OREANDA-NEWS. EURASIAN NATURAL RESOURCES CORPORATION PLC, common shares of which are traded in Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) official list, provided to KASE the press release of December 11, 2008 on the following, reported the press-centre of KASE:

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC ("ENRC" or, together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group'), the holding company of a leading diversified natural resources group based in Kazakhstan, today comments on the new Tax Code of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The highlights of the tax changes affecting ENRC are:

- The tax changes will take effect from 1 January 2009.

- There will be a phased reduction in the rate of Corporate Income Tax ('CIT') from the current 30% to: 20% in 2009; 17.5% in 2010; and 15% from 2011.

- The introduction of new Minerals Extraction Taxes ('MET') with a different rate for each type of mineral. The payments will be principally determined from the value of extracted mineral resources by reference to the sales price. MET payments for the Group are, in aggregate, significantly higher than the previous system of royalties, and are broadly phased to offset the reductions in the rate of CIT.

- Revisions to the basis of calculation of Excess Profit Taxes ('EPT') imposed on net profits. EPT is designed to encourage mining companies to produce value added products within Kazakhstan. EPT arises where the revenue from external sales of mined ore exceeds a certain level of permissible deductions. The tax rate is tiered to the extent of the excess profit.

The expected impact on the financial results of ENRC is broadly in line with previous Group guidance:

- The headline effective corporate tax rate for 2008, prior to accounting for any changes arising with the new Tax Code, is expected to be broadly in line with the Group's previous guidance of between 32% and 33%.

- If all of the changes of the new Tax Code were to be incorporated in the 2008 tax charge, on a pro forma basis the impact would have been in line with the Group's previous guidance of an additional 2 to 3 percentage points on the effective tax rate.

- As a one-off impact in 2008, with the implementation of the new Tax Code, ENRC will benefit from a release of deferred tax liabilities which will reduce the estimated effective 2008 CIT charge by approximately US100 million.

- In an environment of lower commodity prices, the effective tax rate should remain broadly stable under the new Tax Code.

- ENRC's continued commitment to invest in value added processing in Kazakhstan should enable us to optimize our future effective tax rate.

"We are pleased with the introduction of the new Tax Code in Kazakhstan, which provides us with greater clarity and predictability. We believe that the Government of Kazakhstan's willingness to engage with the industry in the development of the new Tax Code provides a good balance between the interests of large extraction companies and the Government's wider objectives.".