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GSS Press | March 2018 1 March 2018 GSS Press Group Securities Services Monthly This document is intended for institutional investors only. In this issue AT A GLANCE Kazakhstan New wave of development ahead 2 TALKING POINT Amina Turgulova Deputy CEO of the Astana International Exchange 4 MARKET ROUNDUP 7 SOCIETY Astana – the young capital 11 CONTACT US 12 IMPRINT & DISCLAIMER 13 ATTILA‘S PHOTO BLOG 14 Kazakhstan Language is among the strongest identify- ing features of a nation. Kazakhstan has raised awareness over President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s decision to abolish the Cyrillic script for Kazakh and use Latin letters instead. This will be third alphabet change in less than 100 years for the Turkic language, spo- ken in one of the world’s largest states. The hardest part of this exercise, apart from ap- peasing Kazakhstan’s northern neighbor’s misgivings, appears to be the transliteration of its specific sounds, some of which are far from the lingo of Vergil and Ovid. Users of the Astana International Financial Centre will be little affected by linguistic considerations of any kind. Designed as a hub for players from all over the world, it will offer an international environment in- cluding English law. We are pleased to feature an interview with Amina Turgulova, Deputy CEO of the brand-new Astana Inter- national Exchange, in this issue. Kind regards, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy Executive Director Head of Group Securities Services From Қазақстан to Qazaqstan

Transcript of GSS Press - Startseite

Page 1: GSS Press - Startseite

GSS Press | March 2018 1

March 2018

GSS PressGroup Securities Services Monthly

This document is intended forinstitutional investors only.

In this issue

AT A GLANCE Kazakhstan New wave of development ahead 2 TALKING POINTAmina Turgulova Deputy CEO of the Astana International Exchange 4 MARKET ROUNDUP 7

SOCIETY Astana – the young capital 11 CONTACT US 12 IMPRINT & DISCLAIMER 13

ATTILA‘S PHOTO BLOG 14

Kazakhstan

Language is among the strongest identify-ing features of a nation. Kazakhstan has raised awareness over President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s decision to abolish the Cyrillic script for Kazakh and use Latin letters instead.

This will be third alphabet change in less than 100 years for the Turkic language, spo-ken in one of the world’s largest states. The hardest part of this exercise, apart from ap-peasing Kazakhstan’s northern neighbor’s misgivings, appears to be the transliteration of its specific sounds, some of which are far from the lingo of Vergil and Ovid.

Users of the Astana International Financial Centre will be little affected by linguistic considerations of any kind. Designed as a hub for players from all over the world, it will offer an international environment in-cluding English law. We are pleased to feature an interview with Amina Turgulova, Deputy CEO of the brand-new Astana Inter-national Exchange, in this issue.

Kind regards,Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy Executive DirectorHead of Group Securities Services

From Қазақстан to Qazaqstan

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AT A GLANCE

2017 was quite successful for Kazakhstan’s economy. A GDP growth of 4% (prelimina-ry estimation), supported not only by oil prices but also by a positive development in almost every industry and the currency stabilization in the second half of the year, prompted talks about a market recovery and even a potential acceleration in eco-nomic growth.

For 2018, the GDP growth expectation, according to the Ministry of the National Economy is 3.1%. This growth should be supported by large infrastructure projects and a privatization plan. The Astana Inter-national Financial Centre (AIFC), a major government project to be finally launched in the middle of 2018, offers a lot of pri-vileges and incentives for investors and companies such as a special legal regime based on English law, tax exemption till 2065, free capital flow, a modern infra-structure and special visa conditions for foreigners.

Struggling banks One of the main current challenges for the market regulator is the banking system, which has experienced serious problems in the past years.

In 2017 the National Bank actively started cleaning up the banking system: “toxic” banks lost their licenses, while those five banks, which the regulator considered as “worth saving” received massive capi-tal injections through subordinated bond purchases. The supported banks are obli-ged to repay half of the debt within five years, otherwise the National Bank will

become a shareholder. In addition to the small banks’ problems, the two largest banks, Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank, finally agreed to mer-ge operations after Halyk Bank agreed on a rescue deal in 2017. The government paid for the bad assets of Kazkommerts-bank which Halyk Bank was not ready to take on. This merger formed the biggest bank in the country, representing 40% of the market.

