Tag Archives: business

Tengri drops Kyrgyz project

DEC. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Tengri Resources said two mines it has been exploring in Kyrgyzstan “host large resources with significant upside exploration potential” but that it won’t exploit them because of low commodity prices. Tengri Resources’ shares fell 17.4% to 3p, a 9 month low, after the announcement. The company had been exploring the Taldybulak and the nearby Andash mines. Gold prices have fallen by 11% this year and copper prices by 25%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Kazakh businessman buys controlling stake in BTA Bank Ukraine

DEC. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee gave permission to Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev to buy a majority stake in BTA Bank Ukraine, strengthening his control over Kazakhstan’s banking assets.

One day before disclosing Mr Rakishev as the mystery buyer, the Ukrainian regulator said it had given the green light to a citizen of Kazakhstan to buy the 50.007% stake in BTA Bank that Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s largest lender, didn’t already own.

Kazkommertsbank and Mr Rakishev completed the takeover of BTA Bank in Kazakhstan earlier in 2015.

This takeover deal, though, only concerned the Kazakhstan-based parent company. BTA Group also owns banks in Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Now, Mr Rakishev will control BTA’s subsidiary in Ukraine, buying it from Andryi Levkovsky, a Ukrainian businessman linked to several investment companies.

The 36-year-old Mr Rakishev is the son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s powerful defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov and is considered a member of the country’s most inner clique of elite.

BTA Bank Ukraine’s results in the first three quarters of the year were positive. Net income grew by 30% to $119,800, making the bank a small player in Ukrainian market. The bank’s total assets amount to 2.8b hryvnia ($120m).

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

ADB funds Azerbaijani infrastructure

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it would allocate a loan of up to $2.24b to co-finance transport and energy projects in Azerbaijan in 2016- 2017. Out of this loan, the ADB said it would allocate $500m to developing the electricity network and $40m for renewable energy.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Former head of Kyrgyzaltyn sent to jail for 3 years for corruption

DEC. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced Dilger Zhaparov, former head of state-owned gold miner Kyrgyzaltyn, to three years in prison for corruption, after he made an unauthorised payment to Toronto-listed Centerra Gold.

Zhaparov has been in jail since May 2014, when he was arrested.

According to the prosecution, in December 2013 Zhaparov illegally withdrew funds from Kumtor Gold Company (KGC), a holding company operating the Kumtor gold mine, to pay a $200m dividend to Centerra Gold. The court in Bishkek agreed and gave him the maximum three year jail sentence.

During the trial there was never any suggestion of wrongdoing by Centerra Gold and John Pearson, vice-president of Investors Relations at Centerra Gold, said he was disappointed by the jail sentence as he thought the transaction was legal.

“We are puzzled by the decision of the Kyrgyz authorities. The payment was perfectly legal as it was an inter- company dividend payment between KGC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra, and Centerra itself,” Mr Pearson told The Bulletin.

Kyrgyzaltyn owns 32.7% of Centerra Gold. Centerra Gold, in turn, owns 100% of KGC.

When Zhaparov was arrested, the authorities said the payment needed government approval.

The Kyrgyz authorities have repeatedly rowed with Centerra over KGC’s ownership. The Kumtor gold mine is Kyrgyzstan’s most valuable asset, making up 10% of its GDP.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Kazakhstan and China deals

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a business forum in Beijing, Kazakh and Chinese officials said they reached agreements worth $10b that will increase cooperation between state-owned companies. One of the deals involved the sale of 51% of KMG International, a subsidiary of Kazmunaigas, to a Chinese energy company.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Oil field in Kazakhstan to expand in 2016

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tengizchevroil (TCO), the Chevron- led consortium operating the Tengiz oilfield in western Kazakhstan, said it increased output in the first nine months of 2015 and that it intends to push ahead with its expansion project in the first half of next year. In January-September 2015, Tengizchevroil produced 20.3m tonnes of crude oil, up 2.5% compared to the same period last year when it produced 19.8m tonnes. The so-called Future Growth Project expansion project will cost around $38b to complete and will increase output by 44%. Earlier this year, TCO delayed its expansion plans because of the low price of oil.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

First Starbucks opens in Kazakhstan

DEC. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Dozens of people queued up outside the MEGA shopping mall in Almaty to buy a coffee from Kazakhstan’s first Starbucks cafe. MEGA had previously said two Starbucks shops would open in 2016.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Iran wishes expansion in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz

DEC. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Iran ministry of energy said it may expand its activities in several international oil and gas fields, including Shah Deniz, Azerbaijan’s biggest gas project.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

ADB drops Tajikistan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan rail project

DEC. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut funding for a railway project that would have linked Tajikistan and Turkmenistan via Afghanistan because of a deterio- ration in security.

The decision will be a blow to various infrastructure projects in Central Asia that involve Afghanistan, including the high profile TAPI gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India and the CASA-1000 power transmission route running from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan.

“Although Turkmenistan has completed construction of its section of the railway, we would not like to construct a railway where security is not guaranteed. It’s very risky,” ADB’s country director C.C.Yu told media.

This year, the Taliban has increased its attacks in northern Afghanistan, at one point capturing the town of Kunduz near Tajikistan. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have all warned that security is worsening although, previously, infrastructure projects have not been postponed or delayed.

The railway route in question was supposed to run over 440km and bypass Uzbekistan, often considered a troublesome neighbour by Tajikistan in particular and Turkmenistan to a lesser extent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Turkmenistan exports wheat to Afghanistan

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – After visiting Ashgabat for talks with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he would buy 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Turkmenistan for the 2015-16 season. The deal would make Turkmenistan one of the main exporters of wheat to Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)