AUG. 8 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s VimpelCom booked an 88% increase in profits from its Uzbek subsidiary for the year to the end-July because of the closure of its rival, the MTS-owned Uzdunrobita, media reported. VimpelCom has increased subscribers in Uzbekistan by 45% to 10m since Uzdunrobita closed a year ago for tax infringements.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)
AUG. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shakhtar Karagandy may be unknown across the football world but it has broken new ground for Kazakhstan. The team from the industrial city of Karagandy has become the first football club in Kazakhstan to qualify for either the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League.
Just two games, against Scotland’s Celtic on Aug. 20 and Aug. 28, now stand between the players of Shakhtar Karagandy and the glitz, glamour and riches of Europe’s top tier football.
Even if they lose against Celtic, they are still guaranteed a place in the group stages of Europe’s second tier competition.
For Kazakh football, this is a milestone. Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian country to play in UEFA, the European sector of world football, but it has failed to make any serious impact.
Now the unglamorous team from Karagandy, shakhtar means miner in Russian, has changed that. It beat FC Bate, a relatively experienced team from Belarus, 2-0 over two matches and then defeated Armenia’s FC Skenderbeu 5-3 over another two matches.
Win or lose against Celtic, Shakhtar Karagandy and Kazakhstan are finally set for a European football adventure.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)
AUG. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A US warship took part in annual exercises with the Georgian navy in the Black Sea, manoeuvres that increase tensions between Georgia and Russia. The USS Bulkeley, a destroyer, sailed into Batumi port on Aug. 10 and was due to leave Georgian waters on Aug. 13.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)
AUG. 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — So, in the end, he hadn’t gotten very far. After nearly 18 months, police found the 50-year-old Mukhtar Ablyazov hiding in a luxury villa near Cannes on France’s sun drenched southern coast.
Kazakh prosecutors want to charge Ablyazov with trying to overthrow President Nursultan Nazarbayev and planning a series of bomb attacks in Almaty. He had moved to London to escape the Kazakh authorities but has been on the run since fleeing a court that convicted him of perjury. That was back in February 2012 during Ablyazov’s protracted case with BTA Bank, the Kazakh bank he used to be chair, which had accused him of embezzling billions.
Now Kazakhstan needs to work out how to get Ablyazov back to face prosecutors.
The problem for Mr Nazarbayev is that France can’t extradite him directly because Kazakhstan is not a member of the Council of Europe’s Extradition Convention.
This could have been a problem except, conveniently, Ukraine, which is a member of the extradition convention, has issued an extradition request for Ablayzov to face fraud charges. From Kiev, Ablyazov could then be sent on to Kazakhstan.
It promises to be a protracted extradition battle with human rights groups already warning the French government that Ablyazov is unlikely to get a fair hearing.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
AUG. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon promised that Tajikistan’s parliament would soon ratify an agreement that will allow Russia’s military to remain in the country until 2042. Delays in ratifying the deal, made in 2012, have strained relations with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
JULY 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s state gas company Gazprom completed its purchase of Kyrgyzgas, Kyrgyzstan’s gas distributor, for $1. Reuters quoted an anonymous source as saying that Gazprom will invest $600m updating Kyrgyzstan’s dilapidated gas infrastructure network. The deal also increases the Kremlin’s control over Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
JULY 24 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia and Georgia separately concluded trade talks with the EU that will free up markets. The talks will lead to the expansion of a so-called Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and will allow Armenian and Georgian goods easier access to the EU. EU companies will also have easier access to Armenia and Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 145, published on July 29 2013)
JULY 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At least one Uzbek soldier died in a gunfight with Kyrgyz soldiers on their shared border. Shootings are relatively common along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border but the incident again highlights tension. Analysts have said the issue could destabilise the region.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 145, published on July 29 2013)
JULY 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan has hired Citigroup, HSBC and JP Morgan to advise it on issuing a $1b Eurobond, Reuters reported quoting unnamed market sources. Kazakhstan has been saying for months that it is weighing up issuing its first sovereign debt since 2000.
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(News report from Issue No. 144, published on July 22 2013)
JULY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has been on something of a spending spree. Whether through SOFAZ, the state’s oil fund, or through SOCAR, the state energy company, Azerbaijan’s government has spent millions of dollars on overseas investments.
These included properties in some of the world’s most expensive cities — SOFAZ bought an office block in London’s St James’ for $286m in 2012, then spent $180m on property in Paris and $133m on a building in Moscow — as well as large currency deals and gold purchases.
Property prices in London and Paris are soaring and gold is seen as a sensible long-term bet so these appear solid investments. Azerbaijan’s latest investment, though, strikes an off-beat cord.
Azerbaijani and Russian news website reported comments made in Moscow by the visiting PM of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, on July 12. He said SOCAR had agreed to spend 500m euro building a new luxury resort on Montenegro’s attractive Adriatic coast.
Various websites have since reported that two private companies, Triangle Investments and Developments Limited and Azmont Investments LLC, will pursue the project on behalf of SOCAR.
For most countries, spending 500m euro on building a luxury resort in Montenegro is a risky investment choice.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 144, published on July 22 2013)
