“The more we develop, the more demand seems to grow,” – Capital Partners Managing Director Yusuf Sarimsakci (centre)

nYusuf Sarimsakci sees it all over the streets of Almaty: a groundswell of traffic, well-dressed professionals on their mobiles and an apparent, even distribution of oil wealth. After graduation, he worked for TengizChevroil in the 1990s, when Kazakhstan first exposed itself to foreign investment flows. It was not an overnight phenomenon, but when the high tide of construction landed, it was an indicator that the economy’s health had been restored. Today, as Managing Director of Capital Partners, Mr Sarimsakci sees construction cranes against the thin air of the Tien Shan range – and they remind him of Kazakhstan’s continued potential.

“We started about 11 years ago in Almaty as a real estate company. In 2002, we invested into Moscow’s property market by buying a building. We sold it at a profit the following year. In Kazakhstan, the market was not yet mature in terms of the demand for office space, which is our core development area,” says Mr Sarimsakci. The bonanza first became patent in the hotel sector. As the wave of oil and gas investments hit the Caspian Sea, Mr Sarimsakci’s team identified a need for high-end accommodation in the eastern towns of Aktau and Atyrau. By 2006, Capital Partners had given the final touches to two Renaissance-branded hotels. The firm is behind a JW Marriott city hotel and is developing winter sports facilities in the mountains above Almaty. With his eye on the 2011 Asian Winter Olympics, Mr Sarimsakci has plans to create skating rinks and upgrade the skiing ramps at Chimbulak.

Hotel infrastructure will continue to grow. But so will the niche for new office space, shopping malls, apartment blocks, schools and hospitals. “The more we develop, the more demand seems to grow. Being a Kazakhstani-based company, we’ve decided to branch out into retail and residential projects,” he says. With the Regional Finance Centre Almaty (RFCA), Capital Partners is also entering the sphere of national mega-projects. At 1.5 million square metres of space, the brand new financial district for the city will be completed in 2008. When it goes online, it will boast 340,000 square meters of mixed-use space, with high-end hotels, shopping malls, sports centres and three residential blocks. “It is a great example of the mixed-use concept because business should not die down after a workday. We want nightlife as well,” says Mr Sarimsakci.

Capital Partners is remaining true to its Kazakhstani roots, but is leveraging its know-how and wealth to penetrate competitive markets like Turkey. In Istanbul, the firm is building two residential towers. In Bodrum, on Turkey’s Riviera, it is behind a new seaside resort for foreign visitors. To an outside observer, the recent incursion into neighbouring markets is a reversal of the investment tide. Since opening an office in Istanbul in 2005, the buzzword at Capital Partners is “differentiation”. The firm wants to position itself where it can best serve its clients. After all, real estate markets can be a cyclical business. “Last year, we opened a Ukrainian branch because we’re developing office buildings in Kiev. Differentiation is better than simple competition,” says the managing director.

In the meantime, Capital Partners is an example of Kazakhstan’s success in the medium term. Mr Sarimsakci has recently sent a letter of intent to a west European contractor to create interest in the sale of Metropolis, a soon-to-be-inaugurated shopping mall in Moscow. Conscious that construction will one day make a soft landing, a diversified firm will always be able to opt for new openings. This is no longer the crusty old construction outfit of an earlier generation, but a contemporary factory of ideas.

“I don’t pretend to know everything, so we are looking for partners who can bring their know-how to us. We are looking west, east, south and north,” says Mr Sarimsakci. The point is to add value. “We can always take a little break and take it more slowly. We see ourselves as a company that has delivered on many, many projects. Capital Partners has set an example in the markets in which it operates. That means establishing good practices for the developers that might follow,” says Mr Sarimsakci.