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Alliance Bank and ATF Bank, two expansionist Kazakh banks, hope to raise $500m and $350m by launching IPOs in Kazakhstan and London in the second half of 2007, EuroWeek has learned.
Vozrozhdenie, a midsize Russian bank, also plans a $200m-$250m share sale in Moscow and perhaps London in the next three months, Moscow-based analysts said.
The news comes as Russia's second largest bank, VTB, is gearing up for its $4bn IPO in London and Moscow in May.
Bank of Moscow is also preparing a $700m domestic share offer for the second half of the year, while Rosbank is pressing ahead with plans to raise $200m in a Moscow float.
If all goes well -- and especially if there is no prolonged slump in world stockmarkets -- CIS financial institutions could raise nearly $15bn in the equity markets this year. Of that, $8.8bn has already been sold, in Sberbank's rights issue in late February.
Russia's Alfa Bank and the large global investment banks are said to be pitching for the Alliance and ATF IPOs, a Moscow analyst close to the situation said.
By building its assets to $8.2bn last year, ATF has knocked Halyk Bank (which has $7.3bn) off the third spot in Kazakhstan's banking market, Alfa Bank analyst Rinat Gainoulline said.
Both Alliance and ATF require funds to support their aggressive expansions at home and abroad. Moreover,...