Author Archives: admin

Alstom partners with Kazakh railway

FEB. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – French train-maker Alstom has bought another 25% stake in EKZ, its joint-venture in Kazakhstan with Kazakh state railway company Temir Zholy and Russia’s Transmashholding, media reported. The deal means that Alstom is now the majority partner in EKZ. It may also show Kazakhstan’s willingness to sell off part of its most cherished companies to foreigners so that it can raise cash during the worsening economic downturn.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)

Kazakh GDP rises by 1.2%

FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s statistic committee said the country’s GDP grew by 1.2% in 2015, its lowest rate for six years. The official figure is in line with what analysts expected. Both Halyk Finance, part of one of Kazakhstan’s biggest banks, and the Economist Intelligence Unit expect Kazakhstan’s GDP to shrink in 2016 if oil prices stay at $35/barrel.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)

Georgia introduces visa free regime with Iran

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia will restore the visa-free travel regime with Iran it suspended in July 2013, official media said. Under the new rules, Iranian citizens will be able to stay in Georgia for up to 45 days without a visa starting on Feb. 15. A spokesperson of the Iranian embassy in Tbilisi said this decision will promote good relations between the two countries.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Inflation pushes up in Armenia

FEB. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s consumer price index rose by 2.2% in January compared to December, the national statistics committee said. The statistics committee said a 5% increase in food prices last month pushed up overall inflation. This is the highest month-to-month inflation increase in Armenia in the past year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Georgia awards contract to build $2.5b Black Sea port to US-Georgian group

FEB. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia awarded a US-Georgian consortium the contract to build a $2.56b deepwater port at Anaklia on the Black Sea, a project that will bolster the country’s role as a major trade link between East and West.

The Georgian government chose the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) over two separate bids submitted by China’s state-owned PowerChina and another by Russo- Georgian venture Anaklia Industrial Eco-Park.

ADC is a joint venture between Tbilisi-based TBC Holding and US- based Conti. Mamuka Khazaradze, chairman of TBC Bank, owns TBC Holding.

Kurt Conti, Conti CEO, said in a statement: “We are looking forward to breaking ground and working with the government of Georgia to help forge new paths from Asia to Europe as well as unlocking the economic potential of Georgia’s neighbours and landlocked nations in the Caucasus.”

For Georgia, the project underlines its role as transit country for goods flowing between Asia and Europe. It hosts oil and gas pipelines running from the Caspian Sea to Turkey, has developed its road and rail networks and wants to leverage its position on the Black Sea.

And the government, which has also pledged $100m to the project, said that the deepwater port was vital.

“This will create completely new opportunities for Georgia to make full use of the Silk Road and the South Caucasus transport corridor,” PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili told the press.

The plan will also transform Anakalia, a small town on the border with the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

The construction phase of the port will create an estimated 3,400 jobs, ADC told media, and a total of 6,400 people will be employed at the port when it is up and running.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Azerbaijan exports electricity

FEB. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan sent its first consignment of electricity to Turkey, the start of what it hopes will become a significant export venture. The volume of electricity sent to Turkey measured 80MW and was transmitted through the Azerbaijan- Georgia-Turkey electricity network.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Tele2 merges with Kazakhstan’s Altel

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Swedish telecoms company Tele2 said a deal to merge its operations in Kazakhstan with Altel, owned by KazakhTelecom, was close to completion. The deal was announced last November. The new company will be 51% owned by Altel and 49% by Tele2, although the voting rights will be reversed. It will have a market share of around 22%, behind Kcell and Beeline, the brand name of Russia’s Vimpelcom.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Georgian activist challenges gay marriage law

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Giorgi Tatishvili, a Georgian gay rights activist, has filed a lawsuit challenging a law in Georgia which states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, the Eurasianet website reported. Georgia is a staunchly conservative country and the Orthodox Church plays a major role in society. Mr Tatishvili’s lawsuit provides a potential litmus test for Georgian society over whether it wants to relax its strong traditional viewpoints.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Inflation jumps in Azerbaijan

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prices in Azerbaijan jumped by 5.8% in January compared to December, according to the national statistics committee. The statistics committee said food prices rose 8.7% last month. In December the Central Bank allowed the manat currency to float free against the US dollar. This triggered a 35% devaluation in its value, putting prices under enormous pressure to rise.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Turkmenistan increases security over TAPI

FEB. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Addressing a government meeting, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered his government to increase security over the planned TAPI pipeline that will, it is hoped, pump gas to India. Last month the Taliban destroyed a transmission line sending electricity between Uzbekistan and Kabul. For TAPI to be successful, it needs to be able to guarantee security around the route. Governments that border Afghanistan have been warning that a resurgent Taliban are posing an increasing threat to stability.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)