Tag Archives: GDP

Falling gas prices to hit Turkmenistan

JAN. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The drop in the price of gas and oil will hit Turkmenistan’s economy, although it will still grow by nearly 10% in 2015, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in its updated growth forecasts. Turkmenistan’s economy is protected somewhat by contracts with China.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Nazarbayev reassures on oil price slump

DEC. 22 2014, (The Conway Bulletin) — In a televised address, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had a plan to counter falling oil prices even if they fell below $40/barrel. Oil prices have now halved from their height last summer to around $50/barrel. Kazakhstan has been building up a reserve of cash to deal with a slump.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 213, published on Jan. 7 2015)

Kazakhs paying mostly with plastic cards

DEC. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhs are becoming more comfortable paying for products on their credit and debit cards, the research website ranking.kz said. It said that for the year to the end of October transactions using either credit or debit cards had risen by 22%. This increase should aid consumer spending.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 212, published on Dec. 10 2014)

Tajikistan to receive more investment

SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – China will boost its total investment in Tajikistan to $3b within four years, a massive amount for the country, media reported quoting the Tajik presidential press service. Tajikistan’s entire annual GDP is roughly $3b. The leaders of Tajikistan and China met after the SCO summit in Dushanbe.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Turkmen GDP still growing

SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Central Banks of Central Asia have been warning of slowing economic growth because of the impact of sanctions on Russia.

Remittances from workers living in Russia are falling, manufacturing imports from Russia have dropped and Russian petrol supplies have reduced, driving up overall inflation.

There is no panic, yet, but there is a lot of great concern.

Except in Turkmenistan. Its economy has virtually decoupled itself from Russia. A row over gas prices forced Turkmenistan to look for new clients several years ago. Now China it its major client.

Russia is still a client, as well as a handful of other countries, but China holds most sway.

Turkmenistan underlined its different trajectory when it announced that GDP between January and July in 2014 had risen by 10.3%, one of the fastest growth rates in the world. For now, at least, China appears to be good partner, especially compared to Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Turkmen GDP jumps

JULY 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Releasing GDP figures for post-Soviet states inthe first quarter of the year, theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said Turkmenistan’s economy had grown by 10.3%. Gas sales, mainly to China, have boosted Turkmen GDP enormously.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)

Ukraine unrest hurts Kazakh economy

JUNE 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – So, now it is official. The unrest in Ukraine is negatively impacting Kazakhstan’s economy, economy minister Yerbolat Dossayev said at a routine press conference.

Economists have been downgrading Kazakhstan’s growth predictions this year because of increased fighting in Ukraine and international sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea but this is the first official confirmation.

“The poor growth rate of industrial production, the slowdown of investment activities, high levels of non- performing loans, and the crisis in Ukraine are the main risks to Kazakhstan’s economy,” Mr Dossayev said.

Kazakhstan is now looking at GDP growth this year of around 4% rather than the 6% it first hoped to hit.

Rasul Zhumaly, a political analyst for the exclusive.kz website explained the impact of the Ukraine unrest on Kazakhstan.

“(There is a) high level of interdependence among these post-Soviet economies,” he said. “The Ukrainian situation is negatively affecting the Russian economy and this in turn is closing some avenues for the development of Kazakhstan.”

There is, though, a sneaking suspicion that the Kazakh officials may be starting to use Ukraine as an excuse, shielding genuine structural problems in the economy from attention.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Problems mount in Kyrgyz farming

JUNE 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz agriculture accounts for around a fifth of GDP and just under half the country’s employment according to the country’s National Statistics Committee, yet many farmers say the sector is on its knees.

As Kyrgyzstan prepares for entry into the Eurasian Economic Union comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, discussions over farming’s future are only likely to intensify.

On June 12, Alibek Rakaev, Head of the Association of Pastoralists told journalists that meat production in the country was falling due to the prevalence of diseases that village vets have proven unable to diagnose or treat. Livestock farming was in a “critical condition”, he said.

Back in Soviet times Kyrgyzstan’s meat and dairy products were exported all over the Union, but neighbouring Kazakhstan now views Kyrgyzstan’s products with caution and has banned import of Kyrgyz milk and meat in the past. The Eurasian Economic Union has even tighter controls.

Poultry farmers might welcome membership, with high tariffs on non-Union imports potentially restricting the flow of Chinese chicken and eggs onto the domestic market, but for Kyrgyzstan’s crop-growers, Jomart Jumabekov, a member of the Public Advisory Board on the Ministry of Agriculture, said, closer integration with Russia and Kyrgyzstan means problems.

“I view the Customs Union negatively. Russian and Kazakh wheat and grains already dominate our market,” Mr Jumabekov told the Conway Bulletin. “With even fewer barriers to trade with these countries, we will stop growing even a small proportion of our own food. No-one will till the land.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Russia restricts Tajik migrants

JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has tightened entry rules for Tajik migrants, media reported, threatening a major source of Tajikistan’s income. Tajik citizens will now only be allowed to enter Russia on their official passport and not ID cards. Remittances from Russia make up 50% of Tajikistan’s GDP.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

IMF upgrades Uzbek growth

APRIL 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The IMF has upgraded Uzbekistan’s economic growth rate to 7% in 2014 from 6.5% earlier forecast, media reported. It also said that inflation would creep up to about 11% from an earlier estimate of 10.4%. Inflation has boomed in Uzbekistan and poses a real risk to the economy..

(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)