Arman Berdalin

M&A, Corporte Law, Corporate Governance

Arman Berdalin is a head of the Nur-Sultan Sayat Zholshy & Partners office.

As a head of the Nur-Sultan Sayat Zholshy & Partners office Arman maintains ongoing contact with quasi-government companies.  In this sector, Sayat Zholshy & Partners contributed to such projects as out-reach to shareholders of second-tier banks (BTA, Alliance Bank and Temirbank), acquisition of shares in mining companies, and restructuring of national companies.  Arman also managed the project for legal support of newly established Kazakhstan Integrated Centre for Coordination of Special Economic Zones.

Arman is also experienced in dealing with international development institutions.  Over three years, Arman represented Sayat Zholshy & Partners in an IFC project (World Bank Group member) aimed to improve corporate governance in Kazakhstan.  Moreover, Arman led an Sayat Zholshy & Partners project for provision of services to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in an effort to review and reform Kazakhstan joint stock companies legislation.

Arman is not only a renowned lawyer – he is also a social activist.  For example, he successfully initiated, together with other leading Kazakhstan lawyers, a public association of Kazakhstan commercial lawyers –Kazakhstan Bar Association (KazBar) – which is the only professional association of lawyers in Kazakhstan admitted to the International Bar Association.  KazBar is gaining wide recognition in the legal community and is successfully cooperating with the Ministry of Justice, General Prosecutor’s Office and Supreme Court.  As one of the key contributors to such cooperation and as a member of the KazBar Management Board, Arman has been admitted to the Interdepartmental Law-drafting Commission of the Kazakhstan Government.  In this role Arman is actively involved in consideration of new law concepts and development of law-drafting plans.

Summarising the above, we can conclude that Arman has been coordinating the Firm’s efforts to forge relationships with development institutions (IFC, EBRD), government authorities (National Bank and sector-specific ministries), quasi-government sector (Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund JSC, Baiterek National Management Holding JSC, KazAgro National Management Holding JSC), National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Association of Kazakhstan Financiers and second-tier banks.

Arman regularly makes presentations at conferences both inside and outside Kazakhstan, and conducts seminars and workshops on the most pressing legal and practical issues (e.g. Samruk-Kazyna Corporate University, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research).  Arman also gives open and in-house seminars for such major market players as Philip Morris Kazakhstan, KazMunayGas and other. Arman is also an Adjunct professor of KAZGUU University.

Kazakhstan National Law Academy, Business Law, 2000.