Tag Archives: business

Tajik electricity exports rise

JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s electricity exports to Afghanistan increased by 38% last year compared to 2013, the Tajik news agency Avesta reported. This is important because hydroelectric power has the potential to become one of Tajikistan’s biggest exports. It needs a stable Afghanistan and Pakistan to realise this potential.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Armenian economy to stagnate

JAN. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The inter-government European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said the fall in the Russian rouble and a general economic downturn will knock Armenia’s economy into a recession this year. Armenia’s economy is particularly tied into Russia’s fortunes.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Uzbek car sales to Russia drop

JAN. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — GM Uzbekistan sold 38% fewer cars in Russia in 2014 than it did in 2013, media reported quoting the European Businesses Association. The data highlights the impact that the falling rouble and the economic turmoil in Russia is having across the former Soviet Union. Russia is GM Uzbekistan’s biggest market.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Falling gas prices to hit Turkmenistan

JAN. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The drop in the price of gas and oil will hit Turkmenistan’s economy, although it will still grow by nearly 10% in 2015, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in its updated growth forecasts. Turkmenistan’s economy is protected somewhat by contracts with China.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Kumtor to produce 10% less gold in 2015

JAN. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Centerra Gold, the Toronto-based mining company, said it will produce around 10% less gold from its Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan this year. The company didn’t specify why gold production at Kumtor would drop this year. This is significant, though, as Kumtor is Kyrgyzstan’s single biggest industrial asset.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Kazatomprom debt deal

JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s
nuclear agency, has agreed a $450m debt deal with Western banks.
The deal, and its size, show that despite an economic downturn some
Kazakh companies are still considered a relatively good bet.
Kazakhstan owns 15% of the world’s uranium supplies.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Turkmenistan to increase gas production

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan may increase its gas production by 9% this year, media reported quoting the state information service. Already one of the biggest regional gas producers, Turkmenistan boosted gas exports by 11% last year, mainly to China. The drop in global energy prices will impact the Turkmen government budget.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Coca-Cola to build Dushanbe factory

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan has given the go-ahead for Turkish Coca-Cola Icecek, which produces and distributes Coca-Cola products across Central Asia, to build its first bottling plant in Dushanbe, media reported. The project will cost $50m and generate up to 500 new jobs.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Kazakh property market shrinks

>>Currency devaluation inflated early data>>

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The number of property deals in Kazakhstan dropped by over 13% last year, the State Statistics Committee data showed, more evidence of a downturn in the economy.

The biggest drops in the number of property transactions were in North Kazakhstan — a fall of 25% in the number of property deals in 2014 compared to 2013 — and the Akmola, Almaty and Karaganda regions which all had a fall of around 20%.

Only some of the western regions, experiencing something of an oil boom, enjoyed a small increase in the property market in 2014.

This is all bad news for Kazakhstan which is trying to keep its tenge currency strong despite a fall in the price of oil and a drop in the value of the Russian rouble.

Earlier, the shrink in Kazakhstan’s property market had been disguised by figures which showed that the value of the deals had actually increased by over 10% in 2014. A currency devaluation of 20% in February 2014 inflated the value of transactions in the Kazakh market.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Car imports from Russia to Kazakhstan rise

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Car imports to Kazakhstan from Russia have jumped in the past two months to 2,859 from 2,005 during the same period in 2013, Kazakh media reported quoting government officials. The upturn is linked to the currency discrepancies. The rouble has nose-dived but the Kazakh Central Bank has kept the tenge strong.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)