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| 24 August 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Politics and Macroeconomics |
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Oil
And Gas Condensate Export Increased |
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Kazakhstan
exported 25,101,200 tonnes of oil and gas condensate from January to
June 2004, a 16% increase from what was exported from January to June of
last year. According to the National Statistical Agency, exports
totalled USD 4,524,700 (up 34%). Meanwhile the import of natural gas for
the reported period was 6.554 bcm, a 43% increase valued at USD 205.6
Million (up 48%). For
the period from January to June 2004, the country exported 1,069,400
tonnes of petrochemicals (up 26%) valued at USD 185 Million (up 73%
respectively). At the same time, it increased the import of
petrochemicals by 2.1 times, reaching 938,000 tonnes valued at USD 212.9
Million (up 2.3 times). The
country produced 24,457,300 tonnes of crude oil and 3,734,800 tonnes of
condensate which is 10% and 27% respectfully, more than it was from
January to June of last year. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
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Investments Exceed KZT 600 Billion |
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According
to Kazakhstan Statistics Agency, within the first seven months of 2004,
the volume of investments into fixed assets of Kazakhstani enterprises
increased by 11.2% and totalled KZT 638.1 Billion. The main sources of
investment are enterprises’ assets (over 60%), foreign investment
(27%), and budgets of all levels (12%). Investments
increased in practically in all oblasts of the republic. The most
considerable funds were invested into fixed assets of enterprises in
Atyrau, East Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, Kostanay, Almaty Oblast and Astana.
The oil and gas industry remains a priority for investors. The
machine-building industry and construction also experienced increased
investment. (Kazakhstan
Today)
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Equities |
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The KASE-Shares index decreased by 9.97% to 176.80 by the end of period on August 17 2004. KASE-Shares
index and weekly volume of trades
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Note:
KASE-Shares index is based on ask prices for equities in A Listing In the period between August 11 and August
17 2004, the volume of equity trades at the KASE increased to USD
21,385,881 from USD 13,490,568 in the previous period. The shares traded
during the period were common shares of Almaty Kus (ALKS), Bank
TuranAlem (BTAS), Kazakhmys (KZMS), Ordabasy (ORDB), UKTMK
(UTMK), ValutTransit Bank (VTBN), ValutTransit Zoloto
(VTZL) and Zerde (ZERD) and preferred shares of Kazkommertsbank
(KKGBp) and ValutTransit Bank (VTBNp).
(Irbis)
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Company News |
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Oil & Gas |
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The
National Oil and Gas Company, KazMunayGas plans to purchase the Plastic
Mass Plant (PMP). The Kazakhstani Company, SAT & Co will hold 50%
shares, and will participate in one-half of the ownership and take part
in restoration of the petrochemical facility in the Mangystau Oblast,
the Deputy Oblast Akim, Askar Kasabekov said. The
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources approved the foundation of the
National Petrochemical Industrial Park (NPCHIP), a FEZ (Free Economic
Zone) Thus, “plants that are included into the petrochemical facility,
such as PMP, KazGRP in Zhanaozen and Atyrau ORP where a restoration of a
benzol production workshop is being planned, would be exempted from a
number of taxes for the duration of their initial development”, Mr.
Kasabekov remarked. Mr.
