NOV. 11/12 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) – Continuing a busy diplomatic period, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hosted talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on future energy supplies. Turkey needs extra supplies for the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline which will carry gas from Turkey to Europe.
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(News report from Issue No. 15, published on Nov. 15 2010)
NOV. 3. 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas started looking for potential buyers for its 11-year $1.5b Eurobond with an estimated yield of 6.75%. This is the first bond in a series of offerings that Kazakhstan hopes will raise $7.5b to invest back into oil and gas projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
OCT. 21 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev visited Ashgabat for talks with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov focused on gas contracts. Mr Medvedev said that due to low global demand, Gazprom did not need to restore its 40b cubic metres (bcm) annual order for Turkmen gas which it cut to about 11bcm after an argument over pricing in 2009.
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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 27 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is preparing a $1.2b tax claim against the Western-led venture developing the Karachaganak gas field, sources at the Kazakh oil ministry told news agencies. The Kazakh government is reportedly seeking a 10% stake in Karachaganak, the only major oil and gas project in Kazakhstan it does not hold a stake in.
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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 28 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Underdeveloped banking systems, a high rate of non-performing loans and inflexible exchange rates are potential brakes on economic recovery in Central Asia and the south Caucasus, the IMF said.
With their reliance on neighbouring Russia and global commodity prices, the global financial downturn in 2009 was tough for the economies of Central Asia and the south Caucasus. This year, with Russia and commodity prices recovering and the impact of domestic fiscal stimulus taking hold, the IMF predicts steady economic growth throughout the regions, other than for Kyrgyzstan.
Remittances from workers in Russia, so important for the poorer Central Asian and Caucasus countries, grew by 26% in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
The IMF said that inflation was generally under control at around 8%, although in Uzbekistan it was nearer 11%. For the IMF, the regions’ banking sectors are a concern. In Kazakhstan, the IMF pointed out, non-performing loans total nearly 26% of all loans.
IMF’s GDP % growth figures (2010 and 2011 are predictions):
Armenia +13.7 (2007); +6.9 (2008); -14.2 (2009); +4.0 (2010); +4.6 (2011)
Azerbaijan +25.0 (2007); +10.8 (2008); +9.3 (2009); +4.3 (2010); +1.8 (2011)
Georgia +12.3 (2007); +2.3 (2008); -3.9 (2009); +5.5 (2010); +4.0 (2011)
Kazakhstan +8.9 (2007); +3.2 (2008); +1.2 (2009); +5.4 (2010); +5.1 (2011)
Kyrgyzstan +8.5 (2007); +8.4 (2008); +2.3 (2009); -3.5 (2010); +7.1 (2011)
Tajikistan +7.8 (2007); +7.9 (2008); +3.4 (2009); +5.5 (2010); +5.0 (2011)
Turkmenistan +11.6 (2007); +10.5 (2008); +6.1 (2009); +9.4 (2010); +11.5 (2011)
Uzbekistan +9.5 (2007); +9.0 (2008); +8.1 (2009); +8.0 (2010); +7.0 (2011)
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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 21 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is still considering selling 20% of state oil company Kazmunaigas in an IPO next year, said Kairat Kelimbetov, head of Kazakh state conglomerate Samruk-Kazyna. Earlier this month he had ruled out an IPO and instead said Kazmunaigas would borrow up to $14b for its $20b investment programme.
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(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 20 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazmunaigas and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) won a tender to develop the Akkas gas field in western Iraq near the border with Syria. The Iraqi government will retain a 25% stake in the project and Kazmunaigas and KOGAS will hold 37.5% each.
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(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 8 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazmunaigas, Kazakhstan’s state energy company, may borrow up to $14b to fund its $20b investment programme instead of raising cash through an IPO, CEO Kairgeldy Kabyldin said. Kazakhstan wants to speed up development of its energy sector and Mr Kabyldin had said Kazmunaigas was considering an IPO.
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(News report from Issue No. 11, published on Oct. 14 2010)
OCT. 14 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign investors will this year beat the $2.8b they invested into Turkmenistan’s energy sector in 2009, Reuters quoted a government official as saying. Turkmenistan has been diversifying its export markets to Europe and China.
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(News report from Issue No. 11, published on Oct. 14 2010)
OCT. 3 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Iranian and Tajik energy ministers endorsed a memorandum of understanding on improving cooperation between the two countries on a range of issues from industry to social affairs, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. Iran and Tajikistan have worked on improving ties through the year.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
