Former head of Kazakh Invest Yusupov to become new Kazatomprom board chairman

ASTANA. Sept 29 (Interfax) - Erzhan Mukanov, who has headed the Kazakh nuclear company Kazatomprom since July 2022, will leave the post of chairman of the company's board on October 2, 2023.

Meirzhan Yusupov, who held the position of chairman of the board of state-owned Kazakh Invest (oversees the attraction of foreign investment in Kazakhstan) and was the chief director for economics and finance of Kazatomprom from 2015 to 2020, was appointed as the new head of the company, a Kazatomprom statement said.

The decisions were made by the company's board of directors on September 28. Mukanov will also cease to be a member of the company's board of directors.

The Board of Directors also approved the inclusion of the company's chief economics and finance director, Sultan Temirbayev, on the board of Kazatomprom from September 28.

Arman Argingazin, chairman of the board of directors of Kazatomprom, said that the uranium market is demonstrating unprecedented development: uranium prices have reached absolute maximums over the past 12 years, the statement said. "With extensive experience in the uranium industry, Mr. Yusupov, in our view, is an excellent candidate to lead the company into an era of new growth in the uranium market," Argingazin said.

"In order to maximize value for all stakeholders, we believe the company's new management will focus on improving operational efficiency and productivity in the growing uranium market," Argingazin said.

Yusupov said he "intends to maintain the company's commitment to creating long-term value for all its stakeholders, giving priority to issues of labor protection, health and the environment, corporate governance, social responsibility and transparency."

Yusupov began working at Kazatomprom in 2010 as director of the corporate finance and treasury department. In 2015-2020, he served as the company's chief economics and finance director. Under his leadership, cost optimization, transformation and digitalization programs were successfully implemented. Yusupov also played a key role in the preparation of Kazatomprom for its IPO. Prior to his current appointment, Yusupov was the Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest.

Kazatomprom is engaged in uranium mining, the processing of rare metals, and the production and marketing of beryllium and tantalum products. The company produced 21,227 tonnes of uranium oxide in 2022, which is 3% less than in 2021. Kazatomprom accounted for about 22% of total global primary uranium production and about 42% of its production volume in 2022, consulting company UxC said. The company exports 100% of its production.

At the end of 2022, 25% of Kazatomprom shares were in free circulation on the Kazakhstan AIX exchange and the London Stock Exchange, while 75% of the shares belonged to Kazakhstan as represented by the Samruk-Kazyna state fund.