Tag Archives: sovereign wealth fund

Kazakh government to generate billions through IPOs

OCT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh government said it would restructure Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna in order to generate $11.2b in sales and savings.

Costs will be cut and unwanted assets sold off through the much vaunted, but still-to-emerge, People’s IPO.

The government wants to half the number of companies administered by the fund and sell up to 10% in selected strategic national companies such as electric grid operator KEGOC, energy holding Samruk-Energo, railroad major Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, and the national nuclear agency KazAtomProm.

Samruk-Kazyna is the main tool through which the Kazakh government controls companies. The fund accounts for 10.5% of Kazakhstan’s GDP and its assets are valued at $100b.

The timing of such a large restructuring is important. Economic growth rates across the region have been halved over the past few months as Russia’s sanction-hit economy tips into recession.

It may just have been time to for the Kazakh government to get serious about cutting costs and raising revenue.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)

Kazakh Air Astana plans IPO

JUNE 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Air Astana will aim for an IPO within three years, Peter Foster, its CEO, said, according to media. Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund owns 51% of Air Astana and BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) owns 49%. The Kazakh government has been looking to privatise various companies it owns.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Azerbaijan to buy reminbi

JUNE 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund (Sofaz) will buy $1.8b of renminbi, China’s currency, this year, Shahmar Movsumov, Sofaz CEO, told the FT. Mr Movsumov’s statement underlines both the rise of the renminbi and the growing status of Sofaz as an investor.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)

Azerbaijan buys office block in South Korea

APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s state oil fund bought an office block in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, for $447m, underlining its intent to continue a global shopping spree it started a couple of years ago.

The 25-story Pine Avenue Tower A is Azerbaijan’s first property purchase in the Asia Pacific region.

It follows high profile buys in London, Paris and Moscow in 2012.

Increasingly wealthy, Azerbaijan’s oil fund is worth about $34b. Azerbaijan has openly invested in property, currencies and equities in a drive to build growth and assets for future generations.

“This is a large transaction and shows our belief in the continued strength of major Asian real estate markets which have shown stable returns historically,” Shahmar Movsumov, director of the oil fund, said in a statement.

Critics of the Azerbaijani authorities, though, have said that the oil fund is being wasted on prestige projects. The oil fund expects to spend about $1b on real estate in Asia and Australia this year.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)

Azerbaijan’s SOFAZ posts high growth

JAN. 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s state oil fund, SOFAZ, increased by 5.1% in 2013 to $35.9b, media reported. SOFAZ is the rainy day fund that the Azerbaijani government uses to save cash for future generations. It invests in major infrastructure projects such as oil pipelines and railway tracks.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)

Kazakhstan Development Bank chief quits

NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Nurlan Kussainov, the CEO of the state-owned Kazakhstan Development Bank, resigned, local media reported. Media reports didn’t specify why Mr Kussainov quit the post he had held since April 2011. Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna controls the Kazakhstan Development Bank.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Azerbaijan’s SOFAZ increases investment

NOV. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Assets under the management of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) have risen by $1.7b to $35.8b this year, media reported. SOFAZ is Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund. It has been on an overseas spending spree over the past couple of years. Around 65% of its assets are in Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 159, published on Nov. 6 2013)

Samruk-Kazyna sells non-core assets in Kazakhstan

OCT. 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund, is continuing to dispense its non-core assets, managing director, Nurlan Rakhmetov, said in a media interview. Mr Rakhmetov said 409 of 560 non-core assets, such as nursing homes and hotels, had already been dropped. Samruk-Kazyna manages roughly $80b worth of assets.

(News report from Issue No. 155, published on Oct. 9 2013)

Corporate governance improved at Kazakh SWF

AUG. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with the FT, Umirzak Shukeyev, chairman of Kazakhstan’s $80b sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, said he wanted to streamline the organisation and improve corporate governance standards. Over the past few years, Kazakh companies have attracted increased criticism on governance issues.

(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)

Azerbaijan funds resort in Montenegro

JULY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has been on something of a spending spree. Whether through SOFAZ, the state’s oil fund, or through SOCAR, the state energy company, Azerbaijan’s government has spent millions of dollars on overseas investments.

These included properties in some of the world’s most expensive cities — SOFAZ bought an office block in London’s St James’ for $286m in 2012, then spent $180m on property in Paris and $133m on a building in Moscow — as well as large currency deals and gold purchases.

Property prices in London and Paris are soaring and gold is seen as a sensible long-term bet so these appear solid investments. Azerbaijan’s latest investment, though, strikes an off-beat cord.

Azerbaijani and Russian news website reported comments made in Moscow by the visiting PM of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, on July 12. He said SOCAR had agreed to spend 500m euro building a new luxury resort on Montenegro’s attractive Adriatic coast.

Various websites have since reported that two private companies, Triangle Investments and Developments Limited and Azmont Investments LLC, will pursue the project on behalf of SOCAR.

For most countries, spending 500m euro on building a luxury resort in Montenegro is a risky investment choice.

(News report from Issue No. 144, published on July 22 2013)