Kazakhstan may put off selling its BTA bank for 3 years: country’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Kairat Kelimbetov

Kazakhstan should put off selling BTA Bank for 3 years, Bnews.kz quoted the country’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Kairat Kelimbetov as saying in an interview for Russian Kommersant newspaper . “I would say there is no immediate need to sell BTA Bank at some knock-down price. It shouldn’t be sold for peanuts or given away as a present. We’d better wait for another three years”, Kelimbetov said. “The Bank is important for the country; like any financial institution, it needs proper care. In 2-3 years’ time – depending on the global economy trends – we will get back to its possible sale”, he said. According to him, only Russia and China could be interested in the Bank’s purchase. “It’s hard to say that West Europe banks could be interested; the Middle East is living through its problems. In fact only Russia and China [could be interested]”, Kelimbetov believes. The Government [represented by Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Fund] is expected to sell its stakes in in BTA, Temir Bank and Alliance Bank before 2014, KazTAG had reported April 6. This had been announced by Kairat Kelimbetov, the then Chairman. He made this announcement at the Minex Central Asia – 2011 mining forum in Astana. In 2009, as part of the government’s anti-crisis package, Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund bought common stock in the mentioned above banks.