Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna looks to Hong Kong for investor interest
Samruk-Kazyna has plans to reduce its investment in, or dispose of, over 800 companies, large and small, by the end of 2020
Samruk-Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund of central Asian nation Kazakhstan, will host a roadshow in Hong Kong on Monday to pique investor interest in some of its largest firms in various strategic industries.
Having already raised US$250 million from the sale of 58 small and medium sized state-owned firms, out of 215 designated for privatisation at the end of 2015, Samruk-Kazyna – which manages US$67.4 billion of assets – is gearing up for stake sales and planned initial public offerings (IPOs) of some of its biggest companies.
It forms part of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s privatisation programme announced late 2015 to cut its holding in, or dispose of, over 800 companies, large and small, by the end of 2020. Around a quarter of them are owned by Samruk-Kazyna.
“The idea is to reduce the presence of the government in the economy and reduce the number of entities, to enhance their efficiency,” Dauren Tasmagambetov, director of Samruk-Kazyna’s department for privatisation and assets restructuring, told the South China Morning Post.
The sovereign fund expects to present eight of its most important companies to at least 200 institutional investors, mainly private equity and family wealth managers.
They include flagship carrier Air Astana, uranium producer Kazatomprom, fixed line and mobile operator Kazakhtelecom, power and coal producer Samruk Energy and oil and gas major KazMunayGas.