Category Archives: Uncategorised

Kyrgyzstan-based Centerra completes deal

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan-focused miner Centerra Gold said it completed the acquisition of Thompson Creek, a Canadian miner, in exchange for 8% of its shares. Centerra said that the deal is consistent with its diversification efforts. Under the Centerra brand, Thompson Creek will continue its operations in British Columbia. The Kyrgyz government owns a minority stake in Centerra and had opposed the transaction because it said it would have diluted its shareholding in Centerra.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Uzbekistan to export cars to Tajikistan

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shokasym Shoislamov, the Uzbek ambassador to Tajikistan, said the countries are negotiating an agreement to open the Tajik market to Uzbek car exports. Uzbekistan’s largest carmaker, GM Uzbekistan, a JV between US-based GM and the Uzbek government, exports most of its cars to Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazakhstan energy company posts 12% fall in oil output

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan-focused energy company Nostrum Oil & Gas posted a 12% fall in oil output in the first nine months of 2016, compared to the daily average it maintained in the same period last year. Lower production and sustained low oil prices meant that revenues in Jan.-Sept. 2016 fell by 35%, compared to last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Telia’s losses in Uzbekistan grow

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Sweden’s Telia Company posted a net loss of $908m in Q3 2016 due to the settlement of court cases involving corrupt practices in Uzbekistan. Telia, which paid $1.4b to settle claims by US and Dutch courts in September, said that the court case is not yet closed, hinting of possible further claims. The company was accused of bribing Gulnara Karimova, daughter of late- Uzbek President Islam Karimov, to win telecoms licences.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Azerbaijan admits its GDP will shrink in 2016

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan said that its economy would shrink in 2016 by 2.8%, a major reversal from its earlier insistence that it would avoid a recession and post growth of 1.8%.

Answering questions posted by Reuters, the Azerbaijani economy ministry blamed sluggish oil prices and low global growth for the GDP revision. Last week government data showed Azerbaijan’s GDP had contracted by nearly 4% in the first nine months of 2016.

“The growth at 1.8 percent was projected in 2015, when the International Monetary Fund had been projecting the oil price at $64/barrel,” Reuters quoted government officials as saying. Oil prices are now around $50/barrel, double the price in January.

Most economists have been predicting a recession in Azerbaijan this year and the reluctance to downgrade its own growth estimate has been seen by many as fanciful thinking that will damage the credibility of the Azerbaijani government.

According to the World Bank the last time that Azerbaijan’s GDP contracted was in 1995.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazakhstan seeks extradition of police officer

OCT. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is seeking the extradition of a former mid-ranking police officer based in Almaty who they say headed a crime ring that stole luxury cars from Moscow and resold them in Kazakh cities. The allegations show the extent of corruption within Kazakhstan’s police force. Prosecutors said that the corrupt police officer and his gang stole 500 cars over 10 years. Each car was worth between $50,000 and $120,000.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

China wants tourism investment in Kazakhstan

OCT. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China wants to invest $11b in developing tourism on the banks of Lake Baikal in southern Kazakhstan, media reported. It said that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between two companies to start exploring the best way to invest the Chinese cash. Attracting Chinese tourist to Lake Baikal would be a potential boom for the area.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Pobeda starts flights to Armenia

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pobeda, a low-cost subsidiary of Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot, confirmed it will start flights to Armenia in the next few weeks. From November, it will fly from Moscow Vnukovo to Gyumri, Armenia’s second airport seven times a week. Earlier this month, Pobeda obtained permission to start Rostov- on-Don to Yerevan flights. Pobeda already flies to Almaty, Baku and Tbilisi.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazkom rebrands

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazkommertsbank, one of Kazakhstan’s largest banks, rebranded to Qazkom. The bank’s management chose its 25th anniversary to introduce the new branding. Kenes Rakishev, a powerful businessman with ties to the elite, owns, directly and indirectly, 71% of Qazkom. Mr Rakishev has gradually increased his shareholding, essentially taking it over from founder Nurzhan Subkhanberdin last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazakh weightlifters stripped of gold medals

OCT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Three Kazakh women weightlifters were stripped of their 2012 Olympic gold medals after new tests showed that they had used banned drugs. The three Kazakh weightlifters were Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Maiya Maneza and Svetlana Podobedova. The international weightlifting authorities are now considering banning Kazakhstan from all competitions.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)