UPDATE 1-Kazakhstan sacks head of state uranium company

Published: 21 May 2009 05:56:33 PST

* Long-serving Kazatomprom chief sacked

* Former Nazarbayev aide to run state uranium company

ASTANA, May 21 - The long-serving chief executive of Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom was sacked on Thursday following a request from prosecutors, a company managing state assets said on Thursday.

Kazakhstan is home to a fifth of global uranium reserves and wants to surpass Australia and China to become the world's top producer this year. Developments in the sector are closely watched by potential investors.

Samruk-Kazyna, the managing company, did not say whether the Prosecutor General's office had brought any charges against Mukhtar Dzhakishev who had worked as Kazatomprom chief for seven years during his last tenure.

It said it had appointed former industry minister Vladimir Shkolnik to run Kazatomprom, one of the world's biggest uranium producers. Shkolnik, 60, a former advisor to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has also worked as deputy prime minister.

Aset Isekeshev, a 37-year-old Nazarbayev aide, will take over Shkolnik's job of Industry and Trade Minister, Prime Minister Karim Masimov said separately on Thursday.

Kazatomprom produced 8.521 tonnes of uranium in 2008 and plans to increase output to 12,000 tonnes this year.

A number of senior Kazakh officials, including heads of the state railway company and state energy firm KazMunaiGas [KMG.UL], have been jailed within the last year in what the government describes as a campaign against corruption.

In a separate statement, Samruk said it named Timur Kulibayev, Nazarbayev's influential son-in-law, as chairman of three state-owned firms: railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, KazMunaiGas and Samruk-Energo, an electric power firm.