CORRECTED - Kazakh KMG E&P plans 20 pct wage increase
(Corrects name of company and Reuters company codes in headline and text to KazMunaiGas Exploration and Production (KMGq.L), the London-listed subsidiary of national oil company Kazmunaigas)
MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - KazMunaiGas Exploration and Production (KMGq.L), the London-listed arm of Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company, said on Friday it plans to raise average monthly wages by 20 percent to compensate employees for inflation.
The company said the measure will increase the company's personnel-related costs in the second half of 2008 by 4.8 billion tenge ($36.6 million) but will also help retain experienced staff.
Annual consumer price inflation in Central Asia's biggest economy was 18.8 percent in 2007 compared with 8.4 percent in 2006 and could reach double digits again this year.
KazMunaiGas E & P also said its total crude oil production in the first half of 2008 was 5,899 thousand tonnes, a 19.4 percent increase compared with the same period of last year. (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski)
