Tag Archives: business

Abdullayev visits Turkmenistan, again

NOV. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani media reported on yet another trip to Ashgabat by the head of Socar, Azerbaijan’s oil and gas company, Rovnag Abdullayev.

Mr Abdullayev was in Ashgabat for the opening of major gas conference. It’s an important time for Azerbaijan- Turkmenistan relations because Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has agreed to sign up to a new pipeline running from Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, to Europe.

Visits by Mr Abdullayev to Ashgabat may appear fairly routine but each trip brings the two countries closer together.

Europe sees Turkmen gas as critical for reducing its reliance on Russian energy and considers the pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to central Europe to be the easiest way to supply the gas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Telenor worries in Uzbekistan

NOV. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norway’s government summoned the head of Telenor, the telecoms company in which it owns a 54% stake, to explain newspaper reports which have alleged that VimpelCom, a part-owned subsidiary, paid bribes in Uzbekistan to win business, Bloomberg reported.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Pakistan aims to import Tajik electricity

NOV. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Pakistan wants to export Tajik electricity on to other consumer countries, Pakistani media quoted a senior government official as saying. The announcement is, potentially, good news for Tajikistan which is looking for markets for its hydropower. Tajikistan and Pakistan are working on a grid system called CASA-1000.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank completed debt deal

NOV. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank has completed a $1.2b debt restructuring deal and will now merge with Temirbank and ForteBank to become one of the biggest lenders in the country, Reuters reported. The government bought a stake in Alliance Bank in 2009. Temirbank and ForteBank are owned by billionaire Bulat Utemuratov.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Kazakhstan regains control of subsidiary

NOV. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s energy transport monopoly KazTransGas regained control of its Georgian subsidiary, KazTransGas-Tbilisi. Georgia had effectively expropriated the company in 2009 over unpaid debt. KazTransGas- Tbilisi owns a 2,400km gas distribution system in Georgia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

ENI signs deal with Turkmenistan

NOV. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Italian energy company ENI said it had signed a deal with Turkmenistan to extend its operations in the country.

The deal is important for ENI because it has been criticised for its operations in Kazakhstan, particularly its running of the delayed and over budget Kashagan field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. By extending its presence in Turkmenistan, something that the company has been working on all year, ENI underlines its commitment to Central Asia.

At a signing ceremony alongside Italian PM Matteo Renzi, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that ENI had agreed a deal to extend one onshore production sharing agreement and three offshore exploration areas.

“We have come to a conclusion that there must be an active investment ideology present in our countries’ relations,” he said without giving any more terms of the deals.

China is Turkmenistan’s main gas client but Europe is also becoming more important. Earlier this month it signed a deal with a consortium building a pipeline from Baku to central Europe. This pipeline will deliver Turkmen gas to central Europe for the first time.

Turkmenistan is estimated to hold the world’s fourth largest gas reserves.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

Stans Energy to quit Kyrgyzstan

NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Canadian miner Stans Energy said Kyrgyzstan was trying to revoke its licences for two rare earth mines that it owns. The row is part of a long-running dispute between Stans Energy and Kyrgyzstan. Stans Energy has said that it will quit Kyrgyzstan altogether, dealing another blow to the country’s investor image.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India establish company

NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have set up a company to develop the so called TAPI gas pipeline that they plan to build, media reported. Establishing a company is another step towards building the 1,800km pipeline. All four countries own an equal share in the company.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

Weak rouble hits Armenia wine

NOV. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The falling value of the Russian rouble is hitting vital wine exports to Russia, the head of the Armenian wine-making union, Avag Harutyunyan, told media. Russia is the biggest market for Armenian wine and brandy. Mr Harutyunyan said that Armenia would export 30% less wine this year than last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

Uzbek authorities use forced labour

NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – n a rare public protest against the Uzbek authorities, students at Uzbekistan’s National University published an open letter on a website which said they had been forced to pick cotton during the harvest season. Campaigners around the world have criticised Uzbekistan for using forced labour in its cotton harvest.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)