Kazakh Alliance bank sees lower profit in 2008

ALMATY, March 26 (Reuters) - Alliance (ALLBq.L) ASBN.KZ, Kazakhstan's fourth-largest bank, expects its net profit to decline this year following a surge in last year's profits, the bank's chief executive said on Wednesday.

"We do not foresee a net profit rise in 2008. It will be around $300 million. It will be a certain decline," Erik Sultankulov told reporters.

On Tuesday the bank said its net profit more than tripled in 2007 to $348 million, but said its assets would shrink more than expected this year.

The global liquidity squeeze that began last year has hit Alliance as well as other Kazakh banks that relied heavily on foreign borrowing to fund rapid growth.

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(Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)