The Atyrau Refinery (AOR) processed 1,418,900 tonnes of oil in the first half of 1998. This was only 65% of what was processed during the same period last year. This information was disclosed by the company's president, Vladimir Gafner, at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on August 14. Gafner also reported a decline in export products, especially in diesel fuel and oil fuel, which together account for 60% of the refinery's exports. The president said that a lack of crude oil and an excess of petroleum product inventory at the refinery were among the reasons for the decline. The remedy proposed by the company's management would require US $12-15m in investment. The investment would be paid back from the company's own resources. The company plans to cut processing costs from US $18.22 to US $16.40 per tonne of crude. As of August 10, the company's debt totals US $43.73m including US $22.47m in overdue taxes and US $2.9m in wage arrears. (Interfax)

Pursuant to the listing requirements, the Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant has submitted financial statements for the second quarter of 1998 to the KASE. Compared to the previous quarter, the company's net income increased by KZT 280.1m (US $3.66m) to KZT 594.3 (US $7.76m). The company's shareholder capital increased by KZT 441.8 (US $5.77m) due to additional paid-in capital and retained earnings. As a result, the net value per share grew 9% to KZT 4,758.7 (US $62.10) as of the date of the report. (KASE)

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After standing idle for a year-and-a-half, Maikainzoloto, a gold producer located in the Pavlodar region, is going to produce one tonne of copper concentrate at the end of August. This news was released by Orynzhan Kabdulov, a spokesman for the Cyprus-based management company East Point Holdings Ltd, to Interfax. The Cyprian firm took over the management of Maimainzoloto as a result of a tender in September 1997 in which they received a 100% state stake in the company. At that time, the management company pledged to repay Maimainzoloto's debt of KZT 502m (US $6.6m). The company has so far invested about US $904,000, according to Mr. Kabdulov. The plant is said to have the capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes of concentrate per year. According to the Moscow design and research institute Giprotsvetment, the plant's Alpys and Maikain B mines hold 7 million tonnes of ore which could keep Maikainzoloto in operation for 20 years.

The American power company AES plans to invest about US $20-25m in the Ekibastuz electricity generation plant GRES-1, AES commercial manager John Abbas told Reuters. According to him, AES has already invested US $70m in GRES-1 since buying the facility two years ago. The plant was closed on June 2 when a number of its large customers in the south of Kazakhstan were forced to switch suppliers as Kazakhstan had signed an agreement with Kyrgyzstan whereby the latter would supply electric power to Kazakhstan's southern regions. Despite the halt of production at GRES-1, the company continues to repair the plant in preparation for winter. Mr. Abbas estimates Ekibastuz GRES-1's assets at KZT 30m (US $386,349). Currently, the company's major customers include railways, a number of privatised metal plants, and some regional electric power suppliers. AES intends to continue investing in GRES-1 and is considering opportunities to export electric power to Russia (via a the high voltage line between Ekibastuz and Omsk) and also to China. (Reuters)

According to an audit by Deloitte & Touche, the net profit of Kazkommertsbank (KKB) in January-June 1998 was KZT 1,014m (US $13.26m). The bank's capital increased to KZT 9,505m (US $124.3m) from KZT 3,701 (US $49.7m) in the same period last year. KKB's management owns 67.64% of the bank's shares and the remaining 32.36% is held by foreign and national investors. (Reuters)

The bank will hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on September 7 in order to make amendments to its charter. These changes are attributed to restructuring within the organisation. Besides, as KBB has signed an agreement with the EBRD on a US $40m loan with the option of converting the first tranche of US $20m to shares, the charter should accordingly be changed. Another issue on the meeting agenda is to approve the sale of 100% of KKB's shares in the Global Kazkommerts Investment Bank to Russia's Inkombank. (Interfax)

The state-owned company Pavlodartractor, Kazakhstan's largest machine-building enterprise based in Pavlodar (northern Kazakhstan), has been declared bankrupt and should be liquidated, said the deputy head of the Pavlodar regional administration, Mukhamedgali Ospanov, to Reuters. As of June 1, 1998, the company was in debt KZT 10,297,544 (US $134,187). According to Mr. Ospanov, the reason for the bankruptcy was the dramatic reduction in output. In 1997, the company produced only 7% of its 1991output. (Reuters)