Kasabekov said that around USD 150-200 Million would be required for the
launch of the entire petrochemical chain. Approximately 1 billion cubic
meters of gas per year would be needed for the petrochemical facility to
operate. As a comparison, the MAEK-KazAtomProm facility consumes almost
1.5-2 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The
process of restoration and formation of the NPCHIP will begin during
early 2005. “It is very good project. For the last 3 years, the price
for polystyrene increased 50% globally -it is currently nearly USD 100
per 1 ton of polystyrene. In the petrochemical market, PMP is in great
demand. The plant possesses many opportunities ” he said. (Kazakhstan
Today) *** In
January – July 2004, TengizChevroil (TCO, develops Tengiz deposit in
western Kazakhstan) pumped 8.3 million tonnes of oil through the CPC
export pipeline, including oil produced in December 2003, reads a TCO
press release. In January - July 2004, TCO extracted 7.8 million tonnes
of oil with a daily average extraction of 286,070 barrels. In 2003,
extraction volume totalled 12.7 million tonnes with a daily extraction
of 277,000 barrels. Currently, TCO produces 2-3 bcm of associated gas
annually. For
the accounting period TCO sold 1.9 mcm of dry gas, including 0.7 mcm
delivered to Russia. Sales volume of dry gas in 2003 totalled 3.2 mcm,
including 1.3 mcm that was sold to Russia. For the first seven months of
this year, TCO sold 446,752 tonnes of sulphur (in 2003 sales volume
totalled 410,000 tonnes). The product was exported to Mediterranean
countries, China and Russia. TCO
“supports the efforts of Kazakhstan to achieve maximum utilization of
domestic resources, specifically in production and services from
national manufacturers and suppliers for the entire amount of production
and services purchased.” Thus, in 2003 the cost of goods and services
received from Kazakhstani manufacturers, contractors and suppliers
totalled USD 563 Million. This figure will be USD 600 Million in 2004. (Interfax-Kazakhstan) *** Larry
Andersen has been appointed as the president and general asset manager
of BG Kazakhstan, a company press release read. Andersen
brings over 30 years of industry experience from his long-time role at
Texaco, now ChevronTexaco, including leading the reconstruction of the
Kuwait oilfields and overseeing Texaco’s entry into the Karachaganak
project in 1997. According
to the EVP and Managing Director for Asia and Middle East, Dave Roberts,
“this represents a significant leadership change for our business in
Kazakhstan, which we hope will enable us to increase our cooperation and
understanding with our government and contracting partners in the
Karachaganak venture. The positioning of senior management in Kazakhstan
marks a new phase in our involvement here”. Currently,
BG Kazakhstan is a joint operator of the gas and condensate deposit
Karachaganak holding a 32.5% share, and it is also a CPC stockholder
with a 2% share. (Kazakhstan Today) *** The
Norwegian-based company, Aker Kvaerner signed a letter of intent for
construction of floating rigs as well as a facility for performing this
project in the Caspian Sea. The
customer for the seven barges appears to be Agip Kazakhstan North
Caspian Operating Company N.V., the operator of the North Caspian
project in Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea sector. The barges are chiefly
designed for the first phase of development of the Kashagan deposit. The
final negotiations and the conclusion of the contract are scheduled for
autumn. The
size of each barge is 95 x 16 m, and the frame height is 5.5 m. Three of
these barges will be equipped with oil treatment plants, two will have
gas drying plants and glycol regeneration, one will be fitted with an
emergency electrical power station and another one will house fire
fighting equipment. The frames for these units will be built at the Aker Tulcea plants and Brailov dockyards in Rumania, then they will later be fitted with equipment at the Norwegian city of Egersun and later at Astrakhanskiy Korabel plants. (RusEnergy) |
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Banking and Finance |
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Within
the first half of 2004, the OJSC ValutTransit Bank’s (VTBN) ForEx/gold
holdings have doubled and now total KZT 1.4 Billion, the bank’s press
service has disclosed. As of July 1, the majority (over 65%) of
ForEx/gold holdings include bars of affined gold and salaries
corresponding to world standards (9999). From
January through June 2004, VTBN net gold reserves in the form of affined
precious metals increased 32% (in current plans) and totalled KZT 920
Million. Gold
purchases on the domestic market have resulted in an increase in
ForEx/gold holdings. Boost of volume of standard gold species totalled
over 5,000 ounces. The overall increase of VTBN ForEx/gold holdings
within the first half of year, including foreign currency amounted to
KZT 728 Million. (Kazakhstan
Today) *** Canadian
based PetroKazakhstan Inc. has announced that it is proceeding with
renewal of its normal course issuer bid in connection with its share
repurchase program. According to the press service, as part of the
program, they plan to repurchase up to 7,091,429 Class A common shares
through the Toronto Stock Exchange, representing 10% of its public stock
floatation. All shares that have been purchased under the share
repurchase program by the Corporation will be cancelled. The
renewed share repurchase program will commence on August 13, 2004 and
terminate On August 12, 2005. The renewal of the normal course issuer
bid is in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders as
it provides the company with a reasonable and flexible way of
rebalancing their capital structure. PetroKazakhstan
is an integrated international energy company that has been working in
Kazakhstan for seven years. It is involved in oil exploration,
production, export, refinement and sale of petroleum products. The
Corporation is the owner of the Shymkent refinery. PetroKazakhstan's
shares are traded on four international stock exchanges, in Canada on
the Toronto Stock Exchange, in the United States on the New York Stock
Exchange, in the United Kingdom on the London Stock Exchange and in
Germany on the Frankfurt Exchange. (Interfax-Kazakhstan) *** International
experts say that Kazakhstan is experiencing an acceptable level of bank
competition for present conditions. This is despite the fact that “the
bank sector has a high level of concentration in assets, loans and
deposits,” say experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
World Bank (WBN). This
opinion is contained in a report of the joint mission of IMF and WBN
presented by the Chair of the State Financial Supervisory Agency Bolat
Zhamishev at a news conference Thursday in Almaty. Earlier, Kazakhstani
premier Daniyal Akhmetov communicated the necessity of reforming the
banking system due to a high level of monopolization. “There are many
problems in the financial sector.
