Pension funds of Kazakhstan want to invest in Atyrau-Samara oil pipeline

/IRBIS, Jan.06, 00/ - REUTERS informs, with the reference to head of Association of pension funds Aidar Alibaev, pension funds consider investment in modernization project of a single export pipeline Atyrau- Samara attractive, however do not see legal mechanisms for doing so. "In terms of return for pension funds and investment of assets in this project it is OK and interesting, but another thing is impossibility of direct inflow of assets, there is no such way", said Aidar at the press-conference. By a current legislation pension assets can not be used in projects as direct investments, it is possible only by purchasing shares of the companies involved in the project. "There is a settled mechanism, when an enterprise registers its issue prospectus at Kazakhstan stock exchange. And only then pension funds can invest their assets in the shares of these enterprises, that is they can buy shares in this project", he said. Pension funds wait for the government to get into the stock market not only so-called "blue chips", but also enterprises of "the second echelon". Kazakhstan has 15 private pension funds and one state fund. Total assets of these funds exceed KZT62 bln as of December 20 ($448.6 mln). The government and KazTransOil are expected to come up with the mechanisms for implementing Atyrau-Samara reconstruction project by the end of 2000. Radostovets earlier said special projects would be developed to invest pension in big companies with significant shares of the government in them. The Ministry of labor and social protection, headed by Radostovets, are to make two new laws on pension system and change current legislature on pension funds. By current regulations, pension funds can invest their clients' deposits in state securities, municipal bonds, shares of enterprises, which are included in "A" listing at Kazakhstan stock exchange, securities of international financial organizations and bank deposits, whose list is set by the National Bank. This pipeline is the only exporting route in Kazakhstan so far. Its capacity is 11 mln tons a year. Kazakhstan plans to start the reconstruction this year to increase the capacity up to 15 mln tons. Head of KazTransOil, Timur Kulibaev, estimate the cost of the project at $37.5 mln. Annual production of oil in Kazakhstan reaches about 27 mln tons. In 11 months of last year the country exported 11.2 mln tons of oil, 9.6 of which flowed through Atyrau-Samara pipeline.