Samruk-Kazyna JSC will return to the active phase of the privatization program by the end of 2020. Yerzhan Tutkushev, Managing Director for Logistics and International Cooperation of the Samruk-Kazyna Foundation, announced the details of further steps in the implementation of the program.

Recall that in June this year, the State Commission for the Modernization of the Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan set new terms for the privatization of assets due to the deteriorating macroeconomic situation and instability in the stock markets.

According to E. Tutkushev, recently there has been a slight improvement in the situation - a certain stability appears in the stock markets, investment activity begins to grow. In this regard, the Fund made a decision to return to the active phase of preparing large assets for transfer to a competitive environment by the end of 2020.

He noted that this year a number of companies from emerging markets preparing for an IPO announced the postponement. This also affected Kazakhstani companies from the oil and gas sector and the aviation industry, where revenues dropped significantly. In this connection, the IPO of NC KMG JSC and Air Astana JSC at a fair price in the near future is not possible.

The planned date for the IPO in 2022 is NC KazMunayGas JSC and Air Astana JSC. According to E. Tutkushev, taking into account the business plan of Air Astana JSC, it is planned to carry out an additional issue of shares.

“The financial stability and liquidity of the Fund's portfolio companies at the time of the onset of the crisis were strong enough to cope without significant losses and therefore it is not advisable to sell shares at a low price now. By the end of the year, it is planned to sell 10% of Kazakhtelecom shares”, - Yerzhan Tutkushev said.

Note that today the Fund owns 51% of the shares. That is, after the sale, the company will cease to be quasi-state, but the state will retain strategic control as a shareholder.

In 2021, it is planned to privatize Kazpost JSC and Samruk-Energo JSC by direct sale to a strategic investor. At the moment, the Fund is working on pre-sale preparation. Considering the importance of Samruk-Energo JSC for the energy and coal industry the parameters and conditions for the sale of shares will be agreed with the Government before attracting an investor.

Also, Tau-Ken Samruk JSC and Qazaq Air JSC are subject to privatization in 2022. The method for these assets has not yet been determined. E. Tutkushev noted that, unlike others, these companies are at the stage of formation, so the timing of their implementation has been postponed to 2022.

In 2023, it is planned to withdraw to the IPO of NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC. Here, according to E. Tutkushev, time is needed to revise the business model and increase the company's profitability.

Let us recall that the Comprehensive Privatization Plan for 2016-2020. approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1141 dated December 30, 2015 and covered 168 companies. At the moment, 8 large assets of the Fund and 22 medium-sized assets are involved in the privatization plan. The current implementation status of the plan is 82%. Since 2016, the Fund has completed privatization of 138 assets, including 85 sold, 11 reorganized and 42 liquidated.