MeTEC To Join Forces With Kazakh Companies

The Metals and Engineering Corporation (MeTEC) and the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazayna of Kazakhstan are taking steps to establish a joint working group for studying investment opportunities and projects, The Reporter reported.

Samruk-Kazyna is a sovereign wealth fund and joint stock company in Kazakhstan which either owns or part-owns many significant companies in the country, including the national rail and postal service, the state oil and gas company Kaz Munay Gas, the state uranium company Kazatomprom, Air Astana, and numerous financial groups.

The state is the sole shareholder of the fund, which was created in October 2008 after the merger of two funds, "Samruk" and "Kazyna". Currently, Samruk-Kazyna controls USD 78 billion in assets, or nearly 56 percent of Kazakhstan's GDP.
According to the report, the agreements were made when a delegation, led by the director general of MeTEC Brigadier General Kinfe Dagnew, traveled to Astana, Kazakhstan recently.

Apart from Samruk-Kazyna, MeTEC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with two Kazakh companies, KazEngineering and Rompetrol Group, for the exchange of information and search for mutually beneficial areas of cooperation, such as the ore mining sector, agriculture, repair and modernization of armed equipment.

Kazakhstan Engineering National Company OJSC (KazEngineering) manufactures and exports products of special purpose for the law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan. It also produces oil and gas equipment, and equipment for the rail industry. In addition, the company provides agricultural engineering and radio electronics. It serves customers representing oil and gas, rail, agriculture, and heat power complexes, as well as the manufacture and repair of military equipment. Kazakhstan Engineering National Company OJSC was founded in 2003 and is based in Astana, Kazakhstan. As of January 24, 2007, Kazakhstan Engineering National Company OJSC operates as a subsidiary of Samruk Holdings JSC.

The other company, Rompetrol Group, which is under KazMunayGas, is a Romanian oil company that operates in many countries throughout Europe. The group is active primarily in refining, marketing and trading, with additional operations in exploration and production, and other oil industry services such as drilling and transportation. In 2007 Kazakhstan's state-controlled oil and gas company KazMunayGas bought a 75 percent equity stake in oil firm Rompetrol Group N.V. in an acquisition estimated to be worth USD 2.7 billion.

Source: The Reporter