Until today, the banking sector is facing many challenges such as benign lending activity, non-performing loans and competi-tion with quasi-state institutions.

Securities market at a crossroadsIn 2017 the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) index marked a significant growth of 50% (in USD quotes) and was among the three fastest-growing markets in the world. This result, however, was achieved

KAZAKHSTAN New wave of development ahead

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on a trading floor where the index includes only 8 companies (with KazMunaigas Ex-ploration Production to be delisted soon) and where the equities segment represents only 2-7% of the entire turnover. Most of the trading activity, in fact, is attributable to FX and REPOs. Recently, KASE announced that it is considering launching index ETFs, which can be traded both domestically and abroad.

Meanwhile, the new stock exchange Asta-na International Exchange (AIX), founded as part of AIFC infrastructure, is actively pro-moting its services as a regional platform for local and foreign investors based on the best international practices and technologies. AIX will offer to participants a wide range of financial instruments including bonds, shares, derivatives, funds, commodities and Islamic securities in four currencies – KZT, RUB, USD and RMD. Most probably the first instruments on AIX will be government and corporate Eurobonds.

Recently, AIX signed a memorandum of co-operation with Euroclear with the aim of developing a new “international link” for Kazakhstan. Additional support to the new trading floor is offered by the government – long awaited IPOs of the biggest compa-nies should take place on AIX by the end of 2018. The road map is already fixed for Kazakhtelecom. Other candidates should be Kazatomprom, Air Astana and KazMu-naiGaz.

Trading on the new platform is supposed to start in the second quarter of 2018. Hence, investors will soon be able to esti-mate the liquidity of the new platform and its post-trading infrastructure. Currently the open question is how the Almaty and Astana stock exchanges will split the mar-ket and the trading members, and what is the faith of the OTC market for Kazakhs-tan securities.

Pension reform resumed While the market is discussing the future of the stock exchanges and their post-trade infrastructure, a new stage of the pension reform was announced by the National Bank. After 3 years of centralized manage-ment of the Single Pension Fund (ENPF) executed by the National Bank, privately owned asset managers and insurance companies should be allowed access to the pension pool. 4-6 investment compa-nies should be appointed as managers of ENPF assets in December 2018. It is under consideration whether the eligibility of such investment companies should be limited to residents of the AIFC.

All the mentioned changes and plans, along with an extended set of reforms an-nounced by the government, gives us re-ason to expect that Kazakhstan not only enters a temporary upturn, but that it can use this momentum for the necessary trans-formation of its economy.

Evgenia KlimovaHead of GSS Russia

AT A GLANCE

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TALKING POINT

Ms. Turgulova, the Astana International Ex-change officially launched its operations at the beginning of 2018. What was the idea behind founding a new stock exchange in Kazakhstan?Astana International Exchange will play an important role in attracting liquidity and providing tailored services to issuers and market participants focusing on transparen-cy and efficiency. The creation of AIX, in line with the Five Institutional Reforms of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is aimed at developing the capital market in the country.

AIX will provide a modern trading infra-structure and international standards of re-gulations for equities market, government, quasi-government and corporate bonds market, ETFs, ETNs, GDRs, GDNs, Isla-mic and green financial instruments. It is also planning to launch trading in shares of subsoil use companies, derivatives and commodities trading (metals, grain, etc.).

This new exchange will primarily serve as the national market for the benefit of the domestic economy as well as a major plat-form for privatization of state-owned enter-prises. The list includes top-rated compa-nies like the #1 uranium mining company Kazatamprom, one of the top 10 oil dril-ling companies Kazmunaigaz, the national air carrier, the national railroad company, as well as the telecom sector. Moreover, AIX is intended to become a platform for government bonds, both Eurobonds and domestic.

AIX also devotes considerable attention to providing a financing platform for inf-rastructure projects within the “Belt and Road” Initiative. A dedicated Belt and

Road Board shall attract Chinese and wes-tern investors. Certainly, our partnership with the Shanghai Stock Exchange will be instrumental in opening access to Chinese liquidity.

When can we expect to see the first listings?Currently, we are observing significant interest from large companies as well as SMEs in listing and trading equities and bonds. We are actively engaged in attrac-ting issuers, explaining listing requirements and advantages of raising funding through AIX. Several issuers have started prepara-tions for listing, which requires cutting-edge financial reporting and corporate gover-nance practices.

