Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 30
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
Freezing Kazakhstan’s assets will not have an immediate impact on the creditworthiness of the country, Moody's said in a message Jan. 30.
The assets of the National Fund (NF) of Kazakhstan, worth $22.6 billion, were frozen on Dec. 20, 2017, after trials in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In addition, a pre-trial recovery was imposed on 50 percent of KMG Kashagan B.V. shares, belonging to Samruk-Kazyna (SK) Holding Company.
Despite the Dutch court’s decision to unfreeze the assets of Kazakhstan NF on Jan. 23, 2018, the restriction imposed by the Belgian court remains in force until the final decision on the case, which is expected in early March.
Moody's said that ongoing legal disputes are not directly related to the sovereign credit profile of Kazakhstan as well as the credit ratings of quasi-public companies, including NC KazMunaiGas JSC and other state-owned enterprises that are not directly involved in the arbitration process.