Monthly review for February 2009: Kazakhstan

In this issue:

3 Laws & Legislations
3-4 Politics and Economics
3 There will be no second wave of devaluation in Kazakhstan
3 KZT cash-in-circulation declines 16.8% MoM to KZT714bn in January
3 Food prices soar as KZT tumbles
3 US$2.5bn deposits move from national to foreign currency in January
4 Fitch shifts Kazakh outlook to negative, cuts banks
4 Experts predict further falling house prices in Almaty in 2009
5 Banking
5 Kazakh backbone banks to receive 476 billion tenge from the state funds, allocated for stabilizing the banking sector
5 Fitch downgrades foreign subsidiaries of BTA Bank and Kazkommertsbank
5 Tsesnabank repays $33.48mn of domestic bonds
5 Halyk Bank to place 326.7m additional shares at KZT102.02 per share
5 Sberbank in acquisition talks with BTA Bank
5 HR News
6-7 Corporate News
6 Caspian Holdings’s loss of Zhengeldy appeal forces financial problems
6 Asia-Auto looses US$5m in 2008
6 BMB Munai reports predictably weak 3Q09 results (2008/2009)
6 Centerra Gold’s earnings and gold production increase in 4Q2008
6 Tethys Petroleum successfully tests Akkulka gas pipeline
7 KMG EP updates on devaluation and financial holdings
7 Kazakhmys plans to invest in exploration and new deposits
7 Max Petroleum increases credit facility
7 Steppe Cement posts preliminary results for FY2008
7 IPO and M&A news
8 KASE & Last month gainers/ losers