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Markets: Inflation rallies in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — On inflation, the data looks worse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, compared to other economies which have managed to keep prices flat. In the period between Jan.-Aug. 2015, prices in Armenia grew by 4.8%, in Tajikistan by 3.2%, in Azerbaijan by 3.8%, according to their statistics committees.

Despite the steady growth in consumer prices, the region’s economies are containing inflation. For a comparison, inflation in Russia reached 15% in August.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Tea factory opens in Georgian capital

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Geoplant, the largest tea-producing company in Georgia, opened a $2m plant in Tbilisi’s western district of Ozurgeti. The government scheme ‘Produce in Georgia’ provided the funding for the construction of the tea sorting and packing plant. The company said the sorting plant will help it increase export capacity. Geoplant owns the Gurieli brand of tea. It was established in 1996 and set up the Gurieli Export brand in 2010 to boost sales.

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(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Kazakhstan’s CBank halts tenge slide

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Central Bank intervened in the money markets to stop the tenge from dropping below 270/$1. Kairat Kelimbetov, the Central Bank chief, had told the FT earlier in the week that the Bank would not intervene again after it ditched a peg to the US dollar last month. The tenge is now trading around 266/$1.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Business comment: Halyk Bank & The Money Markets

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — On Sept. 17, for the first time the Central Bank of Kazakhstan published data on the activities of Kazakh banks in the currency market. This decision greatly pleased liberal economists and advocates of transparency in Kazakhstan’s banking sector. But it didn’t please everybody. In one table, the Central Bank listed the amount of US dollars that banks

purchased and sold the day before. If a bank buys a large quantity of US dollars, it suggests that it may be engaging in speculation activities, or at least this is what the public could read into the data. By unveiling turnaround data only, the Central Bank irked Halyk Bank, who ranked first for volume traded.

The next day, in a rare complaint, Halyk Bank said the figures were “incomplete and misleading”.

Despite having traded $58m (around 12% of the whole banking sector), Halyk said it had been a net seller by $34m.

This is a much more patriotic figure.

And the bank, owned by powerful businessman Timur Kulibayev and his wife Dinara Nazarbayeva, now wants the Central Bank to publish the detailed numbers since Aug. 17, the day before the first adjustment to the tenge/dollar exchange rate, which led to the decision to let the tenge off its dollar peg, effectively spurring a new devaluation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Czech president visits Azerbaijan

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Czech president Milos Zeman flew to Baku for an official visit where he met with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and visit parliament, only a few days after Europe-Azerbaijan relations dropped to a new low over an election monitoring row.

Mr Zeman, considered something of a maverick, praised Mr Aliyev and Azerbaijan, saying that Azerbaijan should reconsider its decision earlier this month to start the process of suspending its membership of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, a group that brings together the European parliament and parliaments from former Soviet countries.

Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan have dropped to a new low this year over European criticism of Azerbaijani human rights. Azerbaijani officials have responded by accusing the EU of trying to plot a coup.

Mr Zeman signed a number of business deals with Mr Aliyev on his trip.

Most importantly, coming only a few days after Europe’s vote monitoring watchdog, the OSCE, declined to observe Azerbaijan’s elections, it broke ranks.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Remittances fall in Georgia

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Money transfers to Georgia in August measured $84.4m, a drop of 35% from 2014, media quoted the Central Bank as saying. Russia and Greece are the main generators of remittances for Georgia.

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(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Czech Airlines fly to Armenia

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Czech Airlines said it will fly between Prague and Yerevan from Dec. 13 to Jan. 16. Jan Toth, the company’s director of marketing said the airline wanted to cover the busy Christmas and New Year period.

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(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Turkmenistan signs electricity deal

SEPT. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has signed a deal with Afghanistan to increase electricity exports, media reported quoting various government officials after a meeting between the two sides. The deal cements cooperation between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Azerbaijan and Armenia foreign ministers to meet

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in New York on the fringes of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24/25, media quoted Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov as saying. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Lithuanian railway to open in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Lithuanian Railways will open a representative office in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, the company said in a statement. “Kazakhstan is Lithuania’s major railway partner in Central Asia. Stasys Dailydka, a director at Lithuanian Railways, said trade volumes, mainly minerals, had been increasing rapidly over the past six years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)