Page 7 - bne_Tech_10_2020

Leaders
October 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 7
Company eyes online travel
The company presently has growth plans such as expanding into new businesses, including online travel, in nearby Central Asian countries and the Caucasus region.
The Kaspi-controlled Kaspi Bank made a decision in February 2019 to delist the bank from the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) during an extraordinary meeting. At the same time, Kaspi. kz remains listed on the KASE. Kaspi Bank’s total assets as of 30 June 2020 amounted to KZT2.48tn.
In October 2019, the nephew of former Kazakh president of three decades Nursultan Nazarbayev,
Russia's Yandex pulls plug on $5.5bn deal to buy Tinkoff Bank
Russian internet major Yandex has called off the $5.5bn deal to acquire Russia’s only pure online bank and an investors darling, Tinkoff bank, Yandex said in a press release issued on October 16.
Yandex didn't explained the reason for the decision and only said the negotiations on acquiring and merging with banking TCS Group, that owns Tinkoff Bank, have been terminated, bringing an abrupt end to one of the biggest deals in Russia for years.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, in September Yandex in a bombshell announcement said it intends to acquire TCS for $5.5bn, which made both companies gain over $2bn in value as their stocks rallied on the news.
The decision follows reports carried by The Bell that the owner of TCS Group, famous serial entrepreneur
Kairat Satybaldyuly, sold his 30% stake in Kaspi.kz prior to its announcement of the intended flotation in London that ended up as postponed.
Central Asia has a total population of around 74mn people. Most do not have access to banking services and around 55.2% of the regional population live in rural areas where financial inclusion is a stretch. That’s good news for regional fintech in general, according to
a report by Astana International Financial
Center titled “The State of Fintech in Central Asia: How Kazakhstan Drives the Regional Fintech Industry”, published in June.
Oleg Tinkov, was still in talks with other large Russian groups and rich investors on a potential sale. In particular a tie with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) mobile major and operator of MTS Bank was mentioned as a possible buyer, The Bell reported on October 14 citing unnamed sources.
That deal appealed less to analysts as MTS Bank is a direct competitor with Tinkoff Bank, although MTS bank has been having a hard time during the crisis.
Tinkov has also reportedly been talking directly with Vladimir Yevtushenko, the founder of multi- industry investment conglomerate AFK Sistema, MTS’ ultimate beneficiary.
The Bell reported that Tinkov has been talking to dozens of potential investors over the last year and half.