OREANDA-NEWS. On February 19, 2008 Kazkommertsbank JSC (Almaty) being a listed company on Kazakhstan stock exchange (KASE) has spread the press release, saying, reported the press-centre of KASE:

Commenting the recent guesses of mass media, Kazkommertsbank informed that, at present moment, it does not have any data about a purchase of a big shareholding of the bank's common shares by one or a group of investors on stock exchange market.

Kazkommertsbank is a public company - about 44% of shares are in free circulation in the form of depositary receipts, offered on London stock exchange. Any investor has a direct access to these shares on stock market.

"Indeed, we see that our securities are being bought but the purchases are made both on organized market and on the over-the-counter market where it is hard to evaluate the volumes of operations. Overall, this proves the tendency to growth that has been outlined since the beginning of the year in the entire financial sector of Kazakhstan. The market was underestimated by the investors, and, now, formation of new positions in the portfolios of market participants occurs; the consequence of that is growth in prices. The interest to the securities from Kazakhstan increases, purchases are being concluded", - comments Denis Fedossenko, Executive director of Kazkommertsbank.

Shares, the information about the final owners of which is not disclosed by the Central depositary of Kazakhstan - the national nominal holder of securities -does not carry voting rights in accordance with the law of the Kazakhstan Republic "About joint stock companies"; that is, their holders do not have a right while accepting decision on the general shareholders meetings. At that, the final owners of depositary receipts can disclose the information about themselves to the Central depositary of Kazakhstan voluntarily and at any time and by this to obtain the right to vote.

Moreover, in accordance to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan "About banks and banking activity", if more than 10% of placed common shares of the Bank is bought by one purchaser, he/she has to obtain a preliminary consent of the regulator - the Agency for financial supervision - for the status of a big participant of the bank.