Kazakhstan, Astana, May 7 / Trend A.Maratov /
The National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna of Kazakhstan announced that in support of the planned People's IPO programme outlined by President Nazarbayev in February 2011, it has appointed advisers for the coordination of the program.
Samruk-Kazyna has undertaken a highly competitive selection process for the provision of banking, legal, accounting and PR services to the program, and to advise on its structure, timetable and execution. The selection process took care to ensure a good balance of both domestic and international advisers, the company reported.
The following organizations have been appointed as advisers to the Fund for the purposes of the People's IPO program: International Investment Banks - Citi (Lead Adviser) and UBS AG, Domestic Investment Banks - JSC Visor Capital and JSC KazKom Securities, Accountants - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Legal Advisers - Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and GRATA Law Firm LLP and PR Advisers - Merlin.
The Fund and its advisers have commenced detailed preparatory work to determine the appropriate structure, process and timeline for the program. Detailed proposals for the program are due to be considered by Samruk-Kazyna in July and once approved further information will be made available as appropriate, the report reads.
"The People's IPO programme has been conceived to enable the people of Kazakhstan to directly participate in the growth of some of Kazakhstan's leading companies. It will also be an opportunity to develop the country's domestic capital market through incentivising the investment climate, and to diversify the overall economy, "Chief Executive of Samruk-Kazyna Timur Kulibayev said.
"Kazakhstan is committed to an IPO programme that is transparent, equitable and accessible to as much of the population as possible. With this in mind we have undertaken an exhaustive and highly competitive selection process to seek the qualified advisers at the best possible value to work with Samruk-Kazyna in the development and execution of the programme. We will make further announcements as the process develops and when we are in a position to provide further details. "