches thrive as Kazakh economy falters
Kazakh economic sectors from financial services to construction to retail might have strong long-term growth prospects but are currently struggling as a consequence of the global liquidity crisis. However, there are some parts of the economy that are even now flourishing.
ANALYSIS: Kazakhstan stands on verge of a retail revolution
A block away from President Nursultan Nazarbeyev’s summer residence, signs outside a small row of shops discreetly display the names of the world’s most exclusive brands – Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Van Cleef & Arpels. Uniformed doormen wait for the occasional customer, a nouveau Kazakh in a huge, gleaming SUV.
ANALYSIS: Kazakhstan’s stock market - the missing link
Although the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) is the most developed in Central Asia, its development has been slow compared to the country’s banking sector. It now faces an uphill struggle due to intense competition from foreign exchanges for Kazakhstan’s highly attractive pipeline of IPOs.
