OREANDA-NEWS. June 07, 2011. Kazkommertsbank says it filed a statement of claim with Almaty special inter-district economic court aimed at recovery of KZT2,484,308,270.46 of debt  off JSC "Supermarket chain 7'Я" and LLP "Food Retail Invest" (hereinafter – the Borrowers), as well as JSC "Resmi" Group of companies" (hereinafter – the guarantor), a leading private business in Kazakhstan, reported the press-centre of KASE.

An agreement with the Borrowers on opening a credit facility for fostering the retail chain dates back to 2007. According to that, co-owners of the supermarket chain - the "Resmi" Group of companies" and Mr. Baurzhan Baimukahnov jointly came forward as responsible guarantors for the Borrowers, i.e. warranted for the Borrowers before the Bank.                       

Unfortunately, the company management failed to deliver under the business plan they presented when requesting a loan. Since 2008, the Borrower started to commit delays in repayment of the debt. In spite of a general drop in retail sales and shrinking consumer demand, the management, shareholders and guarantors were given a chance to revive the situation, including prolongation of the grace period. However, the Borrower failed to reach the required debt service ratio. With the Borrowers failing to deliver, the Bank, caring about its depositors, had no other option as to claim debt repayment from the Borrowers and guarantors and start legal actions under the effective laws.

Most notably, the guarantor is a major Kazakh business empire. According to Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), the combined net income of the "Resmi" Group of companies" for 2010 only made up KZT1.3 bn. Resmi's investment portfolio (according to http://www.resmi.kz  ) includes Accumulative Pension Fund Respublika, RG Brands, a leading food producer and vendor, Investment-Finance House Resmi, and the developer Innova Investment. Such pool of assets makes the Bank believe the guarantor is able to pick up the bill. However, the Bank is eager to consider any proposals to solve the issue.