MOSCOW - Chase Manhattan Bank is scheduled to open a joint venture bank in Kazakhstan in January, senior banking sources said.
Kazakh Investment Bank, a 50-50 joint venture of the Chase Manhattan Corp. unit and the government of Kazakhstan, will be based in the capital, Alma-Ata, and has already been licensed, the sources said.
Foreign businesses have been entering Kazakhstan to make oil and commodities deals.
The only other foreign bank operation in Kazakhstan is Turkey's state-run Ziraat Bank. Yatirim Bank, a Turkish bank that is a joint venture with Trans Arabian Investment Bank of Saudi Arabia, has also signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to open a joint venture, capitalized at $1 million.
The Kazakh agricultural bank Agroprombank and state-run Kazcredsotz Bank each reportedly will own 25% of the venture, Trans Arabian 35%, Yatirim Bank 10%, and Creditcorp Delaware of the United States 5%.
