JAN. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s trade with the rest of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) fell by 21% last year, the Kazakh Security Committee said, highlighting a general contraction in the Kremlin-led block’s economy. Most of the decrease was linked to Russia. Last week, Kyrgyzstan also reported a drop in trade with EEU members.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The UAE’s DP World signed a deal to develop a special economic zone in Aktau, western Kazakhstan. The deal was signed during a trip to Dubai by Kazakh businessmen and government officials lead by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. DP World is one of the largest port operators in the world. Aktau is Kazakhstan’s main Caspian Sea port.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s GDP shrank by 3.8% in 2016, the country’s statistics committee said, confirming predictions of a heavy recession in the oil-dependent economy. The data means that, under pressure from low oil prices and a recession in Russia, Azerbaijan’s economy was one of the worst performing economies in the world last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Inflation data from Armenia’s national statistics office showed prices dropped in 2016 by an average of 1.1%, media reported. The largest fall was in food prices which fell 3.3%. Service prices rose by 1.1%. Deflation has been stalking Armenia for sometime, indicating an economic slowdown.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Talks between Russia and Tajikistan over restarting air-links, vital for Tajikistan’s remittance-dependent economy, will resume on Jan. 26, media reported. Both countries cut air-links in December after a row. Without the vital air-link to Moscow and other major Russian cities, young Tajik men will not be able to travel to Russia, the source of most of the remittance cash.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia has created a so-called special economic zone on the border with Iran to try and boost trade with its neighbour. Announcing the deal, deputy economy minister Hovhannes Azizyan said that it was important to keep on building ties with Iran and that he hoped the SEZ would become a regional hub. Armenia and Iran have built up close trade links over the past few years.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz workers abroad sent back $1.83b to Kyrgyzstan in the first 11 months of 2016, an 18.6% rise on 2015, media reported quoting the Kyrgyz Central Bank. Remittance flows are vital for Kyrgyzstan and a recession in Russia has severely dented its economy. The Central Bank also said that remittances from Russia in November 2016 were a third higher than in November 2015.
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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)
JAN. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s government will take $4b from its sovereign wealth fund, Sofaz, to spend on defending the value of the manat currency. A decree signed by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, called on the cash to be used to “ensure macroeconomic stability”. This is the second year running that Sofaz, now worth around $33b, has been a net contributor to the national budget. Azerbaijan has been severely hit by the drop in oil prices.
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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)
JAN. 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Annualised inflation in Kazakhstan slowed to 8.5% in 2016, down from 13.6% in 2015, the country’s statistics committee said. The slow- down will be a relief to the Central Bank as it will give it increased room to use its monetary policy levers to try and induce more economic activity. The government’s inflation target has been 6-8%.
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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)
JAN. 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Exports via the Caspian Pipeline, which pumps oil from western Kazakhstan, around the Caspian Sea to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, rose by 4% in 2016, data released by the pipeline’s owner the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) showed. CPC’s main client is the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan. CPC’s biggest shareholders are Russia with a 24% stake, Kazakhstan with a 20.75% stake and Chevron with a 15% stake.
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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)
