Sokolovsko-Sarbaisky Mining and Concentrating Plant (SSMCP), Kazakhstan's largest iron ore producer based in the north of Kazakhstan, presently ships 400,000 tonnes of ore per month. This information was released to journalists by Alexander Mashkevich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eurasian Bank. Mr. Mashkevich noted that this is a rather small volume since the plant is capable of producing one million tonnes of ore each month. Currently, the SSMCP is supplying ore to the Magnitogorsk Metal Plant in Russia. According to Mashkevich, the plant "will have to make a number of reductions" in order to survive the current financial crisis. (Interfax)

The national telephone operator, Kazakhtelecom, and Germany's Siemens AG signed an agreement in Shymkent on 27 March to start the construction of the western branch of the National Information Trunk Line (NITL). The total cost of the branch is estimated at DM 158m. According to the Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Tourism, Serik Burkitbaev, this fibre optic line will run from the towns of Shymkent and Kyzyl-Orda in the south of the country to the town of Aktobe in the north and on to Atyray in the west. It will be then connected to Russia's fibre optic line, the Rostov-na-Dony - Astrakhan.

The framework agreement for the construction of the 10,000 km NITL was signed in August 1998. In October 1998, the southern branch of the trunk line went into operation. It runs from China to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, via Kazakhstan's regions of Almaty, Zhambyl, and South-Kazakhstan.

Siemens will carry out contractual works and will supply equipment according to a 5-year loan agreement. Mr. Burkitbaev says that the project is expected to reach the pay back point in 4.5 years. (Interfax)

At their meeting on 19 March, the shareholders of Halyk Savings Bank of Kazakhstan (HSBK) decided to postpone the planned 4^th issue of shares worth KZT 301.2m (USD 3.45m). The Deputy Finance Minister, Daniyar Abulagzin, said that the Kazakhstani government recommended that HSBK's shareholders postpone this issue until the government determines its privatisation plan. The government is the bank's major shareholder, owning 80% of the bank's shares. "We confirm once again that the government has clear intentions to privatise the Halyk Bank," Mr. Abulgazin said.

The HSBK has 43,000 shareholders. Apart from the Kazakhstani government, the bank's shares are held by the bank's depositors (10%), and by the limited partnership Delta (10%). (Reuters)

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JSC Neftebank (Listing A on the KASE) has submitted its financial statement—a balance sheet and an income statement as of 31 December 1998—to the KASE. The bank reported a net income of KZT 89,767,000 (over USD 1m) in 1998. On 31 December 1998, it had a paid-in authorised capital of KZT 479.20 (USD 5.5m), a 47.5% rise compared with that in 1997. The bank's shareholder equity increased 15.7% to KZT 852m (USD 9.8m), exclusively due to the increased proportion of paid-in shares. Compared to 31 December 1997, the book value of Neftebank's shares decreased by 21.6% to KZT 489.93 (IRBIS)