Tag Archives: business

Kazakh state energy producer to boost investments

APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a clear sign of renewed confidence that oil prices will stay at around $50-55/barrel, KMG EP, the London-listed division of the Kazakh state energy producer Kazmunaigas said that it was going to raise its capital expenditure by 12% to 133b tenge ($369m). The company said that the extra investment would be used to improve the efficiency of existing projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Kookmin sells 42% stake in Kazakhstan’s CenterCredit

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ALMATY, APRIL 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — South Korea’s Kookmin Bank sold its remaining 41.93% stake in Bank CenterCredit to Bakhytbek Baiseitov’s Tsenabank, bringing to an end its unhappy nine year foray into the Kazakh banking sector.

Kookmin’s retreat from Kazakhstan also highlights just how foreign banks have struggled in the Kazakh banking sector. The 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis inflated Kazakh banks’ bad debt portfolios turning what had looked like an attractive market to foreign investors into a headache virtually overnight.

A short note released on the Kazakh Stock Exchange by Center- Credit didn’t give much way accept to confirm the sale. Earlier this year, Tsenabank said it would buy up all of Kookmin Bank’s stake. In March it also confirmed that Mr Baiseitov, one of Kazakhstan’s richest people, had bought a 10% stake from the IFC, part of the World Bank. The IFC had always intended to sell its stake, bought in 2010, by 2017.

There was no statement from Kookmin which has been looking to sell its stake in CenterCredit almost as soon as it bought it.

Kookmin’s timing was initially poor. It bought a 30% stake in CenterCredit from Mr Baiseitov, who set up the bank, in March 2008 for $500m. By August 2008 the Global Financial Crisis had virtually wiped out its investment. The devaluation of the Kazakh tenge in 2015 also hit the bank, forcing Kookmin to write- down its value again. The 2008 deal to buy into CenterCredit had been part of a now globalisation push by Kookmin. It forced the resignation in 2010 of then-CEO Kang Chung-won.

Other foreign banks which have invested in Kazakhstan only to pull out a few years later include Britain’s HSBC and Italy’s Unicredit.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Azerbaijan’s Silk Way buys 10 Boeings

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APRIL 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines bought 10 Boeing 737 passenger air- planes in a deal which some media reports said could be worth as much as $1.1b. The deal also marks a change of strategy for the Baku-based airline, which is part of the Silk Way conglomerate. Up until now, the airline had focused on cargo transport. It now says that it has drawn up plans to lease the passenger airplanes out.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

French foreign minister visits Uzbekistan

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APRIL 17 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Tashkent, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault discussed improving security relations with Uzbekistan. Mr Ayrault is the most senior Western government official to visit Uzbekistan since Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as president in September 2016. He has opened up the country to the West, including persuading the EBRD to start investing in Uzbekistan once again.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Armenian Investor’s Club acts

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APRIL 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Drawing comparisons with Russia’s oligarch network, the so-called Investors’ Club of Armenia pledged to invest $300m in stimulating business across a range of sectors from tourism to IT to energy. The Investors’ Club is a group of Armenia’s wealthiest businessmen brought together by PM Karen Karapetyan. He set up the group just before an election earlier this month.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Georgian airports post growth

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APRIL 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s airports have handled 621,800 people in the first three months of 2017, an increase of 43.6% from the same period in 2016, media reported quoting figures released by the national civil aviation authority. The data highlights the huge growth in the number of air- lines flying to Georgia and, also, Georgia’s growing attraction as a stable country that straddles both Asia and Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

After 25 years, Uzbek Air flies to Dushanbe

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DUSHANBE, APRIL 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — After three aborted attempts blamed on a variety of different issues, Uzbekistan Airways made its first flight between Tashkent and Dushanbe for 25 years.

A spokesman at Dushanbe Airport said that the Uzbekistan Airways flight had landed at 8.03am local time. Earlier in the year a flight by the privately-owned Somon Air landed at Tashkent airport from Dushanbe.

The resumption of flights between the two capitals was considered a vital sign of improved relations between the neighbours. Uzbekistan Airways has said that it now intends to fly between Tashkent and Dushanbe twice a week.

Under Uzbek president Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan perused an isolationist policy, especially with regards to Tajikistan which he viewed virtually as a pariah state.

Karimov was particularly incensed by plans drawn up by his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmon, to build a dam across rivers that feed Uzbekistan’s cotton fields. His successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been more avuncular and has patched up damaged relations.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Tajik banking sector needs reform, says ADB

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APRIL 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s banking sector needs urgent reform if it is going to pull out of the current crisis, the Asian Development Bank said. Among other things, Tajik banks should increase their capital levels and improve their ownership transparency. Tajikistan’s banks have been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Only investments from the government and international institutional banks have averted a collapse of the banking sector.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Capital Bank in Kazakhstan appoints new chairman

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APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan-based Capital bank promoted Bakhtiyar Ilyasov to be chairman, replacing Ghani Uzbekov. He had previously been the bank’s deputy chairman. In a note, the bank said that Mr Ilyasov would oversee the merger with Tengri bank, announced in March.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Kazakh nuclear company signs deal with Areva

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s state-owned nuclear company Kazatomprom signed a deal with France’s Areva to strengthen their partnership, an agreement which they said would see them working together for another 20 years. The two companies have worked together since 1996 on their Katco JV.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)