National Bank acquires 12% of Kazatomprom shares in favor of Finance Ministry

According to the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), the Ministry of Finance obtained control over 12% of Kazatomprom shares as a result of an off-exchange deal between the National Bank and the state-owned Samruk-Kazyna fund, aiming at purchasing Kazatomprom shares using assets from the National Fund. (The National Bank is a managing entity for the National Fund.)

After the deal, the share controlled by Samruk-Kazyna dropped from 75% to 62.9%, while the sold 12% stake (31.1 million common shares and GDRs) was transferred to the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan.

As authorities explained, the purpose of the deal was to replenish the state budget. The amount of Kazatomprom’s shares in free circulation hasn’t changed, staying at 25% with double listing on the London Stock Exchange and the Astana International Exchange.

The context: In mid-June, Kazakhstan’s cabinet authorized investing the National Fund’s money in Kazatomprom shares to finance the state budget. At the time, the National Bank said that it would purchase the company’s stock for $986.8 million with a discount to the current market value. With this idea in mind, the regulator converted $970 million of foreign currency from the National Fund.

Previously, the National Bank was allowed to invest the National Fund’s money only in the shares of KazMunayGas (KMG) and bonds issued by Samruk-Kazyna. In 2023, the state budget of Kazakhstan received $2.7 billion thanks to deals than came with acquiring KMG’s shares at the expense of the National Fund. Under this scheme, the National Bank – the managing entity for the National Fund – acquired KMG shares from Samruk-Kazyna. In turn, the state-owned fund transferred money it earned from selling the stock to the state budget in the form of dividend payouts