AUG. 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The central Kazakh city of Karaganda unveiled a monument to one of the biggest rock artists to come out of the Soviet Union – Viktor Tsoi. He was a founder of the Kino band. Tsoi died in a car crash aged 28 in 1990. He was born and brought up in Leningrad but was famed around the USSR.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017
AUG. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Powered by a boost in exports and remittance inflows, Georgia’s economy grew by 4.4% in the first seven months of the year, government data showed, an increase from the 2.7% rise during the same period last year (Aug. 30). Exports in the first seven months of the year were 28% higher than in the same period in 2016. Geostat, the government statistics agency, also said business activity in general in Georgia had picked up and that there had been a 7% increase in the number of businesses registered.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
DUSHANBE, AUG. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Brushing aside a worsening banking crisis, Tajikistan said that it was going to launch its first ever sovereign bond .
Commentators said that the Eurobond could be issued at the start of September and have a lifespan of around nine years, although they did not give a coupon value. The cash raised in the Eurobond would go towards funding the construction of the Rogun Dam, one of the biggest hydropower projects in the world.
It will also make Tajikistan the second country in Central Asia, after Kazakhstan, to issue sovereign debt, giving Western investors increased exposure to the region.
Media later said that Tajikistan was aiming to raise $500m through the Eurobond that was likely to have a coupon of around 7.625%.
Shortly after the announcement, ratings agency Moodys, which has Tajikistan at the “highly speculative” investment grade of B3, warned potential investors of the risks involved in a Tajik investment. It said that Tajikistan’s banks were under increased pressure.
“The issuer rating also incorporates the credit challenges posed by institutions that are weak on a global scale, although progress on financial reforms and macroeconomic stability indicate some improvements,” it said.
Over the past 15 months, the Tajik government has rolled out a bailout plan to stop banks from going bankrupt.
The Central Asia region has been recovering from a prolonged economic downturn linked to a recession in Russia and a collapse in oil prices from mid-2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
SEPT. 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan cancelled a football match with Myanmar because of what it described as terror threats. The inference from the Kyrgyz authorities was that Myanmar’s treatment of its Muslim Rohingya minority meant the team was vulnerable to an attack. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country. Last year a suspected Uighur extremist drove a car bomb into the Chinese embassy in Bishkek.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
AUG. 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Paris-based lobby group Reporters Without Borders issued a statement criticising the continued internment of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli who was kidnapped from near his home in Tbilisi three months ago. The group said that Mr Mukhtarli, who is currently being held in an Azerbaijani prison, is in poor health. Georgian officials have denied that they collaborated with Azerbaijan to kidnap Mr Mukhtarli. He is considered a dissident writer and had fled to Georgia a couple of years earlier.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
SEPT. 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran has lifted an export tax on foodstuffs being sent to Central Asia and the South Caucasus, media quoted Abdollah Mohajer, the head of Mazandaran Province Chamber of Commerce, as saying. The export tax had covered a range of products including pistachio nuts, cabbages, dates and raisins. Ditching the export tax is likely to drop the price of sending foodstuffs to Central Asia by up to 20%. Iran is increasingly trying to tap into Central Asia and the South Caucasus as natural export markets for is various products.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
AUG. 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev named Yerbolat Dosayev, formerly head of the state investment agency Baiterek, and Askar Zhumagaliyev, formerly head of the nuclear agency Kazatomprom, as deputy PMs. There are now four deputy PMs. Askar Mamin is first deputy Prime Minister in charge of the economy and Askar Myrzakhmetov is deputy PM and the minister for agriculture. Mr Nazarbayev is renowned for reshuffling his government ministers on a fairly regular basis, partly to prevent any from building up their power base too much.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
AUG. 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh bank Zaman-Bank officially switched to becoming an Islamic bank on Aug. 17, media reported, making it the second in the country after Al Hilal Bank. Islamic banking has increased in prominence in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Banks see it as a way of differentiating themselves. Zaman-Bank has been working towards satisfying Islamic banking protocols since signing a deal with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, a member of the Islamic Development Bank, in 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
SEPT. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer, continues to be the stock of the year from the Central Asia region. It is now surfing at around 875p per share, smashing top end expectations only a couple of months ago of sub-800p.
The copper producer’s previous high had been 811p in 2013 and it started 2017 at 375p/share. The share price has been powered by a job in copper prices and also by better output at its mines. Analysts and traders have been falling over themselves to up their new target prices as KAZ Minerals shows no real sign of stopping its upward trend.
Canada-based gold miner Centerra Gold is another share that has looked good over the past few weeks. In mid-July, it was bumping along at around C$6.63/share. This has now climbed to C$7.49, still below its 2017 peak of C$8.24. Its current valuation has split analysts with most recommending a ‘hold’ but one or two advocate a ‘sell’.
Still, it jumped 8.3% in the period from Aug. 25, the region’s top riser.
On the downside, Georgia Healthcare slid 2.6% to 345.25p. It has dipped significantly since June when is shares were valued at over 400p.
Nostrum Oil & Gas also recorded a fall of 1.2%, to 380p, continuing its steady drop from over 530p in June.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
AUG. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s Gazprom started pumping gas to Armenia again after month-long repairs to the North Caucasus-Transcaucasus pipeline that crosses Georgia were finished. The pipeline had been the only import route for gas into Armenia, although over the past couple of years Armenia has been negotiating gas supply deals with neighbouring Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)
