Alnair Capital Holding, a private equity fund backed by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, said on Friday it had bought an 8.03 per cent stake in Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s biggest bank, and would build its shareholding above 25 per cent.

The acquisition of the stake in the London-listed bank reflects growing foreign interest in the central Asian country’s banks, which have suffered financial shortages since the onset of the global credit crisis.