AIX is in the process of preparing for the go-live, the first instrument to be listed within the next month or two. According to the AIX business development plan, the first instruments will be fixed income, follo-wed by equities and ETFs. Derivatives and commodities trading will be implemented subsequently.

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, AIX and Euroclear have sig-ned a Memorandum to cooperate in the development of a new ‘international link’ (the i-Link) for Kazakhstan. The aim is to create a market environment to enable Kazakhstani domestic securities to become Euroclearable. It is planned to implement the i-Link platform to create a Kazakh Sett-lement System, with a single pool of liquidi-ty for international and local investors.

Through Euroclear Kazakhstani issuers would have access to both domestic and international investors on the same plat-

form at AIFC and will have direct access to Euroclear clients who include more than 2,000 financial institutions in more than 90 countries.

You have mentioned the privatization plan. Is there any news you can share with us?Indeed, the privatization program, sche-duled to commence in the second half of this year, is expected to contribute a lot to the development of a liquid capital market in Kazakhstan. An estimated approximate market cap of the major six companies that are scheduled to be privatized during the next three years are 25 bn USD.

To increase the efficiency of Kazakhstan’s economy, SWF Samruk-Kazyna will priva-tize six top rated companies during 2018-2020. Samruk-Kazyna owns Kazakhstan’s natio-nal companies operating in key economic sectors – oil and gas, transportation and logistics, chemical and nuclear industry,

Issuers are getting ready By developing a local capital market, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) aims at becoming one of the most developed financial centers in Asia. GSS Press met Amina Turgulova, Deputy CEO of the new Astana International Exchange (AIX).

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TALKING POINT

mining and metallurgy, energy and me-chanical engineering and real estate. A Memorandum of Understanding between AIFC and Samruk-Kazyna was signed and the Road Map for Interaction between the AIFC and Samruk-Kazyna was approved as part of the implementation of the com-prehensive privatization plan.

The first IPO of a privatized company is planned to take place on AIX in the third or fourth quarter of 2018. Samruk-Kazyna jointly with AIFC has conducted a number of non-deal road show events in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and other interna-tional financial hubs, meeting significant investor interest for their diversified nature in terms industries and sizes.

But before the privatization kicks off, AIX expects to host a number of IPOs of pri-vate companies as well as pre-IPO private placements.

Which entity will serve as the CSD for trades on the AIX?AIX has chosen to benefit from the existing international CSD and CCP infrastructure to introduce a world class post-trade servi-ces. Hence, for the first 3-5 years, AIX deci-ded not to build anything internally.

The rationale behind this decision is mani-fold: First of all, building a post-trade infra-structure is expensive and it takes a long time to build credibility and trust among market participants and investors. In additi-on to that, post-trade organizations must be ESMA compliant to ensure sufficient parti-cipants from European investors and this again comes costly and lengthy in process. Moreover, post-trade technology is likely to move rapidly into changing its concept within the next few years, as some market participants and exchanges already now examine a digital ledger technology to mi-nimize costs and improve efficiency.

The AIX has teamed up with global players in the field of exchange trading. Who are your strategic partners? The AIFC has signed a Shareholders Agree-ment with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It includes co-operation on strategy and technology consulting, business planning, product design, market expansion and li-quidity growth. Our partners in Shanghai will also work closely with AIX to support the "Belt and Road" Initiative's implementa-tion across Eurasia.

Nasdaq is a strategic partner and the technology provider of AIX. Nasdaq has delivered its state of the art trading tech-nology to AIX, which will provide interna-tional and domestic investors with easy and comfortable access to AIX’s financial instruments. The Nasdaq Matching Engine system offers exceptional performance and functionality.

How is the new trading place in Astana positioned versus KASE, the established stock exchange in Almaty? Since its inception, KASE has always ser-ved as a platform for domestic investors. The privatization program conducted through KASE, the so-called peoples IPOs, allowed only domestic investors to partici-pate. But to tap capital from abroad, com-panies used to seek listing on international exchanges. As a consequence, the liquidity on KASE was extremely low – literally 2 % of the liquidity of the GDRs listed on inter-national platforms. The pricing has always taken place abroad, leaving KASE with a fraction of transaction volume and no sig-nificance in the companies’ market price formation.

