FEB. 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Revenues at Kazakhstan-focused copper producer KAZ Minerals jumped 43% in 2016 to $969m because of the start-up of production at its Bozshakol copper- gold mine in Kyrgyzstan and the Aktogay open pit copper mine in Kazakhstan. KAZ Minerals is listed on the London Stock Exchange and used to be called Kazakhmys
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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)
FEB. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s economic activity index, considered a key barometer of the economy’s health, was 6.5% higher in January compared to a year earlier. A 12% rise in industrial production was the biggest driver of the economic boost. Importantly, though, agricultural output was largely flat.
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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)
BISHKEK, FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency, Tolkunbek Abdygulov, head of the Kyrgyz Central Bank essentially told ordinary Kyrgyz that they should buy gold rather than keep their savings in the unpredictable Kyrgyz som.
Gold is considered a safe-haven for investors and savers whenever the global outlook is fragile but it holds added importance in Kyrgyzstan, which relies on the Kumtor gold mine to produce over a tenth of its GDP.
Like the rest of the region, an economic slowdown has hit the Kyrgyz economy, denting GDP growth and undermining the economy. The Kyrgyz som has slid from around 50/$1 to 69/$1.
Mr Abdygulov appeared to reference this som weakness in his interview with Bloomberg.
“Gold can be stored for a long time and, despite the price fluctuations on international markets, it doesn’t lose its value for the population as a means of savings,” he was quoted as saying.
Over the past couple of years, the Kyrgyz Central Bank has offered to sell gold in different sizes to ordinary Kyrgyz and to store it safely. Mr Abdygulov said that the Bank had sold around 140kg of gold through this system.
And the Central Bank appears to be leading by example. It has increased its purchases of gold while many other central banks have reduced theirs. Bloomberg data showed that Kyrgyzstan currently holds around $190m of gold in its reserves, four times the level of 10 years ago.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran will lend 83m euro to build a third power transmission line from Armenia, the Iranian media reported. Iran has become an increasingly important importer of electricity from Armenia over the past few years. Armenia has also increased imports of Iranian gas. Relations between the two neighbours have blossomed.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 16/17 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Talco, the Tajik aluminium smelter owned through a series of offshore companies by the family of President Emomali Rakhmon, has struck a deal to end a long-running dispute with Russia’s Rusal, both Eurasianet and RFE/RL reported.
A court in 2014 ruled against Talco, in a ruling that focused on a breach of contract a decade earlier, meaning that it needed to pay Rusal up to $375m.
Now, Eurasianet and RFE/RL reported, Talco will pay Rusal the full amount it has been fined plus an extra sum for control of the Hyatt hotel and a business centre in Dushanbe, which Rusal had owned.
The deal appears to allow both sides to save face and also for Rusal to quit Tajikistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 15/16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Dutch convenience store chain Spar opened up more stores in Azerbaijan and Georgia, part of its drive to increase its global coverage. Spar said that it had opened three more stores in Baku at the end of last year, following the opening of its first store in the Azerbaijani capital in December 2015. In Georgia, Spar also opened another store, bringing to 21 its total for Georgia. Spar has expanded outside its central Europe heartland by both owning its stores directly and granting an independent retailer the rights to use its brand.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — An IMF delegation flew into Tbilisi for a two-week mission that could trigger a major injection of cash linked to economic changes. Georgia has been one of the most reform-minded countries in the former Soviet Union acting as something of a posterboy for IMF- backed changes. The government, though, is also looking for support to push through a tough economic downturn. GDP growth in 2016 was 2.2%, its lowest since 2009 when the economy shrank by 3.8% during the Global Financial Crisis.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Takehiko Nakao, the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will visit Uzbekistan later this month, the Trend news agency reported quoting the ADB’s Tashkent office, raising the possibility of a major cash injection for Uzbek business. Azernews reported that the ADB was lining up loans worth $2.1b for various sectors of Uzbekistan’s economy, including its power sector. Earlier this month the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sent a high-profile delegation to Tashkent for talks with senior officials.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan will reduce the area it uses to grow wheat over the next few years, although it will maintain its current crop because of improvements in efficiency, the blackseagrain.net website reported by quoting the Kazakh deputy agriculture minister Kayrat Aytuganov. Wheat has become an increasingly important part of the Kazakh economy. “We must collect larger volumes of quality grain from smaller areas. New markets are opening for exports of exactly Kazakh produce,” Mr Aytuganov said.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)
FEB. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed KAZ Minerals, formerly known as Kazakhmys, has started sulphide production at its Atokay mine in Kazakhstan, the mining-journal.com website reported. It said that production was in-line with expectations and that output would be ramped up throughout the year. KAZ Minerals is best known for its copper production.
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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)f
