Zhaikmunai
Zhaikmunai income up in first half of 2008
(SRI) - Kazakh LSE-listed oil producer Zhaikmunai said on Friday its net income rose 22 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2008 to $17.6 million, thanks to higher oil price and growing output.
Zhaikmunai lowers output due to shortage of rail cars
(SRI) - Zhaikmunai LP, an LSE-listed oil company with operations in Kazakhstan, has announced that it has temporarily reduced daily oil production due to an unexpected shortage of available rail cars for oil transportation, the company says in a statement.
Zhaikmunai — What Is Behind Its Intended IPO?
Zhaikmunai, the Kazakh oil and gas company, stated its intention to offer its shares in an IPO on the London Stcok Exchange, hoping to raise up to $760 million. This is the first private oil and gas company in Kazakhstan which decided to seek transparency by becoming listed in London. Officially, the company explains its motive by the lack of funds for further development of business. However, analysts do not exclude that foreign (or domestic) investors are seeking the listing in an attempt to protect their holding in Kazakh oil and gas sector from possible encroachments by the state.
According to the official press release by the company, Zhaikmunai intends to place global depository receipts (GDR’s) on the exchange in the indicated range of $13-16 per share. It is expected that Zhaikmunai - being privately held - will issue GDR’s in exchange for a portion of shares in the company. The precise timing and the size of portion to be sold in course of the IPO are so far unknown. The timing of the announcement, however, is rather surprising. Given the current high oil prices, it would seem that a company of this type should have no problems finding sources of funds - unlike, for example, domestic banks and construction companies.
Zhaikmunai’s general director Vyacheslav Druzhinin, who is based in Uralsk, not far from where the company operates, refused to comment, saying that the issue was outside of his competence. As Business & Power, the Kazakh weekly, quotes “the local management was not to release any information to the media as it was not familiar with the situation.” Requests for comments that Business & Power sent to Kai-Uwe Kessel, the managing director of Belgium-based Probel Capital Management, also remained without an answer. According to Reuters, however, Zhaikmunai is expected to put up for sale 42.6 percent of the company.
