Category Archives: Uncategorised

Kyrgyz FDI drops by 37% in first four months of year

MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan said foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 37% in the first four months of 2015, figures which highlight the current difficult economic climate.

This marks the second year of decreasing FDI in Kyrgyzstan after a jump in 2013. Most of the loss this year can be attributed to the construction sector, impacted by economic sanctions and crisis in Russia, and to the mining sector, due to the Kumtor gold mine stalemate.

Alex Nice, Central Asia analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “Economic and political uncertainty may have depressed foreign investment and of course relatively weak gold prices may also depress new investment in Kumtor, the biggest source of FDI.”

With the fall in remittances from migrant workers abroad and low GDP growth for the next couple of years, Kyrgyzstan needs to improve its business climate in order to attract more, rather than less foreign investors interest.

But as the head of the Association for Foreign Investment, Kairat Itibayev, told media, infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan needs improving.

“Businessmen from Turkey, for example, lament that there is a lack of storage space, unstable electricity, and unusable roads,” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

Tajik delegation visits India

MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to New Delhi, Tajikistan’s foreign minister, Sirojiddin Aslov, met with Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, and defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, to discuss India’s accession into the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan Trade and Transit Agreement (PATTTA).

Tajikistan and India have looked to improve their diplomatic and trade relations over the past years. Both countries now see the PATTTA, a mechanism designed to increase regional trade which was only finalised in April, as an option for cooperation. Pakistan has yet to agree to India’s accession.

Trade turnover between India and Tajikistan has grown in the past years, although it still stands below $30m. India has openly made designs on Central Asia. It tried, and failed, to buy into the giant Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea and is a partner in the so-called TAPI project that should pump Turkmen gas to south Asia.

India does, though, operate the Farkhor Air Base in south- western Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

Kazakh President backs EEU

MAY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union had a strong future despite current trade problems. Mr Nazarbayev made the comments after meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kazakhstan and Russia have erected trade barriers over the past few months.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

Azerbaijan to receive loan from EBRD

MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it will give a syndicated loan for the second phase development of the Caspian Sea Shah Deniz gas project. EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said on a visit to Baku that the size and timeframe were undecided.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

Support slips for Georgian Dream

MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In an opinion poll for the National Democratic Institute in Georgia, only 24% of respondents said they would vote for the ruling Georgian Dream Coalition. The poll is another blow to the authority of the coalition.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

German brewery to open in Georgia

APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s Kaltenberg beer, which traces its roots back to the Bavarian royal family, will open a brewery in Georgia. It may have a reputation as a wine-making country but Georgia is also a major consumer of beer.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)

Tajikistan blacklists name

MAY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s ministry of justice has drawn up a list of names that it wants to ban parents giving to their babies, media reported. The so-called black list appears to be an attempt to centralise names.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)

Kyrgyzstan will miss EEU deadline

APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan will miss a May 8 deadline to join the Kremlin- led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the new PM Temir Sariyev said. Kyrgyzstan still plans to join but not until the end of the month. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia are already members.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)

Kyrgyzstan appointed new PM

APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament approved former economy minister Temir Sariyev to be prime minister, the fifth in five years.

Mr Sariyev succeeds Djoomart Otorbayev who quit after failing to secure a deal with Canada’s Centerra Gold over the Kumtor gold mine, Kyrgyzstan’s largest industrial asset.

Control of Kumtor, and Kyrgyzstan’s push to increase its ownership, has dominated Kyrgyz politics. Mr Sariyev referenced it.

“Nationalisation will only create certain risks and threats for us. We must seek other ways,” he said.

Mr Otorbayev, who served as PM for about a year, had pushed to trade Kyrgyzstan’s 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold in for a 50:50 stake in a new company that would own Kumtor. When this stalled he switched to calling for more directors on the Centerra Gold board. This also failed.

Some Kyrgyz MPs have called for the government to nationalise Kumtor.

Mr Sariyev takes over as head of a coalition of MPs from three parties — the Social Democrats, Ata-Meken (Father- land) and Ar-Namys (Dignity). Together they hold 69 seats out of the 120 seat-parliament. In November, Kyrgyzstan holds another parliamentary election, its second since a constitutional change in 2010 handed more power to parliament.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)

Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia move towards defence deal

MAY 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian defence officials, the three countries said they were moving towards a trilateral defence agreement. The countries have held a series of meetings this year to try and work out the protocol for a deal. Any deal would isolate Armenia further.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)