Tag Archives: business

Chinese payments system expands in Uzbekistan

JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – UnionPay International, the global branch of Chinese bank organisation UnionPay, said it will expand its operations in Uzbekistan, through an agreement with UzCard, an interbank payment system. The company, which operates in all Central Asian countries except Turkmenistan, is looking to expand its coverage at ATMs and card payments across the region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

CNPC and Total start arbitration against Tethys over Tajikistan delays

DUSHANBE, JUNE 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China’s CNPC and France’s Total have started arbitration proceedings against Tethys Petroleum, a British oil company focused on Central Asia, for failing to make payments to their joint oil project in Tajikistan.

Tension has been rising between Tethys and its partners at the Bokhtar oil field over the perceived slow progress of its development. Earlier this year, the Tajik government said that it would take back the 25% stake in the Bokhtar field that Tethys, CNPC and Total were developing if progress wasn’t speeded up.

Last year Tethys, the lead partner, missed two payments towards the Bokhtar field. Like the rest of the oil industry, Tethys has been hit by the sharp fall in oil prices over the past year. At the start of this year it was forced to patch together a deal with Olisol, a Kazakh oil company.

In a wide-ranging statement that discussed various parts of its business, Tethys said that CNPC and Total had filed their lawsuit against its subsidiary, Kulob Petroleum, at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris in May. Tethys, CNPC and Total each own one-third of the Bokhtar licence.

“The filed arbitration request is in relation to the Notice of Dispute received by Kulob Petroleum on Jan. 8 2016,” it said in a comment on the press release. Neither CNPC nor Total have commented.

The reference to Jan. 8 was to a notice that CNPC and Total filed against Tethys for breaking the terms of production sharing agreement (PSA) at the Bokhtar development.

For Tajikistan, the disagreements and delays to developing the Bokhtar field are a major disappointment. When Tajikistanagreed the deal to develop a 36,000 square km area in 2013, optimism was high that the development would deliver some of the hydrocarbon wealth it has watched neighbouring Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan grow rich off.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Auchan opens hypermarket in Tajik capital, its first in Central Asia

DUSHANBE, JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — French hypermarket brand Auchan opened its first store in Tajikistan to local acclaim with crowds of residents thronging to the shop, which has been built on the side of a new shopping mall.

The hypermarket, one of 3,000 Auchan shops around the world and the first in Central Asia, was built by France’s Schiever Group.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also invested 5m euros. According to the EBRD, Tajik people buy products from small shops and at high prices, and building a new hypermarket offers them a new alternative.

The opening of Auchan is also a boost for President Emomali Rakhmon who is under increasing pressure because of the country’s poor economic performance over the past few months.

The currency has dropped in value, inflation has risen and jobs have disappeared.

The four-storey Dushanbe Mall, home to the new Auchan store, has been built next to the headquarters of Tojiksodirotbank, one of the country’s biggest banks. This year, Tojiksodirotbank went into administration.

And Tajiks were excited at the prospect of shopping at the hypermarket. “Everything was good. Some products were cheaper than at street shops,” said Malika, 45.

Others were more skeptical.

“Many say that people do not have any money but look at how crowded this place has become,” said Sharif, a 38-years-old NGO worker.

“As time passes, though, less and less people will come.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Azerbaijan’s electricity production falls

JUNE 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Statistics Committee said electricity production fell by 7% in the first five months of the year to 9.3b kWh, compared to the same period last year. Azerbaijan’s thermal power plants, which generate the bulk of electricity in the country, produced 10% less electricity than last year. Hydroelectric power plants increased production by 15%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

EU bans Kazakh and Kyrgyz airlines

JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Union published an updated list of banned airline companies, which included 19 Kazakh and 13 Kyrgyz companies. Airline safety is still below international safety standards in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, according to most aviation agencies. Air Astana, part-owned by British BAE Systems, is the only airline allowed to fly to the EU.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Tajik President sets power output goal

JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said electricity generation in his country will grow by three times by 2030. Mr Rakhmon set the power output goal at 45b kWh/year, compared to 17b kWh last year. In addition, Mr Rakhmon said the country’s export potential will grow to 10b kWh/year. Tajikistan is tasked with generating most of the electricity for the CASA-1000 power transmission line to Pakistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Manas halts trading before announcing Kyrgyz acquisitions

JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Australia-based Manas Resources said it halted trading on the Australian Stock Exchange as it prepares the announcement of new acquisition at its Kyrgyz operations. Manas is developing two gold mines in southern Kyrgyzstan. The trading halt is a precautionary measure adopted to avoid speculation over the company’s share price. Trading will resume on June 27, the company said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Mine brawl leaves injured people in Kazakhstan

JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A brawl between private security guards and miners in Bestobe, a village 200km north-east of Astana, left as many as 16 people injured, highlighting a worsening labour dispute at the mine. Private security guards working for Kazakhaltyn, owned by Netherlands-based Institute Project, forcefully broke up a short-lived demonstration. Many of the miners said the incident echoed Zhanaozen, scene of violent clashes between police and oil workers that left at least 17 dead in 2011.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Skyland starts production in Tajikistan

JUNE 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Australia’s Skyland Petroleum said it started operations at its first well at the Kyzyl-Tumshuk oil and gas field in southern Tajikistan. Skyland has actively operated across Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Skyland said the Kyzyl Tumshuk project was started below budget and will be profitable despite low oil prices.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

IMF approves loans for Kyrgyzstan and Armenia

JUNE 16/17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The IMF approved two loans to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, part of a three-year plan to support macroeconomic reforms. It loaned $22m to Armenia, where it supported a controversial tax reform that received a first parliamentary approval on June 15. The IMF also gave a $13m loan to Kyrgyzstan and lauded the government’s measures to boost tax revenues and cut spending.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)