Regulator aims to open new doors to Kazakh pension funds
AS THE ARCHITECTS stepped off the plane in Almaty it was clear that they had accepted an extraordinary project. Everywhere you look, glass towers are being erected – a Canary Wharf lookalike is being created on the Steppes of central Asia.
Almaty, the financial centre of Kazakhstan, has ambitious plans. Poor liquidity, a limited number of listed companies and a lack of investors have all hampered KASE, Kazakhstan’s stock exchange. In recent weeks a board has been formed to advise and assist the government on correcting these problems. “Legislation is outdated and changes are needed,” says Michael Sauer, CEO of Visor Capital, a local investment bank. The Regional Financial Centre of Almaty (RFCA) is mandated to overhaul the stock exchange and create an environment that investors and issuers will want to use.
In October two large Kazakh companies brought equity offerings. The exploration and production subsidiary of KazMunaiGas (KMG) issued a global offering of 23,086,791 shares that were listed on KASE priced at KZT11,163.39 ($87.20), and GDRs that were listed in London priced at $14.64. The offer, worth the equivalent of $6.2