Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 21
By Elena Kosolapova – Trend:
At least 25 percent of shares of the biggest national companies of Kazakhstan will be privatized through the IPO (initial public offering) planned program, Deputy Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Aidar Arifhanov told reporters in Baku Dec. 21.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the 6th meeting of economy ministers of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.
Arifhanov recalled that partial privatization of the biggest Kazakh companies will be carried out within the IPO program until 2020.
These companies are KazMunayGas, Kazatomprom, Samruk-Energy, Kazpost, Air Astana.
The deputy minister noted that in Kazakhstan, the level of the government’s involvement in the economy is quite high, up to 60 percent.
“Our goal is to reduce it to the standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to 15 percent,” said Arifhanov.
He said that the Kazatomprom, Kazpost and Samruk-Energy national companies will be the first to be privatized through the IPO in late 2017-early 2018. The consultants who prepare the privatization program of these companies have been attracted.
“Other companies will be privatized through the IPO until 2020,” he said.
“We are open to the participation of foreign investors in the IPO program,” he said.
Arifhanov recalled that the current privatization program, which started in 2014 and will last until 2020, includes 783 companies, both big and small ones.
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