Category Archives: Central Asia & South Caucasus News

Georgia rugby looks for 6 Nations spot

MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> So, what is this story about Georgia being decent at rugby and potentially playing in the Six Nations against England, Ireland, France, Scotland and Wales?

>> Pressure has been building on the Six Nations for some time to introduce a playoff system at the end of each season between the bottom placed team in the tournament and the top placed team in the Rugby Europe Championships, essentially the second tier rugby division. Basically, Italy have been so poor in the last couple of Six Nations, they have lost their last 12 matches, that many people think its now time to give

>> And Georgia is the next best team?

>>Actually, in terms of the World Rankings, Georgia is comfortably above Italy. It is in 12th position, behind Japan but ahead of Tonga. Italy lie in 15th position just above Romania. And it is Georgia, not Italy, that is pulling in the big crowds. Nearly 55,000 people filled Tbilisi’s Dinamo Stadium to watch Georgia beat Russia 28 – 14 in the Rugby Europe Championship on March 12. When Italy played Wales in Rome, 41,000 people watched, with TV shots showing plenty of empty seats.

>> Is Georgia the only option to replace Italy?

>> Actually, Romania, a country with a decent, if patchy, rugby pedigree won the Rugby Europe Championships this year, beating Georgia in Bucharest 8-7. If a playoff system was introduced it would be Romania and not Georgia who would compete in it. But it’s Georgia that has shown the most consistency over the past few years and Georgia who would potentially be the most able to replace Italy.

>> Has Georgia ever beaten a top flight rugby team?

>> No. It has played in every Rugby World Cup since 2003 but has yet to beat a big team. It has pushed some big names hard though. Ireland beat Georgia in 2007 14 – 10 and Scotland scrapped home 15 – 6 in 2011.

>> Where does Georgia get its rugby heritage from?

>> In World Cup terms, Georgia is very much a new boy. Its rugby roots have really been developed since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union. Rugby was played under the Soviet Union and links with French clubs were developed but it has only been adopted as a national sport since independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Inflation at correct level, says Kazakh Central Bank chief

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MARCH 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh Central Bank chief Daniyer Akishev said that he wanted to target inflation of 6-8% by the end of the year. It currently measures 7.8% which is down from a recent high of 17.7% in July 2016. Kazakhstan’s economy has stabilised after falling heavily in the previous couple of years, a drop linked to the fall in oil prices and tenge weakness.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)f

Rail tariff cut to boost trade in Azerbaijan

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MARCH 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to boost trade along the so- called North-South Transport Corridor between Russia and India, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran agreed to cut rail tariffs by 50%, media reported. The three countries met in Moscow to discuss developments, including a new bridge over the Astara river that joins Azerbaijan’s and Iran’s railway. The North-South Corridor is considered an important component for boosting regional trade.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kazakh Central Bank says to buy KKB bad debt

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ALMATY, MARCH 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Central Bank confirmed that it would buy up 2.4 trillion tenge ($7.5b) of bad debt owned by Kazkommertsbank, effectively subsidising its purchase by Halyk Bank.

Halyk Bank, owned by the daughter and son-in-law of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, agreed to buy Kazkommertsbank earlier this year for an undisclosed amount in a deal that will give it a 38% market share and Kazakhstan’s elite control of the banking sector.

The 2.4 trillion tenge bad debt held by Kazkommertsbank is a legacy of its purchase of BTA Bank from the government. The government had

bought it in 2008/9 when it was about to collapse during the Global Financial Crisis.

Separately, deputy Central Bank chairman Oleg Smolyakov said it would take two to three months for Halyk Bank to carry out its due diligence of Kazkommertsbank before the takeover could be completed.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

ODIHR chief flies to Uzbekistan

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MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Michael Georg, head of the OSCE’s election monitoring unit ODIHR, travelled to Tashkent for a meeting with the Uzbek foreign ministry on its findings from its election monitoring mission in December. The meeting is likely to precede a final election monitoring report from ODIHR. The elections last December were the first time that ODIHR had monitored an election in Uzbekistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Hundreds more protest in Kyrgyz capital

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MARCH 18/19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in the Kyrgyz capital broke up a series of anti-government protests complaining about what they said was pressure on free speech. Media reported that hundreds of people turned out for the demonstrations after the government said that it was going to sue two media companies for slandering Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev. There have been a number of anti-government protests in Bishkek since the arrest last month of senior members of the opposition Ata Meken party, including leader and presidential candidate Omurbek Tekebayev.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Parking ticket sparks riot in Georgian city

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TBILISI, MARCH 11/12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police and rioters clashed in Batumi, Georgia’s second city, allegedly after an argument over a parking ticket escalated into violence.

Rioters burned cars and fought police who resorted to firing tear gas into the protesters in what observers have said was the worst violence for years in Georgia. Local media said that 85 people were detained after the violence.

For the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, the violence is a potential problem as it may show that people are become increasingly tired with the status quo and also of deal with an economic downturn that has started to impact living standards. A Georgian observer said that the main riot was the culmination of a build-up of a bad feeling towards a new police chief in Batumi who was trying to impose heavier fines for small misdemeanours such as littering the street.

There had been two days of protests before the riot.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Bank plans to expand

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Bank plans to expand into Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in a bid to become a truly regional operator, its CEO Pavel Loginov said in an interview with Forbes Kazakhstan. Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, is considered the financial capital of Central Asia but the only two banks in the region listed on the London Stock Exchange are both Georgian — Bank of Georgia and TBC.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Islamic finance boosts in Kazakhstan

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, an industry lobby group, and Islamic Development Bank have signed a deal to look at ways of developing Islamic finance in Kazakhstan, media reported. There are currently two banks in Kazakhstan practising Islamic banking — Zaman Bank and Bank Al-Hilal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kazakhs do not express concerns about constitutional changes

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ALMATY, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Betraying a lack of interest in politics, most people in Almaty who spoke to The Conway Bulletin about changes to the Kazakh constitution made earlier this month just shrugged their shoulders.

Some were concerned that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev made the changes to hand more power to parliament without consultation but they were in the minority.

Aigerim, a 25-year-old woman working in service sector, said casually: “I haven’t heard of the constitutional changes. I don’t know, I couldn’t care less. They will decide [do what they want] anyway, they will not ask us.”

There was also a degree of scepticism over how much power parliament will really be given.

Malik, 60, said: “Parliament will not be given decision-making power, it is just formality. Nazarbayev is and will be the only person in power.”

These views were echoed by most people that the Bulletin spoke to, although the issue of land ownership has dominated some discussion groups.

Land is a touchy subject in Kazakhstan. Last year, people protested in several cities across the country against a change to the law that was going to give foreigners improved rights to land ownership in Kazakhstan. The constitutional changes brought in by Mr Nazarbayev hasn’t touched the issue of land rights but that didn’t stop it dominating conversations.

Rabiga, a pensioner, said: “I do care, I have my family living here. I have heard of (the constitutional changes) but don’t know the details. But I heard there was one article on land that is changed from citizen to anybody. I have read about it a lot.”

Most analysts said that Mr Nazarbayev has tinkered with the constitution to try to split power between a number of people in order to avoid any one person dominating Kazakh politics when he leaves. The 76-year-old hasn’t yet unveiled plans for his accession.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)