NSC of Kazakhstan takes measures to activate the stock market

/IRBIS, March 2, 00/ - REUTERS informs, with the reference to the head of public relations department of NSC Aleksandra Ivanova, that National securities commission of Kazakhstan (NSC) made the requirement on the shareholders' equity of the depositories more strict, and suspended the regulations requiring low liquid shares to be removed from the listing. From July 1, 2000 NSC increases minimum sufficiency level of shareholders' equity for conducting depository activities on the stock market. Thus, from July 1 JSC Central depository should raise its shareholders' equity up to 70,000 monthly calculation units from current 60,000 units, and increase it up to 90,000 monthly calculation units in a year. Mrs. Ivanova said it would increase the trust in Kazakhstani organized market. Monthly calculation unit was set at KZT725 from January 1, 2000. NSC has also suspended the regulations requiring delisting of the shares that were entered into official list of category "A" of Kazakhstan stock exchange (KASE), if within a year the volume of the deals made in them did not exceed half percent of total number of shares announced to the issue. "The regulation was not cancelled, it is suspended. It is because the market is inactive now and these requirements are too high. If shares are quoted - let them to be quoted, it is not necessary to sell them or make a delisting or transfer them to another category", said Mrs. Ivanova. A decision was made by NSC to let the combinations of following types of professional activities on the stock market: - custodial - with brokerage and dealing and with clearing activities on operations in securities; - investment management of pension assets - with securities portfolio management activities, also with brokerage and dealing activities; - depository - with maintaining the registry of securities owners of open people's joint stock company and with clearing activities on operations in securities. However, NSC ruled out the possibility of combining securities portfolio management activities with brokerage and dealing activities. In return, it is said securities portfolio managers can have a direct access to the stock market. All these decisions are expected to go into effect as the resolutions of NSC after they will be registered with the ministry of justice of Kazakhstan, is said.