MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – After announcing a 58% rise in net profit, Halyk Bank said it would increase its shareholder dividend to 30% of its total profit. This is an increase from 2014 when Halyk Bank paid out dividends worth 25% of its profit. Halyk Bank is one of Kazakhstan’s biggest and most profitable banks.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A planned visit by Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili to Kiev has been delayed without explanation, Georgian media reported. Georgia has been a vocal supporter of the Kiev government in its conflict with Russia-back rebels but it was irritated by Ukraine’s promotion of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as an adviser.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia, NATO and various Western powers criticised a deal made between Russia and the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia as a threat to regional security.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an “alliance and integration” deal with South Ossetia. Georgia said this was virtually an annexation of the region.
“It’s a cynical and provocative step by Russia,” media quoted Georgian foreign minister Tamar Beruchashvili as saying. “We consider it a move aimed at annexation.”
Relations between the West and Russia are particularly strained at the moment over the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea last year and its involvement in funding rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Under the deal, S.Ossetia’s security forces become aligned to Russia’s. This is similar to deal already signed by Abkhazia.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A gas pipeline that will run from Turkmenistan, across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India will cost $7.6b to build, India’s oil and gas ministry said. TAPI, as the pipeline is called, is one of the most ambitious pipeline projects in the world.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Giving a boost to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project (TANAP), BP said it was close to a deal to become one of its stakeholders.
In an interview with Reuters, Chris Schlueter, BP country manager in Georgia, said good progress on a deal had been made.
“We are very, very close,” he said. “I think (we will sign the deal) in the next two months.”
Shares in BP rose on the news.
TANAP is seen as a vital plank of the EU’s future energy policy, diversifying away from Russia. It will carry Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea, across Georgia, Turkey and the Balkans to central Europe.
Analysts have said that they consider it vital that, alongside Turkish and Azerbaijani companies, BP is a major shareholder in the project.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China has opened up negotiations on building a transport and logistics hub in north Kazakhstan, media reported. China would use the hub to send goods to Russia and to Europe. Kazakhstan has been promoting itself as a stage-post between Europe and Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has signed a three year extension to a contract with Afghanistan to maintain the 75km railway from Hairstan, on the Uzbek-Afghan border, to Mazar-i-Sharif, media reported. Reports said the contract was worth $19m/year to Uzbekistan. This is a rare Uzbek service export.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Malaysia-based Cliq Energy said it would buy stakes in two oil fields in Kazakhstan for $117.3m through a 51% purchase of Phsytech Firm. The fields are located in the North Karazhanbas region of Mangistau, west Kazakhstan, and have proven reserves of 39.5m barrels of oil.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenia-backed government of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh said that Azerbaijani forces had killed three of its soldiers, one of the worst breeches of a ceasefire in recent months. Azerbaijan said Armenian forces had initiated an attack which it repelled.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, visited China, signing various deals with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and pledging greater cooperation between the two countries.
Short on regional allies, Armenia is looking for cash and investment to help it out of a worsening economic situation. It is currently overly reliant on Russian business and aid.
With this in mind, Mr Sargsyan’s trip to China was an important one.
“The Chinese government will encourage domestic enterprises to participate in transportation, mining, electricity, information technology and infrastructure sectors in Armenia,” the Xinhua Chinese state information agency quoted Mr Xi as saying.
This is exactly what Mr Sargsyan wanted to hear. Armenian state media said that Chinese trade had increased in importance over the past year and now accounted for 10% of Armenia’s total trade turnover, up from 8% in 2013.
Importantly, too, Mr Xi accepted an invitation to visit Armenia. For Armenia, successfully courting China is important.
China, eager to boost its regional presence, has probably found a willing partner in Armenia.
Perhaps also linked to this general diplomatic push, Armenia said that it is opening a consulate in Ebril, the capital of Kurdish Iraq.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
