Baiterek Holding Expands Investment Cooperation with Chinese Partners

On September 8–9, a delegation from the Baiterek Holding group of companies, headed by Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Holding Zhandos Shaikhy, took part in the SRF Investment Dialogue, an international investment platform organized with the participation of the Silk Road Fund (SRF), as part of a working visit to China.

During the forum, representatives of leading financial institutions, investment companies and businesses from around the world discussed prospects for developing cross-border investment cooperation, new mechanisms for attracting capital, and opportunities for implementing joint investment projects.

Baiterek Holding’s participation in the SRF Investment Dialogue continued its systematic efforts to strengthen investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. The focus was on expanding cooperation with Chinese financial and investment institutions, attracting long-term capital to the Kazakh economy, and developing new financing instruments for high-value-added projects.

A key outcome of the negotiations on the sidelines of the SRF Investment Dialogue was the signing of a Term Sheet (Agreement) between Silk Road Fund Co., Ltd., Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC), part of the Holding’s structure, and Sturgeon Capital Kazakhstan Ltd. The document was signed by Gabas Erzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of QIC.

The Term Sheet sets out the key terms for establishing a future China–Kazakhstan Joint Investment Fund, including the target size of the Fund, the roles of the participants and key investment areas, and will serve as the basis for preparing the final investment agreements.

According to the document, the target size of the Fund will be up to USD 200 million. At the initial stage, USD 100 million is planned to be raised. The Fund will be registered in the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The Fund’s investors will be the Silk Road Fund and QIC. The Fund is planned to be managed by Sturgeon Capital in cooperation with Qazaqstan Investment Capital Management Ltd., a subsidiary of Qazaqstan Investment Corporation.

The Fund’s resources will be directed to promising projects in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. At least 70% of investments are planned to be allocated to projects in Kazakhstan.

“For Kazakhstan, the establishment of such a Fund is an opportunity to attract additional long-term capital to real-economy projects that will create new production facilities, jobs and export potential. We are interested in ensuring that international investment directly contributes to the development of the Kazakh economy and the creation of new growth drivers. At the same time, it is important to highlight the qualitatively new level of Kazakhstan’s participation in international investment cooperation. For the first time, QIC will act as a co-GP of a newly established fund. This demonstrates the confidence of leading international investors in QIC’s capabilities and opens up additional opportunities to attract capital to projects in Kazakhstan and Central Asia,” said Zhandos Shaikhy, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Baiterek Holding.

The new investment mechanism will serve as an additional instrument for attracting foreign capital to the Kazakh economy and will enable the investment capabilities of Chinese and Kazakh partners to be combined to implement projects in priority sectors.

The Holding is consistently developing partnerships with international financial institutions, serving as a bridge between investors and Kazakh businesses. It also has extensive expertise in financing real-economy projects, developing entrepreneurship, supporting exports and attracting investment.

As part of the international investment dialogue, the Holding continues to build a pipeline of promising projects and expand opportunities for foreign investors to participate in the development of production capacities, infrastructure and other priority areas of Kazakhstan’s economy.

For reference:

Silk Road Fund was established in 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing. The Fund’s total capital amounts to USD 40 billion and RMB 100 billion. The Fund invests in infrastructure, energy, industry and other sectors as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Qazaqstan Investment Corporation is Kazakhstan’s private equity fund of funds and is part of the Baiterek Holding structure. QIC’s portfolio comprises 18 funds, with total assets amounting to USD 2.6 billion.

Sturgeon Capital is an investment management company headquartered in London. The company specializes in the markets of Central and South Asia, as well as the Caucasus.