A new bank may open in Kazakhstan, as was announced
at a meeting between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and BNK Financial
Group CEO Dae-In Bin. The Head of State welcomed the company’s intention to
transform its microfinance subsidiary into a full-fledged second-tier bank. He
emphasized that establishing a leading South Korean bank in Kazakhstan will contribute
to strengthening trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
«Today, we have officially granted permission to BNK Finance
Kazakhstan subsidiary microfinance organization to transform into a second-tier
bank. BNK Finance Kazakhstan is part of BNK Financial Group, a major South Korean
banking holding company. It is one of the largest South Korean conglomerates,
represented in more than eight countries, including India and China. The assets
of this banking group approach $129 billion,» said Madina
Abylkassymova, Chairwoman of Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development
of Financial Market.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to
the Korean company Doosan Group for the assistance provided to Kazakhstan
during the floods. He also met with the holding’s Chairman and CEO Jeongwon
Park and Vice Chairman of Doosan Enerbility Yeonin Jung. They updated Tokayev
on the progress of a one-gigawatt combined cycle power plant project in the
Turkistan region and on the company’s potential involvement in expanding the
Karabatan power plant in the Atyrau region.
In another meeting, Tokayev discussed
geological exploration and mining sector cooperation with Pyeong-Koo Lee,
President of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM),
and Han-Sol Baek, Vice President of SK Ecoplant. The discussion included
exploratory activities at a lithium deposit in the East Kazakhstan region. The
Head of State proposed a cooperation model of ‘investment and technology in
exchange for raw materials’ to foreign investors.
