Press releases 2005

12 October 2005

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE WELCOMES KAZAKHMYS TO ITS MAIN MARKET

Kazakhmys, the largest producer of copper in Kazakhstan, was today admitted to the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.

At £661 million, the Offering is the largest ever IPO by a company from Kazakhstan on a public market anywhere in the world. The listing is the third biggest IPO by an international company on the London Stock Exchange’s markets this year.  

Kazakhmys, with a market capitalisation of approximately £2.75 billion, joins a total of 35 mining companies listed on the Main Market.

Clara Furse, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange, said:

“We are delighted that Kazakhmys has chosen London for its primary listing. The capital raised in this IPO demonstrates the strength of London’s markets and investor confidence in its world-leading regulatory and corporate governance standards. With a healthy new issues pipeline, we hope to welcome many more international companies to our markets in the next few months.” 

Yong Keu Cha, Chief Executive of Kazakhmys, commented:

“We are delighted with the positive response to the Kazakhmys IPO. London is the venue of choice for mining companies and by listing here we have access to the most sophisticated and experienced investors in the sector. Their investment will enable us to continue to take advantage of Kazakhstan's extraordinary mineral wealth, and deliver on our growth strategy to create value for our shareholders. We are very much looking forward to the next phase of our development as a listed company.” 

To celebrate the occasion, Yong Keu Cha, Chief Executive of Kazakhmys, opened the London Stock Exchange’s markets by switching on ‘The Source,’ a specially commissioned artwork in the main atrium of the London Stock Exchange’s building in Paternoster Square.

A total of 21 companies operating in the former Soviet Union are traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. So far this year, there have been a total of 5 Main Market IPOs by companies from this region, raising in total around $4.7 billion between them.

For further information, please contact:

Anya Velzeboer     Press Office  +44 (0)20 7797 1222
newsroom@londonstockexchange.com

Notes to editors:

About the London Stock Exchange:
The London Stock Exchange is one of the world’s foremost equity exchanges and a leading provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and the trading of shares.

The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange by trading in the world and Europe's largest pool of liquidity.  By the end of 2004, the market capitalisation of UK and international companies on the London Stock Exchange’s markets amounted to £3.5 trillion, with £4.7 trillion of equity business transacted over the year.

As of September 2005 there were 3,013 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.  Of these, 1,702 companies were on the Main Market, including 334 international companies and 1,311 were on AIM, including 185 international companies.

The London Stock Exchange is a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and is supervised by the Financial Services Authority.

About Kazakhmys:
Kazakhmys PLC is the tenth largest copper cathode producer and the tenth largest mined copper producer in the world. As the largest producer of copper in Kazakhstan, its principal business is the mining, processing, smelting, refining and sale of copper and copper products, including copper cathode and copper rod. As by-products of its Kazakh copper operations, the Group also processes, refines and sells zinc, gold and silver.

Kazakhmys plc’s corporate headquarters are situated in London and the company has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide but the bulk of the Company's operations take place in Kazakhstan, one of the most stable and economically developed states in the Central Asian region

About the Market Opening ceremony:

The London Stock Exchange’s markets are opened by a selected dignitary or VIP, pushing a button and setting into motion “the Source” – a dynamic sculpture in the 7-storey atrium of the Exchange’s new headquarters at Paternoster Square.

The Source was unveiled by The Queen at the official opening of the Exchange’s new building on Wednesday 27 July 2004 and consists of 729 spheres, suspended on metal cables stretching the full height of the 32m, 7-storey atrium.  Controlled electronically, each sphere moves independently, forming random shifting patterns or words, numbers and shapes fed in directly from the world's media.

Pictures of the market opening ceremony will be available from 9:30am (London time) on Wednesday 12th October.  To obtain pictures please contact:

Anya Velzeboer   Press Office  +44 (0)20 7797 1222
avelzeboer@londonstockexchange.com