President Nazarbayev pushing ENRC and Kazakhmys into 'People's IPOs'

    By Richard Orange
    He wants the prominent London-listed companies to sell shares to Kazakh retail investors as part of the "people's IPO" programme he has launched in the run-up to presidential elections.
    Nursultan Nazarbayev said that the government would first sell $500m (£306m) of shares in KazMunaiGas, the state energy company with some shares listed in London, to citizens.
    He added that this would be followed, over time, by sales of shares Kazakhmys, ENRC, ArcelorMittal, the global steel company, and Glencore, the Swiss trading company.
    "Our citizens will be able to become co-owners of the largest companies in Kazakhstan," Mr Nazarbayev said, in a statement on his website.
    The Kazakh government appears not to have discussed these ambitions with the four companies and their managements, the Daily Telegraph (UK) said.