Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Thu, 19th Jun -- Outside the commodities sector, there are niches of the Kazakh economy that are defying the downward trend.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Thu, 19th Jun -- Although the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) is the most developed in Central Asia, its development has been slow compared to the country's banking sector. It now faces an uphill struggle due to intense competition from foreign exchanges for Kazakhstan's highly attractive pipeline of IPOs.

Ladislav Beranek of Silk Road Intelligencer
Thu, 19th Jun -- The unstable market environment in Kazakhstan could open the door for a wave of private equity deals as the credit crunch that ended the country's double-digit growth and cut it off from global capital markets creates new opportunities for investors.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Thu, 19th Jun -- Just three months after listing on the LSE, Kazakhstan's largest listed company ENRC shot into the FTSE 100 index. Now the metals and minerals giant says it's moving on from its abortive takeover of Kazakh copper miner Kazakhmys to pursue an international expansion programme.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Thu, 19th Jun -- Between the extremes of luxury-brand shops and the open-air bazaars, options for the Kazakh middle class are limited, as the country hasn't yet been colonized by western high street chains.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Thu, 19th Jun -- Kazkommertsbank initially established itself as Kazakhstan's largest corporate lender, but the bank's managing director, Andrey Timchenko, tells bne that the 2007 crisis has forced it into an increased focus on its retail business.