Monthly review for April 2009: Kazakhstan

In this issue:

3 Laws & Legislations
3-4 Politics and Economics
3 Kazakhstan ready to search for ways to overcome crisis together with other states
3 March inflation in Kazakhstan is 0.8 %
3 642 factories shut down, unemployment rate up to 7% in Kazakhstan
3 Kazakh parliament approves 2009 budget amendments
4 Kazakhstan awaits billions in investments promised by China and the UAE
4 Retail commodity turnover in I quarter 2009 decreased by 3.4 %
4 Small and medium-sized businesses need 450 billion tenge worth of loans
4 Kazakhstan faces high risk of sovereign rating downgrade
5 Banking
5 Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank says it halts principal debt payments
5 S&P downgrades BTA Bank ratings and confirmed its subsidiaries ratings
5 BCC profits slide 64% while deposits surge 36% in 2008
5 Kaspi Bank to double retail lending in 2009
5 NBRK to resell 11.97% stake in Delta Bank under reverse REPO
5 Alliance Bank to keep paying short-term commitments
5 HR News
6-7 Corporate News
6 Kazakhmys profit falls 36% on slump in copper prices
6 Orsu Metals says Varvarinskoye fails debt obligations due 31 March 2009
6 KPO concludes long-term contracts with Kazakh companies to 40 billion tenge
6 KazTransOil increased oil transportation by 4.3 %
6 Assets of Aktau Sea Trade Port in 2008 increased by 36.3 %
7 KazEnergoCable brings investments down by 71% in 2009
7 Steppe to raise 10 mln pounds in offer ; profit halves
7 KazMunaiGas to sign contracts for $400 million
7 Alhambra Resources gets positive court arbitration ruling in Kazakhstan
7 Indian joint venture to invest $400 mln in Satpayev block
7 ZhaikMunai could be target for TNK-BP
7 IPO and M&A news
8 KASE & Last month gainers/losers