Kazakhstan-based JSC Altyn Bank elected its new board of directors and discussed development plans during a recent meeting in Alma-Ata, after China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd acquired a 50.1 percent stake in Altyn.

According to its three-year development plan, the new board of directors is looking forward to an increase in total assets from about $1.2 billion at present to $4 billion in 2021. As the bank will expand its scale of business, its return on assets is expected to drop from about 2.2 percent to no less than 1.5 percent, and its return on equity is expected to fall from more than 17 percent to no less than 16 percent.

Li Qingping, chair of China CITIC Bank, said the Beijing-headquartered national joint-stock commercial lender will help Altyn expand its corporate clients from local companies to multinational and Chinese companies in Kazakhstan. So far, more than 300 Chinese companies have been registered for business in Kazakhstan and operate there.

Apart from traditional services including trade finance and export credit, Altyn Bank will develop the cross-border renminbi clearing business and provide IPO, bond issuance and mergers and acquisitions services to local, multinational and Chinese corporate clients. In the meantime, China CITIC Bank will transplant its best practices to Altyn Bank, leveraging its advantages in e-banking, mobile banking and cross-border payment services, Li said.

Previously known as HSBC Bank Kazakhstan, Altyn Bank was established in Kazakhstan in 1998. It was acquired by JSC Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s leading financial services group, in November 2014 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Halyk Bank.

In April, China CITIC Bank teamed up with China Shuangwei Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of China National Tobacco Corporation, and completed acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Altyn Bank. CITIC owns 50.1 percent of Altyn's equity and Shuangwei 9.9 percent.

With a growing number of Chinese companies making overseas investments, China CITIC Bank has stepped up the efforts to expand its global footprint. Last year, the bank made its overseas development plan for 2017-2020. It is currently applying for regulatory approval of the establishment of a branch in Hong Kong and will set up a branch in London in the second half of this year, according to Li.