KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY, Oct. 12 -- Sir William Ryrie, Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), announced at a press conference the approval of the Corporation's first investment in Kazakhstan. IFC will take an equity holding of 20% in ABN-Amro Bank Kazakhstan (AABK). IFC's investment will support the establishment of the first international joint venture commercial bank in Kazakhstan. AABK will provide essential banking services to local enterprises as well as to international joint ventures currently being established in Kazakhstan. AABK is a joint venture between ABN-Amro, a leading Netherlands bank, Kramds Bank, the largest local private group in Kazakhstan, and IFC. ABN-AMRO will furnish the technical management for AABK, which is intended to serve as a model for the country's efforts to modernize and expand the banking sector. Initially AABK will focus on supporting foreign trade through letters of credit and foreign exchange transfers. It will also offer financial advisory ser
vices to multinationals exploring business opportunities in Kazakhstan. Later, it will expand its services to provide working capital as well as medium-term loans for private sector businesses. During the press conference, Sir William outlined IFC's strategy in Kazakhstan. IFC will adopt a three-pronged approach to developing the Republic's private financial sector: providing technical assistance, assisting in institution building and mobilizing financing from foreign investors. "The outlook for foreign investment in Kazakhstan is quite favorable, and AABK is the first of several investments which the Corporation hopes to make in Kazakhstan during this fiscal year," said Sir William. The Republic of Kazakhstan joined IFC on September 30, 1993. Over the past year, IFC executives have made frequent visits to Kazakhstan and identified possible investments in hotel and business center construction, oil and gas production, mining, construction materials, agroprocessing, telecommunications, and capital markets. In
addition, IFC is working to identify technical assistance projects, such as privatization and business advisory services, where its unique experience can contribute to the acceleration of the country's transformation to a market economy. IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and the largest multilateral source of direct project financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
