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.
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(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)
JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Central Bank said it spent $1.13b in December supporting its national currency — the manat — counter a falling Russian rouble and a drop in global oil prices. This represents about 8% of its total currency reserves.
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(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
>>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.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
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.
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(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgians are now able to buy Dunkin’ Donuts in Tbilisi. One of the United States’ biggest fast food franchises opened its first two stores in Tbilisi, giving the economy a major PR scoop.
Other than Russia, Georgia is the only country in the former Soviet Union that Dunkin’ Donuts has opened a franchise.
“Opening Dunkin’ Donuts in Georgia proves that there is an attractive business climate in this country and it is easy to do business here,” US ambassador Richard Norland said at the opening of the stores.
Georgia’s economy has rebounded strongly from 2008 when it collapsed after a brief war with Russia. Since then foreign investment and exports, mainly to Russia, have picked up pace.
The Wissol conglomerate, which has close connections with the Georgian business and political elite, brought Dunkin’ Donuts to Georgia. Last year it also brought Wendy’s, another US fast food chain to Georgia.
The vice-president of Dunkin’ Donuts in Europe, Carlos Vidal, said that Wissol had the experience to launch a brand successfully in Georgia.
“Wissol Group owns knowledge of establishment of retail business and management,” he said.
“Together with Wissol Group we have ambitious plans in Georgia because we know that the population of the country is ready to receive the unique experience of Dunkin’ Donuts and to become everyday customer of sandwiches, donuts, bakery and a variety coffee products.”
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015
JAN. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has cut its refinancing rate for domestic banks to 9% from 10%, media reported. The refinancing rate is the cost of borrowing between financial institutions. The Central Bank said it had cut the refinancing rate to try and boost investment.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s currency reserves dropped by 12.5% in 2014 to just under $2b, the head of the Central Bank, Tolkubek Abdygulov, was quoted by media as saying. The drop was due to Central Bank interventions to try to prop up the Kyrgyz som, under pressure from a falling Russian rouble.
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(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
JAN. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — At the first session of the lower house of parliament after an election, Uzbek president Islam Karimov said Uzbekistan will never join a group that tries to recreate the USSR. Mr Karimov’s comments appear to be a reference to the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union which includes Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus.
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(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
JAN. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Food prices in Kazakhstan have increased by nearly 20%, the news website zakon.kz reported. Its unofficial survey of prices said they had risen far more than the official Statistics Committee data showed. Wheat, zakon.kz reported, had increased the most with a 25% rise in 2014.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
>>Sackings come shortly after currency devaluation>>
JAN. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s been a busy start to 2015 for Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. He ordered the devaluation by 20% of the manat on Jan. 1 and now he has sacked both the head of the state gas company Turkmengaz and the head of the Central Bank.
Mr Berdymukhamedov appears frustrated at the relative sluggish nature of recent growth in the Turkmen economy. Much of this can be attributed to the 50% fall in energy prices and the drop in the value of the Russian rouble, so important for the economies of Central Asia.
But Mr Berdymukhamedov said that Turkmengaz head Kakageldy Abdullayev was to blame.
“We could have raised production and exports of liquefied gas and other products which are in great demand on world markets,” Reuters quoted him telling a government meeting.
Mr Berdymukhamedov is fond of culling his top officials. Mr Abdullayev had only been in the job for a year. His replacement was named as Charymuhammed Hommadov.
The day before, Mr Berdymukhamedov had also sacked the head of the Central Bank, the head of the state-run Prezidentbank and also the agriculture bank Daikhanbank.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)