These certainly include the monopolization of the three main
banking institutions”, the head of the government told a press
conference in early August. (The Kazakhstani bank system is based on the
three largest commercial banks; Kazkommertsbank, Bank TuranAlem and
Halyk Saving Bank, which amount to approximately 65% of all bank sector
in the country). However,
Zhamishev said that in the opinion of the IMF and WBN mission “the
level of concentration in the banking sector is comparable to similar
parameters in the European countries.” As
of August 1, 2004, there were 35 second-tier banks, including 2 that
were state owned, 15 with foreign participation, including 10 affiliates
of non-resident banks. The
total banking assets as of the end of July 2004, reached KZT 2,021.7
Billion from about KZT 1,677 Billion in January 2004, aggregate
estimated capital – KZT 278.5 Billion from KZT 233.51 Billion
respectively (current exchange rate 135.21/$1). (Interfax-Kazakhstan) *** During
the first half of August, an increase in international reserves in the
Kazakhstani Halyk Bank has been observed, HSBK press service disclosed. At
current prices, HSBK net international reserves have increased by 0.4%
(or USD 29.9 Million). Purchases in the domestic currency market and
exchange receipts on the account of Kazakhstani Finance Ministry to HSBK
have resulted in the replenishment of net currency reserves (FC), an
increase of USD 21.6 Million. Assets in gold have also increased USD 8.3
Million as a result of operations carried out by HSBK and growth in the
price of gold in world markets was 0.8%. In constant prices, HSBK net international reserves have grown 0.4%, net assets in Free Currency – 0.4%, assets in gold have increased 0.4%. International reserves as a whole (in current prices, including the National Fund (according to preliminary data, USD 3,742.800), totalled USD 10,432.100. Growth in previous months totalled 0.4%. (KazInform) |
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Metals and Mining |
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On
Thursday in the city of Yekaterinburg, the Sverdlovsk railway (SvRW, a
subsidiary of RRW) and the National Railway Company, Kazakhstan Temir
Zholy (KTZH) signed a protocol on coal transportation from the Ekibastuz
coal basin in 2004-2005 to Sverdlovsk Oblast consumers, the SvRW press
service said. A
term reduction for train travel time and parking loaded with Ekibastuz
coal, as well as an increase in train turnover is expected. During the
meeting Kazakhstani and Russian representatives signed this protocol for
the period of 2004-2005 on coal supply. The
necessity for acceleration in the turnover of coal trains going from the
Ekibastuz coal basin to the Middle Urals was noted. The Meeting
participants also remarked that Ekibastuz coal was a strategically
important raw material resource for the Sverdlovsk Oblast industry, most
notably for the metallurgy plants of Sverdlovenergo. The
necessity for increasing the mean speed of the cargo trains was also
acknowledged, and that setting fixed movement schedules and updating and
repairing rolling stock was also very important. By
the end of 2004 and the first half of 2005, it is expected to reduce the
inactivity of trains during the unloading process to 0.1 of an hour, and
to increase the mean speed by 10%, as well as to fix the 9 electric
locomotives VL-11 at the coal routes to the Sverdlovenergo plants. (KazInform) *** A
Production facility designed to improve the quality of fuel has been
commissioned at the world largest coal strip mine, Bogatyr, in the city
of Ekibastuz. Five years ago, experts from the company justified in
technical terms the original project of coal blending directly on the
conveyer during loading with a various types of coal Currently,
during the blending process, two rotary bucket excavators CPC (k)-2000,
work simultaneously for one conveyer. A new loading crane boosted the
volume of coal shipment by five times. All technology is equipped with
electronic control systems for the automated maintenance of specified
productivity. The German firm, Man Takraf, makes the equipment for the
new facility. For now, miners are able to supply consumers with up to 14 million tonnes of blending fuel per year. The LLP Bogatyr Access Komir has invested USD 28 Million into the project. According to specialists’ estimates, these assets will be paid off by 3.5 years. (KazInform)
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Energy and Power |
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JSC
Ust-Kamenogorsk Condensate Plant has purchased new high-tech equipment
that will increase its opportunities, not only in electrical machinery
production but also in developing a new line of production in the