The goal of AIX is to create one deep pool of liquidity for both international and lo-cal investors. With other pre-conditions in place, the availability of a modern ex-change infrastructure based on internatio-nal standards will provide easy access to Kazakhstan's capital market for global in-vestors and attract foreign capital into the AIFC market allowing large local issuers to secure sufficient funding in Astana and avoid dual listing on other markets.

AIX and KASE are completely separate en-tities with no inter-dependency or connec-tion with each other. KASE is predominant-ly a spot FX and repo market, representing more than 90% of its turnover. AIX does not intend to introduce these products, but rather focus on shares, bonds, investment funds and derivatives.

As an international exchange, developing with the help of strategic partners Shang-hai Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, AIX will position itself as a highly technological in-ternational trading platform. We will allow securities’ listing in different currencies and provide local and international members with the access to our exchange.

Moreover, AIX and KASE operate in ab-solutely different frameworks. I believe the ecosystem plays an important role, espe-cially when it comes to regulatory and le-gal regimes. AIFC has a regulatory regime consistent with recognized international standards to ensure fairness, transparency and efficiency of the financial market, pro-tect interests of investors and financial ser-vices customers, and to minimize systemic risk. The AIX Rule Book, for example, was drafted by a leading law firm with support from EBRD.

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TALKING POINT

The purpose of AIFC is the formation of a leading center of financial services in the eastern part of Eurasia. AIFC’s tasks are to assist in attracting investments in the country's economy, creating an attractive environment for investing in financial services, deve-loping the securities market of the Re-public of Kazakhstan and ensuring its integration with international capital markets. The main pillars of AIFC include: Capi-tal Markets, Asset Management, Priva-te Banking, Islamic Finance, Financial Technologies and Green Finance.

AIFC is a unique platform with unpre-cedented conditions that unites leading foreign and domestic companies in the field of finance and investment for further development of financial servi-ces of the country.

The goal of AIFC is to create a single pool for liquidity uniting local, regio-nal and international investors in one centre. Allowing Chinese and western investors to invest into the Kazakhstani and regional companies, government and quasi-government instruments.

Privileges for AIFC users AIFC provides a number of privileges for creating favorable conditions con-ducive to the growth of foreign invest-ment. According to the best internati-onal practice of advanced financial centres, a special legal regime based on the principles of Common law and the standards of leading financial cen-tres operates on the territory of AIFC.

A distinctive feature of English law is the use of a flexible and transparent approach to resolving disputes, as well as the primacy of protecting the rights and interests of investors. The AIFC will have an independent regulatory regime that ensures the fairness and efficiency of the financial market. One of the sti-mulating factors for investors will be tax privileges in the form of exemption from payment of corporate and individual in-come taxes for 50 years. There will no capital gain tax, dividend and interest rate tax. In addition, the simplified visa and labor regimes will operate in the AIFC. It is pl-anned to set up a specialized center for foreign employees - the AIFC Expat Cen-tre, which ensures favorable conditions for the entry and localization of AIFC's foreign employees and their families. To integrate with the world community and simplify business for foreign investors, English will be the official language of the AIFC in its territory.

Easy access Operating under the umbrella of AIFC, AIX will offer familiar and well recog-nized rules. Easy access is considered to be the key factor even for develo-ped markets. Investors have a large

selection; therefore, it is necessary to provide them with a competitive level of service and market reliability. We ex-pect investors and market participants to appreciate the easy, straightforward and inexpensive market access. AIX int-ends to provide access to foreign inves-tors under favorable conditions which will contribute to the creation of a liquid market in Kazakhstan.

The AIFC was provided by the Constitu-tion of Kazakhstan a special legal status and a separate territory, including the high-tech infrastructure of EXPO-2017. The special status of the AIFC is legally ensured in the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

AMINA TURGULOVA, DEPUTY CEO OF THE ASTANA INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE, EXPLAINS THE AIFC FOR GSS PRESS

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MARKET ROUNDUP

Spotlight news

BG: Application for ERM-2The Bulgarian government intends to apply for participation in the Eu-ropean exchange rate mechanism (ERM-2) by June this year. This de-claration came while Bulgaria is hosting the 6-month rotation Presi-dency of the EU Council.

Bulgaria’s currency has been pegged to the euro for the last two decades and the country had long met all formal criteria for joining the euro zone. Recently EC Presi-dent Jean-Claude Juncker supported Bulgaria’s case for moving toward euro membership, however not all of the 19 members of the single currency area are comfortable with Bulgaria entering the euro zone. Some of the richer states cite the gap between Bulgarian incomes vs. the EU average, while others voice concerns over graft and organized crime in the country.

