Here’s another one billionaire in Kazakhstan. The next year’s Forbes rating will feature Bulat Utemuratov, ex-secretary of the Security Council and current chief of president’s apparatus. According to the publicly available information, he together with two sons Alidar and Anuar owns a controlling stake of 52% in the third largest bank in Kazakhstan, the ATF Bank.

Yesterday it became known that Bank Austria Creditanstalt, the Italian UniСredit’s subsidiary responsible for commercial banking activities in Central and Eastern Europe, has signed a share purchase agreement with private shareholders to acquire a 85% majority shareholding in ATF Bank, which has branches in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russian Omsk. The purchase price for the entire outstanding capital of ATF is USD 2,175 million. The transaction is expected to be completed during the second half of 2007 after receipt of all necessary regulatory authorizations and consents. The UniCredit’s objective is to acquire up to 100 per cent of ATF.

This is the first case when the Western bank acquires a Kazakh one. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owns only minor shares in Kazkommertsbank (5,3%) and Bank TuranAlem (9,9%).