ASTANA (AzerNews) — Kazakhstan is preparing its International financial centre Astana for holding an IPO of the country’s largest companies. The initial public offering (IPO) is the first time that the stock of a private company is offered to the public.

The actions are aimed at securing long-term business lending and drafting the Law “On restoring the solvency of individuals and introducing changes in the program for refinancing mortgage loans”. The preparation of the IFC site for IPO will be provided and the IPO of a number of Samruk-Kazyna portfolio companies will be held in 2018.

Meanwhile, Samruk-Kazyna JSC announced the terms of placement of shares for the IPO of Kazakhtelecom, Kazatamprom and Air Astana.

One of the most important challenges in going public is the need for added disclosure for investors. In addition, the cost of complying with regulatory requirements may be very high. Public companies also face added pressure of the market which may cause them to focus more on short-term results rather than long-term growth.