joint stock company "National atomic company "Kazatomprom" (KAS:KZAP) has launched an auction for the sale of 100% of the shares in the authorised capital of its three solar manufacturing units, MK KazSilicon, Astana Solar LLP and Kazakhstan Solar Silicon LLP. Kazatomprom originally sought to sell the three firms via a first auction launched in September 2017. In May 2019, it announced that a 75% stake in the three units had been sold to an international consortium consisting of the Yadran Solar unit of Russian oil provider Yadran Oil, France's ECM Greentech and China's Kasen.

At the time, Kazatomprom said the remaining 25% stake would be sold to the consortium within the following three years. However, the agreement never entered into force due to "non-compliance by the purchaser with certain conditions". The starting price for KazSilicon has been set at KZT 707 million ($1.37 million).

The company operates a solar grade metallurgical silicon factory with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year in Ushtobe. Kazakhstan Solar Silicon - owner of a 60 MW wafer manufacturing facility in Ust-Kamenogorsk - saw its starting price set at KZT 5.59 billion. Astana Solar's starting price has been set at KZT 3.38 billion - the unit produces polycrystalline solar cells and modules and operates a 50 MW manufacturing facility in Astana.

The units were originally created with support from a government-led French consortium and formed with fully integrated photovoltaic manufacturing lines.