Although Bulgaria has no assurance that the request would be accepted, the government is ready to file a for-mal application later this year.

ROMANIAAndrei Mezdrea, Head of GSS Romania

News on fiscal registration requirements

According to the provisions of the Romanian Fiscal Procedure Code, non-resident investors receiving income from Romanian issuers must register with the Romanian tax authorities and obtain a fiscal identification number (the "NIF"). As the sanctions for non-fulfilment were not clear, not all of the foreign investors have done so.

Amendments to the Fiscal Procedures Code, in place as of 1 January, added clarity: Banking institutions, once opening new cash accounts on behalf of their clients after 1 January, as well as all companies withholding taxes on incomes ob-tained in Romania (as withholding agents from non-resident investors), must request a NIF from their investors or clients. Alternatively, if the taxpayer did not register with the fiscal authorities or does not provide an NIF, they shall obtain the code on their shareholder’s or client's behalf from the fiscal authorities.

Ahead of the realization of these legal requirements, issuers have requested during the last two months the Depozitarul Central to further request all participants (brokers and custodians) to transmit the NIFs collected from their clients to the CSD. (The issuers act as withholding agents for taxes applied to dividend incomes. Therefore, this request was based on the obligation to report to the fiscal authorities the value of the dividend with-held tax per each shareholder, together with the NIFs of non-resident shareholders.)

Depozitarul Central, based on requests from local companies to intermediate the coll-ection of NIFs for non-resident shareholders, will furthermore make the NIFs available to issuers on request. Please note that so far no procedure for handing over NIF-related information from investors to companies has been set forth by the CSD.

How to obtain a NIF For registering and obtaining a NIF, foreign investors can choose between doing it direct-ly or going through a fiscal advisor.

A member of the local professional and business associations, GSS Romania has been involved into the consultations with the fiscal authorities, aiming at a simplification of the current registration procedures. We are exploring several principles, among them the use of a simplified electronic registration procedure, based on an upload of filled-in and signed registration forms onto the website of the Ministry of Finance without an extended electronic signature certificate (as imposed by the Law on electronic signatures) as well as an electronic platform for NIF verification. This way, the efforts to register could be significantly reduced.

Our viewAt the moment there are no penalties for not registering and delivering NIFs to the compa-nies, but the fiscal authorities might well impose them on those failing to comply. The current procedure through electronic communication channels refuses direct registrati-on to most of the foreign investors. Simplification would lead to better fiscal reporting and improved tax collection.

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MARKET ROUNDUP

Spotlight news

PL: WSE wants majority in TASEThe management board of the War-saw Stock Exchange has decided to submit, together with the Polish Development Fund (PFR), an offer to purchase 71.7% shares in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).

The offer that was tabled at the end of February is said to be initial and non-binding at this stage. If TASE ex-presses interest in accepting it, the parties will discuss and negotiate the details.

It is not known yet as to how the purchased stake in TASE would belong to the WSE and the PFR, respectively. According to media reports, the potential transaction is valued at a minimum PLN 490 mn.

(The Polish Development Fund is a group of financial and advisory insti-tutions supporting companies, local governments and individuals and investing in sustainable social and economic development of Poland.)

Certain CSD Rulebook provisions suspended

To be compliant with ESCB-CESR recommendations, the Depozitarul Central has amen-ded its Rulebook on 1 February. It has turned out that some of the new provisions of the CSD Code were unclear or difficult to be applied, thus the main local custodian banks, through the Romanian Banking Association (RBA) requested clarification and the suspension of these provisions until clarification. Following an RBA meeting with representatives of Depozitarul Central, National Bank and Financial Supervisory Authority, the CSD Board has approved on 22 February the suspension of the following provisions of its Rulebook until further notice:

Chapter I• Obligation of intermediaries using global accounts to run internal audit missions • Segregation of the operational functions of the intermediary:

Chapter III• Obligation of CSD participants to confirm each-other the OTC, OTC turnaround an

allocation transactions, by the end of the trade date;

Chapter IV• Obligation of entities providing custody services to execute the daily reconciliation of

the securities positions on the entire custody chain • Operational segregation – participant's employees responsible for the settlement are

not allowed to execute the daily reconciliation;

Our viewThe decisions will become effective once the National Bank and the Financial Supervisory Authority will approve the suspension of the aforementioned requirements. The reporting and segregation obligations initially imposed by the new CSD Code will have to be updated so as to align with the ESCB-CESR principles and international standards, while considering the appropriate resources allocation at the local custodians level. We will continue advocating the creation of a safer settlement and assets custody environment both directly and through professional bodies.

