Press releases – 2008
Appointment of new Non-executive Director
17 Jan 2008
The Board of Chagala, the specialist Kazakh real estate developer and operator listed on the London Stock Exchange, is pleased to announce the appointment of Baltabek Kuandykov as a non-executive director with effect from 15 January 2008.
Mr Kuandykov will replace Mr Kairat Satylganov who has resigned to focus on his own business interests. The Board would like to thank Mr Satylganov for his contributions and wishes him all the best.
Baltabek Kuandykov is currently President of Meridian Petroleum. He was formerly President of Nelson Resources Limited, the oil development and production company operating in Kazakhstan which was listed on the London Stock Exchange until its acquisition by Lukoil in 2005.
Mr Kuandykov has considerable experience in the oil and gas industry in the region, having served as President of Kazakhoil (predecessor of KazMunaiGas) and is a well respected consultant to Chevron Overseas Petroleum on CIS projects. He also worked in a senior capacity for Kazneftegazrazvedka and was president of Kazakhstancaspishelf.
Mr Kuandykov also has extensive government experience in Kazakhstan, having served as Deputy Minister of Geology, Head of the Oil and Gas Directorate at the Ministry of Geology, and was Deputy Minister of Energy and Fuel Resources.
Mr Kuandykov is well known to the Group since he previously worked with Chagala on a joint venture to create Caspi Ltd, the first project the Group undertook in Atyrau in West Kazakhstan in 1994.
Commenting on the appointments Chagala's Chairman, Mark Lockwood, said:
"We are pleased that Baltabek has agreed to join the Board. He brings a wealth of experience in the Kazakhstan oil and gas sector that will complement the existing skills on the Board. On behalf of the Board, I also want to thank Kairat for his counsel and contributions."
Chagala's Chief Executive Officer, Tim Abson, commented:
"I am delighted that Baltabek has agreed to sit on our Board, fourteen years after our first transaction in Kazakhstan. He is extremely well respected in the country and especially in West Kazakhstan where a great deal of our activities are concentrated."
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Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial
Mike Davies
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Notes to Editors
Chagala Group
Chagala was formed in 1994 and is the leading real estate developer in West Kazakhstan, exploiting real estate development opportunities related to the emerging offshore oil and gas industry in the region.
The Company's first facility was opened in 1995 in the city of Atyrau on the Caspian Sea and since then has expanded and diversified considerably.
Chagala's current property portfolio includes: three hotels and two guest houses catering to businessmen working in the rapidly expanding energy sector, 15,000 sqm of office buildings complying with international standards, 235 fully-serviced, high quality apartments, 14 food and beverage outlets, 3,685sqm of storage and garage facilities and 500,000 sqm of landbank for future development.
Additionally, Chagala has a 50.1% stake in a joint venture with Zere to develop and operate a number of shopping centers across Kazakhstan based in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Atyrau, Aktau, Kostanai, Urlask and Shymkent.
Chagala's diversified property portfolio is located in a number of key centres in West Kazakhstan, In Atyrau, the administrative centre for Kazakhstan's oil & gas industry, Chagala has a 110 bedroom hotel, 235 apartments, 15,000 sqm of offices, food and beverage outlets and is developing a further 60,000 sqm of buildings comprising of 150 serviced apartments, a new office complex, a Chagala Zere Shopping Mall and a wellness centre and clinic, all forming the first phase of an overall 220,000 sqm project.
In Bautino, the supply base for the off-shore oil industry, Chagala has a guest house and is expanding its 96 bedroom hotel by adding 50 new bedrooms. The company also has plans to develop utility accomodation for over 1000 people with warehousing and office space.
In Aktau, a major sea port with oil-loading facilities, Chagala is developing an apart-hotel (1st phase 88 units) and a Chagala Zere Shopping Mall. Additionally, Chagala is developing warehousing and has a 3.3 hectare beach front site, on which it intends to develop commercial and residential properties.
In Aksai, Chagala has bought 50.1% of a company that owns and will operate a 150 person accommodation facility used by companies working on the Karachaganak oil and condensate field.
In Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and commercial centre of the country, Chagala has the Company's Head Office and a guesthouse with 12 suites.
In Uralsk, the regional centre connected with the Karachaganak gas field, one of the biggest gas condensate fields in the world, Chagala owns a 52-bedroom hotel with plans for future expansion as well as plans for a Chagala Zere Shopping Mall.