sheet-bending specter. According
to the general director of the plant, Viktor Aksenov, the new equipment
was purchased from a German branch of a Japanese firm called Amada. The
press “Europe 245\27” and the sheet bending press, HFT-802\2,
operating together enable the company to work according to international
standards, both qualitative and time wise. Earlier, it would take 1-2
months to process an order and now it takes the plant several days to a
week. “Surely, this extremely automated equipment requires special training by experts. The personnel operating the equipment were trained separately from the primary production operations. No one has such equipment in all of Kazakhstan”, the plant director proudly emphasized. (KazInform)
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Transport and Telecommunications |
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The
Kostanay Diesel Plant (KDP) began spending credit assets allocated to
the OJSC Agromash Holding by the Kazakhstani Development Bank, the
holding’s press service disclosed. As was reported earlier, by the end
of summer 2005, it is anticipated to utilize USD 4,369,000 at KDP.
Credit assets are being sent for the preparation to the full-scale
commissioning of the plant’s primary power. As
a result of upgrading of production, by the end of the year, the KDP
will utilize (upon request of the Altay Motor Plant) 70 spare parts and
blocks. It is expected that the number of workplaces in KDP would be
increased up to 1000 persons (currently some 330 people work at the
plant). The
overall volume of KDBN credit for the holding is USD 8 Million. It
expects to receive USD 20 Million from KDBN for the development of the
KDP and service centres by February 1, 2005. (Kazakhstan
Today) *** The
municipal court of Astana, Justice Zhanar Zhumabaeva, presiding, made a
resolution that the Kazakhstani Agency on Information and Communication
(AIC) has no legal right to conduct a competition for the transmission
of radio frequencies for the creation of a new network of mobile
communications, according to an old law, “On Communication”, the
legal company Steiner und Zingermann LLP director Kanat Asylov said. The
Kazakhstani AIC will therefore postpone the tender for a new mobile
communications operator for an indefinite period. According
to the director, in May, LLP Granada appealed to the Astana city court
with a request to recognize that an order issued by the AIC chairman on
competition for radio frequencies within the range of 1800 MHz designed
for the subsequent creation of new network of mobile communication was
illegal. The
plaintiff requested an exclusion from conditions on the usage of tender
documents that enable AIC management to decline applicants, and to
conduct a tender with only one candidate, which is not permitted by law. Pursuant
to the new Law “On Communications ” the distribution of frequencies
is to be performed “transparently and openly”. The defendant agreed
totally with the arguments on the part of the plaintiff and the court.
It was decided to postpone the tender until a new provision is
developed. (Kazakhstan
Today) *** Kazakhstan
will conduct a tender to sell state shares of the OJSC Air Company
Atyrau Aue Zholy on September 17, 2004. The State Committee on Property
and Privatisation of the Ministry of Finance published an official
message on Friday. The state’s share is 29.7% of the charter capital.
There are 84,514 stocks. It
is planned to sell the state shares in the OJSC Air Company Atyrau Aue
Zholy by single lot using the Dutch method (with a price reduction). The
starting price of shares is KZT 1 Billion 520 Million (current exchange
rate is 135.38/$1), the minimal price is KZT 40 Million, and the initial
margin is KZT 22,800,000. The
State Committee on Property and Privatisation attempted to sell its
state shares last autumn. However, due to an absence of bids the tender
was cancelled. The starting price was KZT 1 Billion 520 Million with a
minimal price of KZT 72 Million for the tender. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
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Money Markets |
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KZT/USD market rate dynamics during the week |
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Currency Rates as of 24 August 2004 |
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Note: Some of the information quoted in this issue has been provided for us by Golden Eagle Partners. For more information on those articles, please contact: zhanar@maverick.kz |
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For
more information and other publications please contact Yelena Kovalenko
at +7 (3272) 596 708
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