Kazakhstan financial supervision removes limits for foreign participation in banks

/REUTERS, Alma-Ata, February 16, 05/ - Kazakhstan financial supervision agency plans to remove 50% limitation for foreign investors' participation in banking sector's capital, the agency's head said. "This limitation has become out of date and it should be removed from the legislation", - said Bolat Zhamishev on Wednesday at the press-conference. "We are preparing necessary corrections for the legislation ", - he added. As Zhamishev says, at present foreign participation in total capital of Kazakhstan banks is close to 50%, however even before changes are included in the legislation the agency can individually give permissions for deals, which will cause exceeding of the barrier. Foreign investors own shareholdings of two largest Kazakhstan banks: Kazkommertsbank and TuranAlem, and the third largest one - Halyk - is now negotiating about selling 25% of shares to a western bank. Besides, Kazkommerts examines the possibility to offer a new share issue in London, and TuranAlem continues negotiations with Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich, which wants to buy the control shareholding of the bank. Subsidiary banks of Citigroup, ABN AMRO and HSBC are also working in Kazakhstan. Alma-ata bureau, +7 3272 50 85 00, reuters@newsroom.almaty.kz [2005-02-16]