Air Astana and Kazatomprom select banks for IPO

The world’s largest uranium producer and Kazakhstan’s national airline have selected investment banks to advise on public listings in 2018 to kick-start the country’s long-awaited privatisation programme. Kazatomprom, the state-owned uranium producer and exporter, and Air Astana, the largest Central Asian carrier, are both working with banks to prepare flotations, four people involved in the processes told the Financial Times, as part of a long-term plan to sell off stakes in state assets worth about $70bn.  Both companies are preparing for listings in 2018, said Berik Beisengaliyev, managing director for asset optimisation at Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. He added that the sale processes could still be shelved if the market response was not satisfactory.  Air Astana, which is 49% owned by BAE Systems and 51% owned by Samruk-Kazyna, is widely viewed as the state’s most investor-friendly asset. It is scheduled to be listed on both the Astana and London stock exchanges in the third quarter of next year, with Kazatomprom to follow.  “The shareholders continue to discuss this, and the provisional window for a listing opens in Q3 2018, and it is very likely that it will be a dual listing [in Astana] and London,” said Peter Foster, Air Astana’s chief executive. “That is the proposed and indeed approved course of action by both shareholders.” <br/>