Kazakhstan is to sell portion of shares of Kazakhtelecom "at retail" via post

/REUTERS, Almaty, Olzhas Auezov, November 6, 06/ - Kazakhstan state holding Samruk, which manages the state-owned stake of big state-owned companies, will offer portion of shares of the biggest statement of fixed communication Kazakhtelecom to small investors via post-offices, said Ulf Vokurka, the deputy chairman of the holding. Earlier Samruk imparted that it will sell on domestic market 4.6 percent of shares of Kazakhtelecom, in which it owns about 56 percent. "At least, part (of being offered holding) will be offered to retail investors via Kazpost," said the deputy chairman on the financial conference in Almaty. Vokurka also said that the privatization of Kazakhtelecom will go on. "In medium-term perspective the state-owned holding can be reduced to blocking, i.e. 25 percent," he said. Kazakhtelecom owns 49 percent of the biggest GSM-statement of the country, GSM Kazakhstan (trade marks K'Cell and Activ), and at the beginning of this year acquired company Mobile Telecom Service, which possesses its own license for cellular communication. Other companies that are the part of the holding, among which are railway monopoly Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, operator of main electrical networks KEGOC and Kazpost, will be ready to IPO by the end of next year, informed Vokurka. He specified that not all companies as a result can become public, and in some cases shares of their sub-divisions will be displayed on trades, as in case with the company Exploration Production Kazmunaygas, oil-producing "daughter" of the state company Kazmunaygas. [2006-11-06]