What Is Known about AMT's New Investor Andrey Lavrentiev?

ArcelorMittal Temirtau’s new investor is a Kazakhstani businessman Andrey Lavrentiev. Orda has put together information about his background.

Lavrentiev is not a public person. He was born in 1979 in Almaty. He studied first as a nurse, then as a lawyer. He has six children. He has been engaged in business since 2003.

In 2003, he created AllurAuto. It proved to be a fairly successful automotive distributor. And in the early 2010s, Lavrentiev became one of the main manufacturers of Kazakhstan’s automotive industry. As noted by some media outlets, Lavrentiev's surname has been associated with the words "domestic manufacturer" since about 2010.

In 2023, AllurAuto turned into the Allur group of companies, which includes Agromashholding LLP and SaryarkaAvtoProm. Lavrentiev's companies account for the absolute majority of cars produced in the Republic of Kazakhstan. His enterprises produce cars of the Chevrolet, Kia, JAC and LADA brands. Lavrentiev's main production is concentrated in Kostanay. And after the acquisition of AMT assets, now also in Temirtau.

The question arises, why does an automobile magnate need the production of ArcelorMittal Temirtau: a metallurgical plant, mines and coal mines? The Minister of Industry and Construction, Kanat Sharlapayev, has provided an answer. He stated that this would generate synergy between the automotive and steel industries. It is planned to produce automotive steel at the Karaganda plant.

At the same time, such an idea has been proposed many times before. For example, it was noted that the production of automotive steel could have started 30 years ago if Austrians from Voestalpine had come as investors — this was stated in Orda’s interview with Mukhtar Dzhakishyev.

Lavrentiev has been on the list of the most influential businessmen in Kazakhstan since 2013. He heads the Association of Kazakhstan Automobile Business, is a member of the Board of the Union of Machine Builders of Kazakhstan, and a member of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken". In 2016, he was awarded the Order of “Qurmet".

He has not been a part of scandals and is a very private person, a rarity for Kazakhstan’s billionaires.

RMB: Orda’s editor-in-chief, Gulnara Bazhenova, named Andrey Lavrentiev as a potential investor in AMT back on November 18 of this year.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy.