Tag Archives: business

Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Bank plans to expand

MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Bank plans to expand into Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in a bid to become a truly regional operator, its CEO Pavel Loginov said in an interview with Forbes Kazakhstan. Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, is considered the financial capital of Central Asia but the only two banks in the region listed on the London Stock Exchange are both Georgian — Bank of Georgia and TBC.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Islamic finance boosts in Kazakhstan

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, an industry lobby group, and Islamic Development Bank have signed a deal to look at ways of developing Islamic finance in Kazakhstan, media reported. There are currently two banks in Kazakhstan practising Islamic banking — Zaman Bank and Bank Al-Hilal.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Eurasian Bank agrees to loan Kyrgyzstan

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Eurasian Development Bank has signed a deal with Kyrgyzstan to provide a loan of $110m to finance the construction of Unit 2 at the Kambarata hydropower plant, media reported. The Eurasian Development Bank is the bank of the Eurasian Economic Union. The funds for the hydropower development will come out of a special unit put aside to assist Kyrgyzstan joining the EEU in 2015.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Turkmen president travels to Qatar looking for investors

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MARCH 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov travelled to Qatar to try to charm its leaders into investing in Turkmenistan. The Turkmen economy is under pressure from sustained low oil and gas prices. In particular Qatar’s state news agency said that Mr Berdymukhamedov was looking for investment in the so-called TAPI gas pipeline that will run from gas fields in Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, and also for investment in gas processing plants.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Azerbaijan buys trains from Kazakhstan

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MARCH 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Kazakh factory producing trains has delivered 10 locomotives to Azerbaijan, media reported. The Trend news agency said that Lokomotiv Kurastyru Zauyty had also sent locomotives to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Turkmenistan. This is important for Kazakhstan as it is trying to boost its manufacturing sector. Azerbaijan is, itself, trying to boost its role as a pivot for global trade and has said it will buy more trains if it can secure a north-south trade route between India and Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kyrgyzstan relaxes Iranian visa rules

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MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan said that it had simplified visa rules for Iranians, matching a trend in the region. Iran and Kyrgyzstan have been boosting trade, diplomatic and tourist links. Georgia and Armenia have already scrapped visa requirements for Iranians and other countries are also relaxing rules. Iran is seen as an important economic driver for the region, especially since some sanctions were lifted last year.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Armenia signs up to be EITI candidate

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YEREVAN, MARCH 9/14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s government started the task of implementing various standards ordered by the global governance watchdog, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), five days after it was approved as a candidate country.

At the same meeting in Bogota that Armenia’s candidature was approved, the EITI suspended Azerbaijan for not improving its rules over NGO registration. The next day Azerbaijan quit the group calling its biased and accusing it of mission creep.

Still, Armenian PM’s chief of staff, Davit Harutyunyan, explained the importance for Armenia of the EITI’s candidate status.

“A well-managed natural resource extraction can become more profitable for the citizens of Armenia, and the EITI is the right tool to achieve this goal,” he was quoted as saying in an EITI press release.

Originally aimed at improving governance in countries where the extractive industries, either mining or oil and gas, dominate, the EITI Standards have become more widespread and diluted. Armenia mines some gold and copper, but it is a small part of its economy compared to other products such as electricity and banking. According to the EITI press release, mining accounts for just 5% of Armenia’s GDP.

But, as well as widening its remit, the EITI Standards have become important in international fiance. International lenders use it as governance benchmark. The EBRD has warned Azerbaijan that it may consider pulling funding from projects if it fails the EITI Standards. It has yet to comment on Azerbaijan quitting the EITI.

At its AGM, the EITI said both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan had made progress towards meeting its Standards but there was more work to be done.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Markets: TBC Bank

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MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rather like the Georgian rugby team that it sponsors, TBC Bank is on the up. The bank, which has a 37% share of the consumer loans market in Georgia, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It pushed up to near an all-time high on March 17 of 1,497p/$1. This is 29% higher than it was at its IPO in mid-August.

And analysts say there is more to come from TBC. It’s main rival is Bank of Georgia, which has a market share of around 32%. It’s share price has tripled since it listed five years ago.

Analysts have also said that the Georgian consumer market has plenty of room to grow. They point out that the market is still underdeveloped and that banks’ loan books are growing by 20% every year.

There are, of course, risks for investors. These come mainly in the exposure to Georgia, which has a high level of political and economic risk. Its currency has been dented and its politics can be fraught.

Just like the Georgian rugby team, which is knocking on the door of the venerable Six Nations tournament, TBC Bank is heading in the right direction for increased kudos and recognition.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kazakh airline signs codeshare deal with Lufthansa

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MARCH 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Air Astana, half owned by the Kazakh government and half owned by Britain’s BAE Systems, signed a codeshare agreement, effectively allowing the airlines to sell each other’s flights between Frankfurt and Astana or Almaty. The agreement is a boost for Air Astana. It already has code sharing agreements with a handful of high- profile airlines including KLM, Turkish, Etihad and Air France.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Tough times for Kazakh banks, says S&P

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said that banks in Kazakhstan will face another tough year because the Kazakh economy is still labouring under slow growth rates, depressed commodity prices and exchange rate volatility. The Kazakh Central Bank has set up a fund to help banks that are struggling through this regional economic downturn.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)