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MARKET ROUNDUP

BULGARIABiliana Stefanova, Head of GSS Bulgaria

Electronic platform for General Meetings

The Bulgarian Central Depository AD (CDAD) is in the process of introducing an electronic platform for General Meetings called EPOS. The software product has been developed along the lines of international corporate performance standards developed by the Corporate Actions Joint Working Group. EPOS is intended for use by both issuers and share-holders.

On the one hand it constitutes a “virtual venue” to be used for conducting meetings in a reliable and fully automated manner, and on the other, it represents the missing hereto technical means for online participation in real time by shareholders. A prerequisite for the use of the platform is the registration of an electronic signature.

EPOS offers the following possibilities and advantages: • It is bilingual (Bulgarian/English), a functionality oriented towards foreign investors• All operations and actions related to the General Meeting are performed through

one entry point• It allows immediate publication of the notice of a General Meeting, the agenda and

all related documents• It allows submission of a vote in advance of the General Meeting, with the possibility

of subsequent amendment • Shareholders can exercise their voting rights either by electronic vote “in person” or

by issuing an electronic authorization to their proxies though the same platform • Electronic access to the shareholder's book by the issuer.• Electronic submission of comments and participation in the discussions during the

General Meeting• Automatic quorum calculation and voting results, regardless of the chosen way to

vote.• Live video broadcast of the General Meeting• Preparation of the minutes of meeting and decisions of the General Meeting immedi-

ately after the end of the meeting

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MARKET ROUNDUP

Privatization: ready for take-off

The Cabinet of Ministers plans to sell 302 state-owned entities. The main targets include Centerenergo (energy distribution), the Odessa port plant, 6 regional energy companies and other cor-porations covering energy, oil, agriculture, transportation, steve-doring, gas, construction, chemicals.Minority stakes (below 50%) will be sold through the local stock exchanges, while buyers of the controlling holdings will be ap-proached exclusively through open auctions. The State Property Fund plans to invite investment banks for advisory in an effort to

extend the list of potential buyers as well as to facilitate the process.

Currently, the companies on the list shall undergo a pre-sale preparation. Where necessa-ry, the entities will be converted into joint-stock companies. According to the government’s strategic plan, all state-owned companies will be transformed within 3 years: the process shall begin with the companies identified for privatization and those with considerable fiscal risks.

Referring to government officials, Ukraine has not seen such a large-scale privatization in 10 years. The idea is to attract high-quality foreign investment to the public sector, rather than selling the assets at dumping prices to former Ukrainian oligarchs. Companies registered in off-shore zones, prosecuted by FATF, belonging to persons and entities from sanction lists, as well as companies with a government stake of 25% and above, will not be admitted to the privatization process. Disclosure of final beneficiaries of a potential buyer will be another important pre-condition for participation.

Our viewPrivatization will attract investors. The state-owned strategic enterprises badly need modernization of their fixed assets and new technologies – something the government has no resources for. Transferring the entities into private ownership should cover these necessities and help the enterprises strengthen their competitiveness against the global economy.

UKRAINEBogdana Yefremova, Head of GSS Ukraine

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SOCIETY

The city founded in the 19th century, became capital of Kazakhstan in 1997. It has developed into an international meeting place for political and religious leaders. At the moment it sets the scene for the Syria peace talks.

Initially named Akmola, the name chan-ged to Tselinograd in the 1960ies (which explains the code TSE on air tickets). Today’s name “Astana” is a Kazakh word that means exactly “capital city”.

From the moment of its inauguration as a capital the population and the territory have been booming. And it is still full of busy building sites.

Today, Astana is home to almost all governmental offices and to the headquar-ters of the country’s biggest companies. However, it has not yet reached the popu-lation size of the southern capital Almaty.

Lavish style mixThe young city is worth a visit, mainly for its extravagant architecture. It stages an eclectic aggregation of ultra-modern buil-dings designed by leading international firms, an opera house and mosques crea-ting a great vibrancy.

