Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan extended primary dealer contracts with 13 organizations

/IRBIS, Oct 16, 01/ - National Bank of Kazakhstan informed the Central Depository of Securities CJSC (Almaty) that the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan extended primary dealer contracts with 13 legal entities that work on GS (government securities) market as dealers. The list consists of: - Eurasian Bank CJSC; - CITIBANK Kazakhstan CJSC; - ABN AMRO Bank Kazakhstan CJSC; - HSBC Bank Kazakhstan CJSC; - TEXAKABANK OJSC; - AMB OJSC; - Caspian Bank OJSC; - Bank TuranAlem OJSC; - Bank CenterCredit OJSC; - KAZKOMMERTSBANK OJSC; - Kazpost OJSC; - Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan OJSC; - Temirbank OJSC. Head offices of these companies are located in financial capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. The National Bank of Kazakhstan also can work as a primary dealer on the market, which is a financial agent of the Ministry of Finance in handling the transactions with the GS. The institution of Ministry of Finance primary dealers has been in existence in Kazakhstan since the issue of the first GS of the Ministry of Finance - government treasury bills, that is since April 1994. From that time all transactions with GS on primary and secondary markets are made by the investors through primary dealers or with mandatory notification of the primary dealers (if GS deals are made at KASE). Primary dealers maintain the registers of GS holders of their clients, by providing information on the movements and ownership over GS to Central Depository of Securities CJSC, which maintains a single national register of GS holders. Besides, primary dealers have a number of obligations to the Ministry of Finance in maintaining liquidity of primary market of GS. The criteria used by the Ministry of Finance to select the candidates for the primary dealers, and the requirements set for the primary dealers are described in the order #396 of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan "On selection of primary dealers on government securities market", dated August 2, 1999, which was registered with the Ministry of Justice on September 7, 1999 under the number 884.