ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 22. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan's Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC's (SK) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB' with a stable outlook, Trend reports.
The affirmation reflects Fitch's unchanged view of a high probability of state support for SK, given its government-related entity (GRE) status and its role as the state's strategic policy arm in Kazakhstan (BBB/Stable/F2). This is reflected in a support score of 45 points out of a maximum of 60.
Among the key factors, Fitch pointed out that SK manages a portfolio of strategically important national companies, as stipulated by national legislation. The state, as SK's sole shareholder, controls its strategic decisions, mandates key policies on debt, dividends, and investments, and appoints its seven-member board of directors and chief executive officer. Fitch therefore believes that a SK default would result in its assets and liabilities being unconditionally transferred to the state or a public entity designated by the state.
Fitch believes that SK's plan to privatize several subsidiaries in the medium term will be limited in scale and will not materially affect its status in Kazakhstan in the foreseeable future.
As Fitch explains, SK benefits from well-established national regulation that is generally supportive of its financial viability. As the manager of key state-owned companies in Kazakhstan, it receives a steady stream of dividends.
Companies under SK's management constitute the core of Kazakhstan's economic wealth. SK's assets accounted for an average of 38 percent of national GDP in 2018–2022, and SK is a large employer, with 259,000 employees at the group level (3 percent of the national workforce). Fitch therefore views a failure or disruption to SK's operations as having long-term economic implications and hampering economic development.
SK is a national strategic holding company with assets contributing to the development of the Kazakh economy. SK has stakes in more than 60 companies in various sectors, including natural resources, railways, transport, energy, infrastructure, and postal services.