CEE Equity

Kazatomprom, the Kazakh producer of natural uranium, is to proceed with an IPO this year, likely surprising a few who did not expect to see an intention to float (ITF) a mere week after the company filed initial paperwork with the London Stock Exchange.

The Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) IPO market suffered during the sell-off that hit equity markets hard last week. But amid the wreckage of pulled flotations and weak aftermarket performance, two exciting listings from Kazakhstan and Belarus are underway and equity capital markets bankers and investors are beginning to see the promise in the markets in, and beyond, Europe’s eastern fringe, writes Sam Kerr.

Slovenia will brave volatile markets to privatise Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), the country’s largest bank, before an end of year deadline set by the European Commission.

Kazatomprom, the Kazakh company that is one of the world's largest producers of natural uranium, is seeking an IPO in London and potentially Astana, the first of a number of expected sales by the state.

Eurotorg, the biggest supermarket group in Belarus, has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange, paving the way for the first big international IPO of a Belarusian company.

Potential IPO issuers from across emerging markets are waiting for investor sentiment to calm so that they can sell new deals, but many fear that there is little chance of a renaissance for EM this year.

RusHydro, the Russian hydroelectricity firm, has filed for a Rb13bn capital raising in order to fund the construction of overhead power lines.

The market chaos caused by investor panic over Turkey hit the shares of European companies this week, but the risk of a systemic crisis is low, said analysts.

Equity and debt markets are preparing for a full blown crisis in Turkey and even though its currency pulled back from its early-week lows, investors are worrying about debt defaults.

Russian petrochemicals company Sibur is not close to making a decision on whether to go public, despite media reports in the last fortnight to the contrary, its CFO told GlobalCapital.

Hopes rose this week of a revival for Russia’s equity capital markets when the US Treasury extended a key sanctions licence until October, allowing aluminium conglomerate EN+ to continue with a plan that would remove sanctions on the company.

The US has imposed sanctions on two senior officials in the Turkish government, prompting debt and equity markets to sell off and driving Turkish lira to over five to the dollar for the first time in history.