Kazakh State-Owned Company to Buy TbilGazi

The Georgian Economy Minister and top executive of the Kazakh KazTransGaz company signed a memorandum in Tbilisi on December 26, which says that the Kazakh state-owned company will buy 100% of shares of the capital city Tbilisi?s gas distribution company TbilGazi.

Amount of deal is not yet agreed, but according to the memorandum the Kazakh company will take over TbilGazi after the bankruptcy procedures of the latter are over.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said that bankruptcy proceedings of the TbilGazi are expected to be over by February 15, 2005.

?This is a very important [deal] for us. It means that the state budget will no longer subsidize TbilGazi,? PM Nogaideli told reporters on Monday.

Economy Minister Irakli Chogovadze did not specify amount of the Kazakh company?s planned investments in the TbilGazi, but said that ?hundreds of millions? of US dollars will be invested.

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