----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 8:36 PM Subject: [STOPNATO] US capital grows in Central Asia STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM AES eyes entry in Kazakh power after Tractebel exit Updated 6:52 AM ET June 22, 2000 ALMATY, June 22 (Reuters) - U.S. power utility AES is considering participating in a tender to manage power systems in Kazakhstan's commercial hub Almaty, from which Belgium's Tractebel recently withdrew, officials said late on Wednesday. The company's director for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Garry Levesley, said AES had already told the Kazakh government of its willingness to operate the power lines. "If the government trusts us and supports us in this project, then we shall definitely want to work with it," Levesley told reporters through an interpreter. The government plans to hold a tender for investors to manage the electricity systems, which according to Deputy Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov are burdened with $215 million in debts as well as outdated equipment. The lines were managed since 1996 by Tractebel (TREBt.BR, which exited the Central Asian state last month after a series of tarriff rows with the government and local industrialists. It described working conditions in Kazakhstan as "intolerable." Tractebel recently sold its interests in Kazakh power and gas to a Kazakh state-owned firm for $100 million. The local Eurasia Bank, which owns stakes in several of the largest Kazakh metals companies, has already said it would seek to move into the slot vacated by Tractebel. So far it controls a power plant in the northern city of Pavlodar. AES is involved in electricity generation and distribution in eastern Kazakhstan. It owns the giant Ekibastuz power station in the north as well as four thermal electric station in the east. It also has the right to manage two regional energy companies for a 15-year period and two hydro-electric stations in eastern Kazakhstan for 20 years. It says it has invested $150 million in Kazakhstan since 1996. "If the possibility arises, we would only be too glad to increase our investments in Kazakhstan," Levesley said. He added that AES was hoping to receive a $30 million credit from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development soon. Most of the money would be invested in modernising the two hydro-electric stations under its management. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] GET PAINLESS BUSINESS FINANCING! Comparison shop for, apply for, and secure financing from the nation's best-known financial institutions. One short application gets you the financing your business needs. Get the financing you need today at LiveCapital.com! http://www.bcentral.com/fcsponsor/livecapital