Among the most spectacular buildings and monuments is the Bayterek Tower, symbol of the capital pinnacled by a golden sphe-re which can be reached by an elevator

Astana – the young capital

(pictured on p. 1). Other landmarks inclu-de the Palace of Peace and Reconciliati-on (Piramyd), Khan Shatyr (entertainment center in the shape of a giant transparent tent), the Central Concert Hall, the Haz-ret Sultan Mosque and the Nur Astana Mosque.

Visitors can easily orientate thanks to the defining road axes. Walking along the incredibly wide streets and squares is a task for itself, as visitors of last year's World Expo that flocked into the city may witness.

Evgenia KlimovaHead of GSS Russia

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GSS Central TeamRaiffeisen Bank International AGAm Stadtpark 91030 Vienna, Austriawww.rbinternational.comAttila Szalay-BerzeviczyHead of [email protected]: +43 1 71707-8252Jürgen SattlerHead of GSS Regional [email protected]: +43 1 71707-1882Bettina JanoschekHead of GSS Sales & Relationship [email protected]: +43 1 71707-1820

AustriaRaiffeisen Bank International AGAm Stadtpark 91030 Vienna, AustriaAnita FröchHead of GSS [email protected]: +43 1 71707-3040www.rbinternational.com

AlbaniaRaiffeisen Bank Sh.a.“European Trade Center”Bulevardi “Bajram Curri” TiranaMirela BoriciHead of GSS [email protected]: +355 4 2381000-1074www.raiffeisen.al

BelarusPriorbank JSC31-A, V. Khoruzhey Str.220002 MinskYury DorofeyHead of GSS [email protected]: +375 17 2899102www.priorbank.by

Bosnia and HerzegovinaRaiffeisen BANK d.d.Bosna i HercegovinaZmaja od Bosne bb71000 SarajevoDraženko BobašHead of GSS [email protected]: +387 33 287-153www.raiffeisenbank.ba

BulgariaRaiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD55, Nicola Vaptzarov Blvd., Business Center Expo 2000, 1407 SofiaBiliana StefanovaHead of GSS [email protected]: +359 2 91985-463www.rbb.bg

CroatiaRaiffeisenbank Austria d.d.Petrinjska 5910000 ZagrebMensur HodžicHead of GSS [email protected]: +385 1 6174-327www.rba.hr

Czech RepublicRaiffeisenbank a.s.Hvezdova 1716/2b14078 Prague 4Pavel KrivonozkaHead of GSS Czech [email protected]: +420 234 40-5995www.rb.cz

HungaryRaiffeisen Bank Zrt.Akadémia utca 61054 BudapestZsuzsanna HarasztiHead of GSS [email protected]: +361 484 4362www.raiffeisen.hu

PolandRaiffeisen Bank Polska S.A.(Raiffeisen Polbank)Ul. Grzybowska 7800-844 WarsawRadek IgnatowiczHead of GSS [email protected]: +48 22 585-2000www.raiffeisen.pl

RomaniaRaiffeisen Bank S.A.246C Calea Floreasca 014476 Bucharest 1Andrei MezdreaHead of GSS [email protected]: +40 21 30612-89www.raiffeisen.ro

RussiaAO RaiffeisenbankSmolenskaya-Sennaya Sq. 28119020 MoscowEvgenia KlimovaHead of GSS [email protected]: +7-495-721 9900www.raiffeisen.ru

SerbiaRaiffeisen banka a.d.Djordja Stanojevica 1611070 Novi BeogradIvana NovakovicHead of GSS [email protected]: +381 11 2207572www.raiffeisenbank.rs

SlovakiaTatra banka, a.s.Hodžovo námestie 381106 BratislavaPeter Uhrin Head of GSS [email protected] Phone: +421-2-5919 2134www.tatrabanka.sk

UkraineRaiffeisen Bank Aval JSC9, Leskova Str.01011 KievBogdana YefremovaHead of GSS [email protected] Phone: +380 44 49879 32 www.aval.ua

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CONTACT US

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GSS Press | March 2018 13

Imprint

1) Information requirements pursuant to the Austrian E-Commerce Act

Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Registered Office: Am Stadtpark 9, 1030 Vienna. Postal address: 1010 Vienna, POB 50Phone: +43-1-71707-0, Fax: + 43-1-71707-1715Company Register Number: FN 122119m at the Commercial Court of ViennaVAT Identification Number: UID ATU 57531200Austrian Data Processing Register: Data processing register number (DVR): 4002771S.W.I.F.T.-Code: RZBA AT WW

