JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank kept its interest rates steady at 9.5%, despite inflation falling. The Central Bank is trying to weigh up protecting its som currency from devaluing and also stopping inflation dropping too low. Inflation dropped to 4.8%, down by half since the beginning of the year.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazmunaigas, the Kazakh state oil and gas company, is trying for a third time to sell off three companies it owns in Romania, media reported quoting the Kazakh finance ministry. Kazmunaigas wants to sell Rominserv Valves, a valve manufacturer, SA Palplast, a plastic pipe maker and Global Security Systems which provides security guards. All three are currently owned by Rompetrol, a Kazmunaigas subsidiary.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBILISI — Remittances from Greece to Georgia have dropped by nearly a fifth this year because Greek financial meltdown, deputy finance minister Giorgi Kakauridze said.
And Greece is a vital of income for Georgia. Russia, Greece is Georgia’s most important source of remittances.
“The situation in Greece will of course affect money transfers to Georgia, but remittances are already significantly reduced not only from Greece, but from other sources as well, so it will not have a significant effect on the Georgian economy anymore,” Mr Kakauridze told the Rustavi-2 television station.
Georgia, Russia and Greece are all predominantly Christian Orthodox countries.
Overall remittance flows to Georgia have fallen by 23% to $438m in the first five months of this year. Remittances from Greece were down 18% to $69m. From Russia, remittances had fallen by 42% to $163m.
Greece has defaulted on an IMF loan repayment and it is holding a referendum on Sunday to decide whether to accept tighten bailout rules. It’s banks have placed currency controls on withdrawals.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Azerbaijan convicted 9 men of fighting for the extremist group IS in Syria and sent them to prison for up to 15 years, media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Union will give Uzbekistan $168m to boost infrastructure in rural areas, the European Commission envoy Yuri Sturk said.Mr Sturk specifically said that the EU grant was earmarked to improve irrigation and to boost renewable energies.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan lodged a complaint to the British foreign ministry after Bako Sahakyan, leader of the Armenian-backed group governing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, said he was due to flew to London for meetings with independent policy analysts. Azerbaijan fought a war with Armenia in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Possibly keen to pick up a few handy tips ahead of his own international exhibition in Astana in two years time, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the pavilions of Milan’s EXPO 2015.
Mr Nazarbayev and Italian PM Matteo Renzi toured the exhibition and then sat down for an official meeting where bilateral trade and diplomacy were discussed.
Media later reported that the two men had said they agreed bilateral deals worth $500m, although details were scant. Even so, the deals and the meeting highlighted the close trade and diplomatic links between the two countries.
Italian oil and gas company Eni is one of the biggest investors in Kazakhstan.
Mr Nazarbayev considers EXPO- 2017 in Astana an essential showpiece. He wants to promote Kazakhstan and his role in building the nation at EXPO- 2017.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – DUSHANBE – Remittances from Tajik workers in Russia to Tajikistan have dropped by 44% this year, the Russian Central Bank said.
This is inline with World Bank projections and highlights the economic problems facing Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia. Russia’s economy has dipped into recession because of a combination of falling oil prices and economic sanctions imposed by the West in retaliation for the Kremlin’s alleged support for rebels in east Ukraine.
And this recession has hit Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia hard. Remittances account for roughly half of Tajikistan’s economy.
In Dushanbe, the mood on the streets was glum.
Amirbek Saidbekov, a Dushanbe resident, said life had gotten harder.
“The money they send home has declined by about a half,” he said. “The money my uncle sends is not enough to provide for his family. The life quality of his family has worsened now.”
Shuhrat Murodilloev, a Dushanbe-based political scientist, said the drop in remittance was having a knock-on effect.
“Market employment is falling because of the decreased sales and the unstable Tajik currency,” he said. “Many people have lost their jobs in the market because there is no money coming from Russia.”
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Olympic Committee striped Chaltu Beji, an 18- year-old Ethiopia-born athlete competing for Azerbaijan, of victory in the 3,000m steeple-chase at the European Games after she failed a drugs test. The failed drugs test will embarrass Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank has been steadily rebuilding its gold and foreign currency reserves since reaching a low in April, media reported. Last year Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank spent frantically as it tried to prop up its falling currency.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
