MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prosecutors in France have charged Jean-Francois Etienne des Rosaies, an ex-presidential adviser, with corruption over a 2010 deal to sell 295 trains and 45 helicopters to Kazakhstan, AFP reported. Media said he was the fourth person to be charged in connection with the deal.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a protocol that officially cleared Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) later this year, Russian media reported. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia are already members of the EEU.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – After announcing a 58% rise in net profit, Halyk Bank said it would increase its shareholder dividend to 30% of its total profit. This is an increase from 2014 when Halyk Bank paid out dividends worth 25% of its profit. Halyk Bank is one of Kazakhstan’s biggest and most profitable banks.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China has opened up negotiations on building a transport and logistics hub in north Kazakhstan, media reported. China would use the hub to send goods to Russia and to Europe. Kazakhstan has been promoting itself as a stage-post between Europe and Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Malaysia-based Cliq Energy said it would buy stakes in two oil fields in Kazakhstan for $117.3m through a 51% purchase of Phsytech Firm. The fields are located in the North Karazhanbas region of Mangistau, west Kazakhstan, and have proven reserves of 39.5m barrels of oil.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union’s (EEU) first year is shaping up to be one to forget.
A sharp devaluation in the value of the rouble, triggered by Western sanctions and falling oil prices, and meddling in Ukraine’s civil war have hit Russia’s credibility among its former Soviet partners. After a meeting in Astana, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared to distance himself from the Kremlin.
Mr Nazarbayev hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko at the meeting. Armenia, the fourth member of the EEU, didn’t attend.
Mr Nazarbayev appeared to suggest that Mr Putin’s alleged support for rebels in eastern Ukraine had gone too far.
“It is important for any decisions that get made to rely on fundamental principles of international law. We are interested in Ukraine staying a stable, independent, territorially integral country,” he said.
Apparent tension at the meeting in Astana between the leaders wasn’t contained to Ukraine.
Mr Putin once again brought up the prospect of a single currency throughout the Eurasian Economic Union, something that Mr Nazarbayev has already ruled out.
“The time has come to start thinking about forming a currency union,” news reports quoted Mr Putin as saying. Mr Putin also suggested a Central Bank for the single currency could be based in Almaty.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Canada-based Condor Petroleum halted oil production at its Shoba oil field in west Kazakhstan because the oversupply of cheaper Russian oil products has dented domestic production.
A fall in oil prices and the imbalanced between the Russian rouble and the Kazakh tenge are hurting foreign energy companies in Kazakhstan. “Kazakhstan is experiencing an oversupply of refined oil products, including diesel, which is causing downward pricings pressures on domestically produced diesel and on crude oil,” Condor Petroleum said in a statement.
“Currently, Kazakhstan refineries are either not operating or the offering prices are below the Company’s cost of operations.”
This is, in effect, a criticism of the Kazakh government’s determination to defend the tenge despite the imbalance with the rouble.
Earlier this month a Kazakh official said important upgrade work to Kazakh refineries would have to be postponed because Russian oil products had destroyed their profitability.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 13 2015 (The Bulletin) – Unnerving its three partners, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan said he would skip a meeting of the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in Astana on March 20, media reported.
His absence from the meeting has triggered questions about Armenia’s commitment to the project which it has only just joined.
The meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus is billed as an important one to navigate out of the financial crisis.
It had been postponed from March 13 to March 20. Kazakh officials initially said Mr Putin was too unwell to attend.
But Armenia — the fourth member of the economic group — has chosen not to attend. Armenia only joined the EEU, which morphed out of the Customs Union, on Jan. 1.
It has always been considered a supporter of Russia which it relies upon for economic and military support.
Armenia’s government didn’t explain why Mr Sargsyan would not fly to Astana for the meeting. Instead a senior official said the meeting had been organised to sort out problems which did not concern Armenia.
Perhaps, but it has created noise around Armenia’s potential unhappiness around the state of the region’s finances so much so that the Kremlin was bounced into releasing a press statement which said that Mr Putin and Mr Sargsyan had shared a telephone conversation during which the Russian leader had been reassured of Armenia’s good intentions.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to Central Asia for his first overseas trip since re-emerging into public view.
He is due to fly to Astana for a summit with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on March 20.
The meeting was postponed from March 13. Kazakh officials at first said that the meeting had been delayed because Mr Putin was ill. Russian officials denied this, keeping people guessing on just why he cancelled several appointments and disappeared for a few days without explanation.
And Central Asia has played a prominent role in the episode. Mr Putin used a brief video with visiting Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on March 16 to show the world that he was not hiding. He previous public appearance had been on March 5.
The summit with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has also stirred controversy, although this time not by Mr Putin.
It appeared to be a meeting of the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union members, except that the group’s newest member, Armenia, was missing.
This set off rumours that Armenia had grown increasingly disinterested in the Russia-led group since joining in January, especially given the context of the increasingly painful economic downturn.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has had to step in and reassure both Russia and the general public that this was not the case. Instead, he said, the meeting just didn’t include Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to fly to Astana on March 20 for a meeting with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts, his first overseas trip since he disappeared from public view for a few days. Mr Putin’s disappearance sparked speculation that he was ill.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