Supervisory Authorities:As a credit institution pursuant to § 1 of the Austrian Banking Act, Raiffeisen Bank International AG is subject to supervision by the Financial Market Authority and the Austrian Central Bank. Further, Raiffeisen Bank International AG is subject to legal regulations (as amended from time to time), in particular the Austrian Banking Act (Bankwesengesetz) and the Securities Supervision Act (Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz).

Membership: Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Federal Bank and Insurance Sector, Raiffeisen Association

2) Statement pursuant to the Austrian Media Act

Publisher of GSS Press: Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Am Stadtpark 9, A-1030 ViennaMedia Owner of GSS Press: Zentrale Raiffeisenwerbung, Am Stadtpark 9, 1030 WienProducer: Marketing, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Am Stadtpark 9, A-1030 ViennaEditors: Jürgen Sattler, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Am Stadtpark 9, A-1030 Vienna

Society Commitee Zentrale Raiffeisenwerbung:Dr. Leodegar PRUSCHAK (Chairman), Petra WALTER (Deputy Chairman), Stephan MARENT (Deputy Chairman)

Other committee members Zentrale Raiffeisenwerbung:Mag. Rainer SCHNABL, Franz POSPISCHIL, Bernd NÖHRER, Mag. Maximilian EDER, Mag. Gertraud FRANK, Mag. Martin KOFLER, Markus FRIEDRICH, Katharina STÖGNER, Mag. Clemens GANTAR

Zentrale Raiffeisenwerbung is a registered society. Society purpose and activities of Zentrale Raiffeisenwerbung are (inter alia) a joint communication work (advertising and public relations).

Basic tendency of the content of GSS Press: GSS Press presents services and products of the Group Securities Services unit of Raiffeisen Bank International AG and its subsidiaries. Aiming at a professional audience, GSS Press reports about developments in the financial markets, with a particular focus on post-trade infrastructure. The publication is available free of charge.

Images: Photographs and illustrations provided by Raiffeisen Bank International, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy and the organizations featured in this issue.

Disclaimer

This document has been published by Raiffeisen Bank International AG. This document is for information purposes and may not be reproduced or distributed to other persons. This document shall not be considered as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. This document constitutes neither a solicitation of an offer nor a prospectus in the sense of the Austrian Capital Market Act (KMG) or the Stock Exchange Act or any other comparable foreign law. An investment decision in respect of a security, financial product or investment must be made on the basis of an approved, published prospectus or the complete documentation for the security, financial product or investment in question, and not on the basis of this document. This document does not constitute a personal recommendation to buy or sell financial instruments in the sense of the Austrian Securities Supervision Act or any other comparable foreign law. Neither this document nor any of its components shall form the basis for any kind of contract or commitment whatsoever. This document is not a substitute for legal or tax advice or the necessary advice on the purchase or sale of a security, investment or other financial product. In respect of the sale or purchase of securities, investments or financial products, your banking advisor can provide individualised advice which is suitable for investments and financial products. This analysis is fundamentally based on generally available information and not on confidential information which the party preparing the document has obtained exclusively on the basis of his/her client relationship with a person. Unless otherwise expressly stated in this publication, the publisher deems all of the information to be reliable, but does not make any assurances regarding its accuracy and completeness. The publisher shall not have any liability for any representations (expressed or implied) regarding information contained in, or for any omissions from, this document or any other written or oral communications transmitted to the recipient in the course of its preparation. The information in this publication is current, as of the creation date of the document. It may be outdated by future developments, without the publication being changed. The data and statements contained in this document are strictly limited to the matters stated herein and shall not to be read as extending by implication to any other matter.

This document is intended for institutional investors only. Neither this document nor any part of its content may be relied upon by any other person. This document is not intended for retail/private investors. Requests resulting from this document will only be responded to, if the respective person is an institutional investor.

IMPRINT & DISCLAIMER

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GSS Press | March 2018

PHOTO OF THE MONTH by Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy

Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, which meant the turning point of the Second World War.

3 February 2018 – Volgograd/Russia

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ATTILA‘S PHOTO BLOG