EBRD plans to buy 10 pct of Kazakh GNPF pension fund

/REUTERS, Almaty, Olzhas Auyezov, March 3, 05/ - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD.UL] plans to buy 10 percent in Kazakh state-run pension fund, GNPF, in a first step towards its privatisation, the Kazakh central bank said on Thursday. The Central Asian state's government and central bank hope that the EBRD's participation in the capital of one of the oil-rich nation's largest pension funds could facilitate their quest for a strategic investor who would buy a majority stake. "A decision has been taken to launch an additional issue of (GNPF) shares worth a total of ($442,000)," central bank head Anvar Saidenov told a news conference. "This volume is likely to be acquired by the EBRD, in which case its share will amount to 10 percent of (GNPF's) charter capital," Saidenov added. He gave no timeframe for the deal with the EBRD, the development bank for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, but hinted that it was expected soon. GNPF is controlled by the central bank which holds 64 percent of its shares, and the rest is owned by the government. The fund accounts for some 22 percent of Kazakhstan's total pension fund assets currently estimated at $3.7 billion. Kazakhstan, rich in oil, non-ferrous and rare-earth metals and other minerals, was the first post-communist state to pioneer pension reform in January 1998 and allow its citizens to accumulate their future pensions in funds of their choice. Apart from GNPF, there are 14 private pension funds in the vast nation of 15 million. Kazakh pension funds have turned into key investors and the government plans to launch special "infrastructure bonds" to develop large-scale modernisation projects in the country and meet the funds' hunger for investment outlets. Andre Kuusvek, head of the EBRD resident mission in Kazakhstan, told journalists that the bank might eventually add an extra 10 percent to its planned 10-percent share in GNPF. Saidenov said shares in the first 10 percent of the fund would be sold at their nominal price. But he said the central bank and the government had yet to decide how to hold the second stage of privatisation. ((Writing by Dmitry Solovyov, Editing by Ron Askew; Reuters Messaging: dmitry.solovyev.reuters.com@reuters.net, almaty.newsroom@reuters.com; +7 3272 508500 [2005-03-03]