FEB. 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign debt ratings to BBB- from BBB because of the long-term low cost of oil. Standard & Poor’s also downgraded Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Bahrain and Oman at the same time. It said that oil accounted for 20% of Kazakhstan’s GDP.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s Central Bank said it had suspended commercial lender Khamkorbank’s licence to trade in foreign currencies for six months due to unspecified violations of banking rules. The World Bank’s IFC and the Netherlands’ state-owned FMO both own stakes in Khamkorbank, 14.5% and 15% respectively.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The amount of cash flowing into the Tajik government’s coffers is slowing, media reported quoting the ministry of finance. It said, without giving specifics, that in January, it only hit 87.7% of its target inflow. Tajikistan has been heavily hit by the worsening economic conditions across the region. Remittances from Russia, a vital source of income, have fallen by 50%.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is giving Kazavtozhol a $103m loan to widen an 80km stretch of road in southern Kazakhstan on the main south-north highway. The EBRD has been an important driver of infrastructure projects in former Soviet Central Asia since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Central Bank raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2011 to try to bolster its ailing currency. It raised its key interest rate to 5% from 3%. The manat has lost 50% of its value over the past year as oil prices fall. Oil is Azerbaijan’s key export.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 8.5% on Tuesday, its lowest level in a year, to try and maintain inflation. The Central Bank has previously said that, overall, prices for the 12- months to the end of January had fallen by 0.4%, despite a month-on- month rise of 2.2% in January compared to December.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – French train-maker Alstom has bought another 25% stake in EKZ, its joint-venture in Kazakhstan with Kazakh state railway company Temir Zholy and Russia’s Transmashholding, media reported. The deal means that Alstom is now the majority partner in EKZ. It may also show Kazakhstan’s willingness to sell off part of its most cherished companies to foreigners so that it can raise cash during the worsening economic downturn.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s statistic committee said the country’s GDP grew by 1.2% in 2015, its lowest rate for six years. The official figure is in line with what analysts expected. Both Halyk Finance, part of one of Kazakhstan’s biggest banks, and the Economist Intelligence Unit expect Kazakhstan’s GDP to shrink in 2016 if oil prices stay at $35/barrel.
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s consumer price index rose by 2.2% in January compared to December, the national statistics committee said. The statistics committee said a 5% increase in food prices last month pushed up overall inflation. This is the highest month-to-month inflation increase in Armenia in the past year.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)
FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prices in Azerbaijan jumped by 5.8% in January compared to December, according to the national statistics committee. The statistics committee said food prices rose 8.7% last month. In December the Central Bank allowed the manat currency to float free against the US dollar. This triggered a 35% devaluation in its value, putting prices under enormous pressure to rise.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)
