Fitch Ratings international rating agency has assigned JSCFinance (hereinafter - "Halyk Finance" or the "Company") the long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of 'BB' in foreign and national currencies with a Stable Outlook, the short-term IDRs of 'B' in foreign and national currencies and the short-term support rating of '3'.

 "Over the past 10 years, we have done our utmost to capture and cement our leading position in Kazakhstan's investment banking market, continuously acting as an ice-breaker and a high-quality innovator in everything we do - from implanting the best international market standards into the domestic practice to successful execution of our clients' most sophisticated - and often unique - mandates under very tight deadlines. This time,Finance has yet again become the one and only investment bank in Kazakhstan which has received an international credit rating." - said Mr. Arnat Abzhanov, the CEO of JSCFinance. "Halyk Finance being able to secure such a high international credit rating objectively attests to our constant commitment to conducting open and transparent business in the securities market - and our clients are the key beneficiaries of our relentless commitment. Our rating is one of the highest ratings assigned to local investment banks in the whole CIS region, thereby marking a very important and significant achievement for us."

Commenting on the assignment of the credit rating, Mrs. Umut Shayakhmetova, the CEO of JSCBank, has commented: "The past week has been very eventful forGroup. As you may know, Standard & Poor's Rating Services has upgradedBank's long-term counterparty credit rating from "BB" to "BB+". Now Fitch has assigned an international credit rating of "BB" to one of our subsidiaries. It's a positive trend which can't help making our Group companies happy.Finance is an integral part ofGroup's development strategy and we pay strong attention to howFinance has been able to transform from a regular broker-dealer company into a full-fledged premium investment bank. The assignment of a rating from one of the top international rating agencies is a milestone event forFinance and confirms correctness of the Company's long-term development strategy."

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JSCFinance - the leading investment bank in Kazakhstan rendering a full range of investment banking services including consulting and underwriting, corporate finance (M&A advisory and corporate debt restructurings), sales and trading with market making on the KASE, investment portfolio management and research.

JSCBank of Kazakhstan - the leading financial group and the leading retail bank in Kazakhstan with the biggest client base and branch network. The Bank's services cover c. 5.9 million individuals, over 60 thousand SMEs and c. 300 large corporate borrowers. The Bank is developing as a universal financial group, which offers wide spectrum of services (banking, pension, brokerage services, insurance services, leasing an asset management services) to its retail, medium and small business and corporate clients.Bank also operates in Russia, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.

JSC "Halyk Finance"

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