As Interfax reported, on June 18, Centre Credit Bank held a general meeting of shareholders which approved a voluntary merger of two large Kazakhstani banks, JSC Centre Credit and the state-owned closed joint-stock company Zhilstroibank. According to the chairman of the bank's Supervisory Council Bakhytbek Baiseitov, the government intends to sell its 21.5% share in the new bank on the stock market by March 1999. He said the joint bank ranks among the five largest Kazakhstan banks with assets totalling about KZT12-13bn (US $163m) and a shareholder equity of KZT1.1bn (US $14.3). The bank plans to increase its capital to US $40-45m in 1999 through a new issue worth US $15-20m. Before the merger, Centre Credit was a universal bank whose major clients included small and medium-sized companies (85-90% of the bank's loan portfolio). The bank will retain its profile, however, with a special focus on mortgage to which Zhilstroibank was dedicated before the merger. According to Mr. Baiseitov, the new bank plans to be listed with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) following an international audit to be made by Ernst & Young by the end of 1998.

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On June 26, shareholders of JSC Temirbank elected a new chairwoman—Mrs. Saadat Tashbulatova, a 27-year old graduate of Moscow Institute of Applied Biotechnology. Before this appointment, she worked for seven years in other large financial companies in Kazakhstan. With its capital of KZT 1.268bn (US $16.5m) Temirbank is one of Kazakhstan's five largest banks. The bank's assets are estimated at KZT4bn (US $52m). Temirbank is a member of the consortium Kazakhstani Investors who bought the state bank TuranAlem for US $72m last spring.

JSC Aluminium of Kazakhstan based in the northern Pavlodar region is starting the construction of Kazakhstan's first aluminium smelter. (Interfax and Reuters). The cost of construction is estimated at US $1.18bn. According to the general director of the plant Almaz Ibragimov, Kazakhstan Mineral Resources, an offshore British Virginian Island registered company, will be financing the project. Several European Banks, including Banque Paribas, are also prepared to invest in the smelter while Russia's largest Sayansk Aluminium Plant will invest US $200m by exchanging its shares for shares in the Pavlodar plant. This would guarantee uninterrupted supplies of Pavlodar alumina, the main raw material to produce aluminium, to Sayansk, Ibragimov said. During the construction (38 months), the number of workers will be 3,500 and after the completion of the construction, the smelter will employ 5,200 workers.

The State Property and Privatisation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan has announced an open tender to sell the state share of 60% in JSC Borly, a coal producer based in the Karaganda region. The terms include price proposals (not less than US $16.4m)and repayment of company debts due at the date of selling. In addition, the winner is supposed to provide at least US $76m in investment between 1998 and 2002 as well as US $45 m in working capital. Also, the winner must obtain an annual coal production of 7 million tonnes by the year 2002. Other requirements include proposals concerning social protection of company employees. The participation fee is KZT77m (US $1m). The tender will be held in Astana on July 24. (Kazakhstanskaya Pravda)

According to Interfax, JSC Borly has two coal fields of which the largest has a rated capacity of 10 million tonnes of coal per year. Since June 1997, the company has been managed by Samsung Corporation which has increased the output to 6 million tonnes with costs cut down from US $10 (without VAT) to US $8 (including VAT) per tonne. The estimated reserves of the deposit are 350 million tonnes.

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The Kazakhstani Government will hold an open investment tender on July 23 for a 90% state stake in JSC Khimprom, a chemical plant based in the town of Pavlodar, north of Kazakhstan. A range of products produced by Khimprom includes non-organic and organic chemicals containing chlorine, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulphur.

The remaining 10% of shares in the plant belong to its employees. An estimated value of the state stake is US $20.505m. The winner is required to invest US $63m in the development of production between 1998 and 2002 and to provide enough working capital in 1998. Another investment commitment is to pay the company debts of around US $7.5m including wage arrears, payments to the budget, social insurance payments, etc. The participation fee is US $1m. (Kazakhstnskaya Pravda).