Kazkommertsbank will increase its obligations volume in 2002-2003 up to $500 million

Kazkommertsbank will increase the volume of its obligations in 2002-2003 up to $500 million, including the issue of shares. This decision was taken by the Bank's shareholders at their annual meeting, which took place on 15 April.

According to the shareholders meeting's decision the volume of Kazakommertsbank obligations is planned to be increased at the expense of all kinds of loans, including indication loans, subordinated loans, interbank loans, and various types of shares. As Kazkommertsbank advised, the shareholders also approved the proposal of its Steering Committee on the issue of shares in the amount of 7.5 billion tenge for the term of 6 years. The shares will be distributed at the open market during this year.

Besides, the shareholders approved the Bank accountability for 2001 and decided not to pay dividends on simple shares, but leave the income to the Bank's management. During 2001 KKB earned a record profit among Kazakhstani banks, approved by international audit of Deloitte &Touche, in the amount of $36 million against $28 million in 2000. Kazkommertsbank's profit for the last year made half of total income of the banking sector. During the last years we carried on our policy of Bank's profits capitalisation", Nurzhan Subkhanberdin, Chairman of Steering Committee of Kazkommertsbank, declared. According to his words, the Bank, having the largest basis of capital¦ in the banking sector, had better positions for using advantages of the country's economic growth¦. It enabled the Bank to increase in 2001 its assets by 51%, loan portfolio v by 97%, deposits v by 94%, while contributions from population increased by 3.8 times, N.Subkhanberdin advised. According to the information from Kazkommertsbank, the first payment o dividends on privileged shares, issued in December of the last year, will take place, according to the shareholders meeting's decision, in December, 2002, in the amount fixed by emission prospect v 4 cents per share. Among holders of priviliged shares of Kazkommertsbank there are Kazakhstani pension funds, among which part of shares emission was distributed in last December. The remaining part is in the phase of distribution among the largest institutionalized investors, Kazkommertsbank advised. Kazkommertsbank is one of the three largest banks of Kazakhstan with its assets in the amount of 194.3 billion tenge ($1.3 billion). The Bank's own capital reached 24.4 billion tenge ($162,6 million). The announced basic stock of the Bank is 5 billion tenge, the payment stock v 3.5 billion tenge. Emission of privileged shares makes 25% of the basic stock. More than 50% of simple shares of paid basic stock is controlled by KKB management, around 27% of simple shares belong to foreign investors as global depositary quittances, included on listing at London and Istanbul stock exchanges and traded at Frankfurt and Berlin stock exchanges.