According to our sources, information has recently emerged that a group of major businessmen intends to buy out the Shymbulak ski resort. There are concerns that the deal is planned to be carried out without complying with the relevant laws and at a reduced price.
It all began more than 15 years ago when the management of Shymbulak aimed to implement a large-scale project: at Medeu, plans included the construction of a Radisson hotel and an "Alpine village" with restaurants and cafes, while at Shymbulak, a new eight-storey hotel and serviced apartments were proposed. Investment of around $1.37 billion was expected. The construction period was estimated at four years (from 2007 to 2010).
According to our information, the administration of Shymbulak received two large loans to implement the project. One of the creditors was the now-liquidated Kazkommertsbank (QAZKOM), which partially financed the first phase of works, investing approximately $100 million. Another loan of $100 million was provided by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK).
However, all ambitions were limited to the construction of a gondola lift from Medeu to Shymbulak, the re-profiling of slopes, and the installation of new chairlifts at the resort itself. But it was not the new lifts, but rather the commercial property that was never built, which was supposed to generate the majority of the cash flow - and it was from this money that the loan was intended to be repaid.
At the same time, Kazakhstan began preparations for the 7th Asian Winter Games, which took place in 2011, and all reconstruction and construction work at the ski facilities for the Asian Games was effectively carried out at the expense of the state. There is information that under the "30 Corporate Leaders of Kazakhstan" programme, the DBK, via Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund JSC, allocated another loan of $260 million for the development of the ski resort.
The initiator of the reconstruction project for Medeu and Shymbulak ahead of the 2011 Asian Games was the owner of the ski resort, the company Capital Partners. The majority owner of the development company Capital Partners is Serzhan Zhumashov, who holds 60% of the company, while the remaining 40% of shares are owned by Turkish businessman Burak Oymen.
No one was in a hurry to repay the loan, and from 2017, the rights of claim under it were transferred to the Fund for Problem Loans (FPL). In 2022, it announced its readiness to assign the rights of claim against the borrowers Chimbulak Development LLP and Alatau Holding LLP to a potential investor, and repeatedly published advertisements seeking potential investors for Shymbulak. However, no one was found willing to invest in the ski resort.
The property complex of the Shymbulak resort serves as collateral for the obligations of these two companies. Currently, the founders of Chimbulak Development LLP are listed as Yerzhan Yerkinbayev and Chimbulak Investments LLP, owned by Nurlan Tilepov. Yerkinbayev also owns Medeu Management LLP, which has had restrictions on notarial actions and a ban on registration actions since February 2020.
Nurlan Tilepov's company, Chimbulak Investments LLP, has paid only 15,000 tenge in taxes since 2017. Tilepov also owns CP Residential Atyrau LLP, which has a tax debt of around 650 million tenge, and Capital Properties Company LLP, which has a debt under enforcement proceedings to First Heartland Jusan Bank JSC amounting to 51 billion tenge.
Earlier, the media reported that in one interview, the former general director of Chimbulak Development LLP, Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, stated that the resort's infrastructure is very expensive to maintain, the resort physically cannot accommodate enough visitors, and the dollar-denominated debt only continues to grow. As of August 2019, according to Yerkinbayev, Shymbulak's debt amounted to over a trillion tenge.
The founders of Alatau Holding LLP are Ravil Mussayev and Yernar Bekbolatov. The company has had a ban on registration actions since August 2022 by decision of the Department of Justice of Almaty, as well as restrictions on notarial actions and seizures of property.
Considering the solvency of the mentioned companies and their owners, it is not surprising that the Fund for Problem Loans took over Shymbulak's loan. Furthermore, in the summer of 2023, information emerged that a significant part of the territory of the Ile-Alatau National Park is to be transferred to the Almaty akimat (city administration). These lands include the Butakovka and Alma-Arasan gorges, the Medeu tract, and Shymbulak.
The akimat confirmed at the time that there were plans to transfer part of the territory in order to increase its tourism potential. Meanwhile, Minister of Ecology Yerlan Nyssanbayev assured that there is no cause for concern and that transferring the national park lands to the city would improve funding and the development of ecotourism in the area.
Ecologists, for their part, have expressed concern that changing the status of the territory would lower its level of protection, fearing that the national park lands would be built up with tourist facilities and new mountain resorts. Such an outcome is quite likely if the Shymbulak ski resort is sold to new owners.
It is not known exactly on what terms the FPL is prepared to transfer Shymbulak to a new owner. The editorial board of FBRK intends to investigate whether the sale of Shymbulak is planned at a reduced price, bypassing an auction, and for this reason we have sent a corresponding request to the competent authorities asking them to confirm or deny this information.