FEB. 14 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In 2010 Kazakhstan’s GDP grew by 7% and its trade surplus almost doubled to $29.5b, its national statistics office said. The statistics office also said that for the first time China was the biggest buyer of Kazakhstan’s exports with 17.1% of the total.
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(News report from Issue No. 27, published on Feb. 14 2011)
FEB. 3 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Oxus Gold, the only publicly listed mining company operating primarily in Uzbekistan, said it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in its mines to its Uzbek partners. Oxus Gold is listed on London’s AIM. It did not say how much it had agreed to sell its stake in the Amantaytau Goldfields for.
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(News report from Issue No. 26, published on Feb. 7 2011)
FEB. 7 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Toronto-based Centerra Gold increased proven and probable gold estimates at its Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan by 24%. It also said the lifespan of the mine, vital for Kyrgyzstan’s economy, had lengthened by two years to 2021. In 2009, Kumtor accounted for a quarter of Kyrgyzstan’s total industrial output.
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(News report from Issue No. 26, published on Feb. 7 2011)
JAN. 24 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s GDP will grow by 4-5% in 2011 against an earlier forecast rise of 3.1%, media quoted economy minister Zhanar Aitzhanova as saying. Inflation in Turkmenistan was 4.8% in 2010, Reuters quoted the state statistics agency as saying.
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(News report from Issue No. 24, published on Jan. 24 2011)
DEC. 23 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s raised its sovereign foreign currency rating on Kazakhstan to BBB from BBB-. It said the upgrade reflected Kazakhstan’s rebound from the global recession. Ratings service Moody’s has already upgraded Kazakhstan to Baa2. Fitch retains a BBB-rating.
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(News report from Issue No. 21, published on Jan. 4 2011)
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DEC. 26 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian think tank The Civilitas Foundation said 2011 would be a difficult year economically for Armenia. “Armenia’s economic growth will remain anaemic. Despite moderate global growth, there will still be lagging effects on Armenia’s economy,” it wrote in its annual report.
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(News report from Issue No. 21, published on Jan. 4 2011)
DEC. 10 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Industrial output in Kazakhstan rose 10.5% in the first 11 months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 but agricultural output fell by 12.3%, the Kazakh Statistics Committee said. This reflects Kazakhstan’s rebound from recession but also a drought which hit grain production.
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(News report from Issue No. 19, published on Dec. 13 2010)
DEC. 8 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan established a new government-run company to supply fuel to the US airbase outside Bishkek. An opaque firm
registered in Gibraltar with links to the son of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had previous controlled lucrative contracts to supply fuel to the base, which is vital to NATO operations in Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 19, published on Dec. 13 2010)
NOV. 25 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – The heads of governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states met in Dushanbe to discuss increasing humanitarian and economic cooperation. They were candid about the results other than to say they had agreed to boost regional aid. Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran hold observer status and attended the meeting.
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NOV. 18 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Alongside China, Russia, Cuba, Iraq and Morocco, Kazakhstan will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo next month, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. This year the committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident angering China. China is one of Kazakhstan’s biggest investors.
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(News report from Issue No. 16, published on Nov. 22 2010)
