Tag Archives: economy

Armenia’s economic activity rises

DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s economic activity index recorded a rise of 2.3% in November compared to the same month in 2015, the state statistics agency said, suggesting some positive news after a slew of poor economic headlines. The biggest risers were the service sectors and industrial output which recorded rises of 6.8% and 7.8.%. The biggest drop was in construction, a key economic driver in Armenia. It fell more than 10%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Azerbaijan’s GDP shrinks by 3.9%

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s GDP was 3.9% lower in the nine months to the end of October this year compared to the same period in 2015, the country’s statistics committee reported, confirming the country’s sharp economic downturn. A collapse in oil prices and a recession in Russia have dragged down Azerbaijan’s oil dependent economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

FDI in Georgia rises by 5%

DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investment in Georgia, vital for its economy, was 5% higher in the first nine months of 2016 compared to 2015, the country’s statistics agency said. Total investment for Jan — Oct 2016 was $1.3b. The transport and communications sector attracted the most investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

WB cuts growth targets in Armenia

DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The World Bank revised down its growth estimates for Armenia to 0.4% from 2.8% earlier this year because of a sharp economic contraction in the past six months. Gohar Gyulumyan, the World Bank’s senior economist in Armenia, said that growth had been strong in the first half of the year but had fallen off since July. Growth in 2016 would be 2-2.5%, she said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Georgia unveils budget for 2017

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s government unveiled a budget for 2017 that increased taxes on cigarettes, cars, alcohol and oil products to offset a planned drop in corporate tax and a rise in social spending. The increase in spending is designed to propel Georgia through a deep economic downturn. The ministry of labour, health and social affairs, by far the most heavily financed government ministry, will get a boost of around 6% and the budget for the ministry of infrastructure and regional development jumps by a third.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Georgia’s CBank maintains rates

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Bank slowed its interest rate cuts by keeping its key rate steady at 6.5% at its latest rate fixing meeting. It said that an increase in excise taxes and external factors would help lift prices temporarily although, there- after, price pressure will return. Inflation in Georgia stands at 0.2%, far below the Central Bank’s 5% target. It has cut its key interest rate from 8% at the start of the year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Georgia Global Utilities issues 30m lari bond

TBILISI, DEC. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia Global Utilities (GGU), a subsidiary of London-listed BGEO Group, issued a 30m lari ($12m) bond, giving investors the chance to take a punt on the lari.

The bond, destined to GGU’s subsidiary Georgian Water and Power, offers a 3.5% premium over the Central Bank’s lari refinancing rate and will mature in five years.

The lari has slid by 15% in the past three months against the US dollar and is now trading at 2.66/$1. This prompted the Central Bank to stop easing its monetary policy and to keep interest rates stable at 6.5%.

Despite the fall in the value of the lari, BGEO was bullish about the issue. “This is in line with GGU’s funding strategy to continue to raise new funding in local currency, with longer-term maturity,” Irakli Gilauri, BGEO’s CEO, said in a statement.

Georgian Water and Power, which supplies water to Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Rustavi, was privatised in 2008. The sale was criticised because of a perceived lack of transparency over GGU’s British Virgin Islands registration.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Kazakhstan details mortgage plan

ALMATY, DEC. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kazakh government plans to stimulate the housing market by subsidising mortgages under a programme dubbed Nurly Zher, which means the Bright Land in English.

At a government meeting, the economy ministry said that the plan would help build 1.5m new houses over the next 15 years. It said that the state would invest $5.3b into the scheme and that the private sector would invest $47b.

“To encourage private developers to take advantage of available credit resources the state will subsidize part of the interest rate on loans extended by banks,” the economy ministry said in its statement.

The plan is an ambitious attempt by the Kazakh government to stimulate its flatlining economy. GDP growth has been stagnan, pulled down by low oil prices and a recession in Russia. The tenge has lost around 50% of its value and ordinary Kazakhs are feeling the pinch. This year rare anti-government protests sprung up across the country.

The government has said that it will restructure old mortgages and has also said it will subsidise the interest rate on new mortgages by knocking 7 percentage points off the cost of borrowing. Commercial rates for mortgages in Kazakhstan are currently around 17%. Under the government’s plan, new mortgage holders will pay only 10%, with the government paying the equivalent of 7% of the mortgage.

Even so, people are sceptical.

“I’m scared of whole economic situation in the country,” said Bolat Mukashev, 25. “You don’t know what will happen tomorrow and there is no stability. Any moment tenge might collapse again and there is a high chance I could lose my job.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Georgia’s economy to grow in 2017

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In Georgia’s governmental budget presented to and passed by parliament, officials said that they targeted GDP growth of 4% next year. Despite the tough economic conditions, Georgia has managed to engineer some positive economic growth in 2016, unlike its neighbours, Armenia and Azerbaijan, who have been hard hit by the drop in oil prices and a recession in Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f

China dominates Tajik economy

DEC. 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik media quoted an unnamed source in the state’s statistics committee as saying that foreign direct investment had risen sharply in the third quarter of the year, mainly due to heavy infrastructure investments by China. The source said that China made up around two thirds of the investments, highlighting just how influential it has become over Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)