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"We have been observing this market for a long time and we believe that now is a good time to make this step" |
"Due to its economic potential and politically stable environment, Kazakhstan is an attractive market," says Herbert Stepic, Raiffeisen International’s chief executive. "We have been observing this market for a long time and we believe that now is a good time to make this step." Raiffeisen had previously hoped to crack the Kazakh banking market through BTA (formerly Bank TuranAlem) in which it built a 7.7% minority stake in 2001. But it failed to come to an agreement over an acceptable price for majority control and sold its holding in August 2006 to a group of Scandinavian investment funds led by East Capital, registering a €102 million profit in the process. In the interim it has concentrated on building its leasing business in the country, which is in the top three in a fast-growing market segment.
Raiffeisen is reported to have considered the purchase of stakes in several existing banks – including, ironically, BTA subsidiary Temirbank – but has concluded that an organic rather than an acquisition-led approach makes most sense.