Bulat Utemuratov, the Kazakh billionaire tycoon is contemplating whether to purchase Alliance Bank and Temirbank from the government. This was confirmed by two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Kazakh private equity group partly owned by Utemeratov, Verny Investment Holding LLP did not provide a comment on the possible transaction. The owners of the banks, state owned sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna sent a statement via email saying it cannot disclose any information due to a standing confidentiality agreement.
Kazakh is now the owner of 3% of total world's oil and also the globe's largest uranium supplier is now being asked to shed interests and holdings in the financial markets after it had bailed out banks hit by the recent recession. Upon their acquisition, operational management was then given to the wealth fund.
To divest its interests, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered state owned shareholdings in Alliance Bank, BTA Bank and Temirbank by the end of 2013.
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