Fitch has upgraded long-term rating of Development bank of Kazakhstan to "ВВ"

15.10.02 00:00
/REUTERS, London, October 15, 02/ - International rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded long-term rating of Development Bank of Kazakhstan to "ВВ" from "ВВ-". Thebank's short-term rating and support rating are on the levels "В" and "4Т". Ratings' outlook - positive. Upgrading of the long-term rating of Development Bank of Kazakhstan followed upgrading of long-term rating of Kazakhstan to "ВВ+" from "ВВ" on October 11. Below is the text of Fitch's message in English: (The following statement was released by the ratings agency). LONDON, Oct 15 - Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency, has today upgraded the Long-term rating of Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) to 'BB' from 'BB-' (BB minus). The bank's Short-term and Support ratings are 'B' and 4T' respectively. The Outlook remains Positive. This change follows Fitch's decision on 11 October 2002 to upgrade the Long- term foreign currency rating of the Republic of Kazakhstan to 'BB+' from 'BB'. The rating action reflects Fitch's opinion that DBK's rating is linked to that of the sovereign due to the bank's majority ownership by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its anticipated role in developing the country's production infrastructure. The Positive Outlook reflects Fitch's opinion that, once the bank has established a track record of meeting its stated objectives and has shown itself to be of importance to the development of the Kazakhstani economy, it may be upgraded to the level of the Kazakhstani sovereign Long-term foreign currency rating. This would be on the basis, in the agency's view, of the increased likelihood of support from the Kazakhstani authorities, if needed. The press release detailing the sovereign rating upgrade can be found on the agency's web site, www.fitchratings.com. [2002-10-15]