Tag Archives: government

‘Kardashian bond’ launched in Armenia

SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kim Kardashian, the 32-year-old Los Angeles-based ethnic Armenian, is best known across the globe for starring in a reality TV show. Now she’ll also be known, in some circles at least, for lending her name to Armenia’s inaugural sovereign debt issue.

Armenia’s $700m Eurobond issue on Sept. 23, unofficially dubbed the ‘Kardashian bond’, did rather well. This was Armenia’s first sovereign debt issue and a real test of investors’ confidence in the country and appetite for risk in the South Caucasus.

Armenia’s government had said it needed to raise the cash to pay back a $500m loan it borrowed from Russia in 2009 to weather the global financial crisis.

It’s been a busy, somewhat controversial, year for Armenia with a disputed presidential election in February and a surprise decision last month to eschew closer ties with the EU to instead join Russia’s Customs Union. The economy, too, has caused some concern with inflation hovering around 9%, far above the Central Bank’s target.

Regardless, investors warmed to Armenia’s Kardashian bond and the initial yield on the 7-year bond was shortened to 6.25% from 6.375%, according to Reuters.

Not a bad debut on the sovereign debt market for Armenia and Kim Kardashian.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)

Baku Stock Exchange becomes more popular

SEPT. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Interest in investing on the Baku Stock Exchange is growing, local media quoted Rufat Aslani, the Azerbaijani government official in charge of regulating securities, as saying. Mr Aslani said three IPOs were planned by the end of 2013, including Goldenpay, an online payment systems, which plans to sell 10% of its stock.

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(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)

KazPost closes in smaller towns in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — KazPost has started to close dozens of branches in villages with less than 2,000 inhabitants, media reported. As well as delivering mail, KazPost provides vital services, such as paying out pensions and salaries and taking in tax and utilities bills. KazPost announced the closures this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)

Migrant workers to be regulated in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan plans to simplify the registration process for migrant workers by the end of 2013, media quoted Serik Sainov, head of the interior ministry’s migration department, as saying. Thousands of foreigners work illegally in Kazakhstan. Simplifying registration rules should benefit both businesses and individuals.

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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Kyrgyzstan and Centerra are close to a deal on Kumtor

SEPT. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — After days of talks, Toronto-listed Centerra Gold said it had agreed a non-binding deal with the Kyrgyz government over ownership of the Kumtor gold mine. Under the deal, Kyrgyzstan would swap its 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold for a 50% stake directly in a company that would own Kumtor. It would also pay Centerra Gold $100m.

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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Georgia burns blackmail CDs

SEPT. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials in Georgia destroyed 180 hours of secret audio and video recordings of politicians, journalists and business people. The records, taken mainly by interior ministry officials under the previous government, were potentially to be used to blackmail people.

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(News report from Issue No. 151, published on Sept. 11 2013)

Stars feature at Kazakh president’ family wedding

AUG. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — US singers Beyonce and Kanye West sang at the wedding of Aysultan Nazarbayev, grandson of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Leaders of ex-Soviet states often pay popstars to sing at private concerts. In June, Jennifer Lopez sang for Turkmen President Kurbangkuly Berdymukhamedov.

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(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)

Lithuanian ambassador to be sacked after gaffe in Azerbaijan

AUG. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A diplomatic scandal centred on the status of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh is likely to lead to the sacking of Lithuania’s envoy in Baku.

Lithuania’s media is reporting that Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian President, is likely to fire her envoys to Hungary and Azerbaijan after they were recorded describing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Armenia.

The diplomatic spat not only embarrasses Lithuania but also acts as a wider reminder of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ultra-sensitive status. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still at war over Nagorno-Karabakh and only a 1994 UN negotiated ceasefire holds a shaky peace.

There are still almost weekly shoot-outs between the opposing armies and Azerbaijan has pledged to re-take the enclave from Armenia-backed forces.

Ms Grybauskaite has, apparently, acted after a recording of a private conversation between Arturas Zurauskas, Lithuania’ ambassador in Baku, and Renatas Juska, Lithuania’s ambassador in Budapest, surfaced on YouTube in July.

In the recording the men agree that Nagorno-Karabakh should be considered Armenian. They also refer to the enclave by its Armenian name, Artsakh. Azerbaijan stakes its own historical claim to the province.

The incident also serves as a reminder of the increased diplomatic clout that Azerbaijan’s burgeoning energy wealth has now given it.

(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)

Kazakh diplomat arrested in Germany

AUG. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Germany arrested Akhat Alpysbayev, the Consul-General at Kazakhstan’s consulate in Frankfurt, and a more junior Kazakh diplomat for smuggling cigarettes into the country, German newspaper Bild reported. The arrests will embarrass Kazakhstan which has been professionalising its diplomatic service.

(News report from Issue No. 150, published on Sept. 2 2013)

Negotiations on Kumtor take place in Kyrgyzstan

AUG. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Toronto-listed Centerra Gold and the Kyrgyz government began negotiations over the ownership of the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz government holds a 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold, which owns Kumtor, but it says it should own more of the country’s biggest industrial asset.

(News report from Issue No. 149, published on Aug. 26 2013)