APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan- focused copper produced listed on the London Stock Exchange, said that its current CFO Andrew Southam would be promoted to CEO from Jan. 2018. He replaces Oleg Novachuk who has been CEO for 11 years and is set to become the KAZ Minerals chairman.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Air China said that it will start operating a direct flight between Beijing and Astana from June 1, highlighting the growth in the number of airlines flying directly to Kazakhstan. The route will help strengthen links between China and Kazakhstan. Air Astana already flies an Astana – Beijing service. Astana Airport is opening new passenger terminal too next month which will be able to process more passengers.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and tipped by some analysts as his successor, has proposed boosting state investment into sport by 30%, media reported. Ms Nazarbayeva is now a senator. She had previously been a deputy PM.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 3/4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan hosted for a fourth time this year peace talks between Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Syrian government and Syrian rebels. In the last round of talks the Syrian rebel contingent failed to show up, undermining the process. A deal was signed by Russia and the other major powers to cease fighting in some areas of Syria. The Syrian rebels walked out of the talks.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee said that on April 20 special forces carried out coordinated anti-terrorist operations in Aktobe in the west of the country and in Shymkent in the south. It said that three men had been arrested in Shymkent and seven in Aktobe.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a draft law to be voted on by Kazakhstan’s parliament, candidates for future presidential elections will have to undergo a medical test. Pres. Nursultan Nazarbayev pushed through a raft of tweaks to the constitution earlier this year which he said were designed to shift power to parliament from the presidency in a move that makes Kazakhstan more democratic. His detractors have said that the changes tighten his control over power.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign investment in Kazakhstan jumped 40% to $20.6b in 2016, compared to 2015, investment and development minister Zhenis Kassymbek told media. The jump was mainly linked to major infrastructure projects in the energy and mining sectors, such as the expansion of the CPC Pipeline.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s state-run drug purchasing company SK Pharmacia paid nearly four times more than it needed to for various medicines in 2015 in a corruption scheme that cost the Kazakh taxpayer millions, the state’s anti-corruption unit said. SK Pharmacia has been the focus of a major corruption investigation since the end of last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to attract investors, Kazakhstan’s deputy health minister Alexey Tsoi travelled to Seoul to talk to healthcare companies about the government’s privatisation plans, media reported (April 18). At the meeting on April 14, Mr Tsoi said that the government planned to privatise large chunks of Kazakhstan’s healthcare system in what he described as a “third wave” of economic modernisation. Kazakhstan’s health system is routinely criticised as underfunded. Mr Tsoi also said that South Korea was one of the biggest destinations for Kazakhs looking for private medical treatment.
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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)
ALMATY, APRIL 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Swedish mobile operator Tele2 said that its joint venture in Kazakhstan with Altel in February last year was working out with revenues rising 14% in Q1 2017 versus Q1 2016 on a like-for-like basis.
Tele2 said that a 3% rise in its customer base and an increase in the average spend per user, a key indicator that the Kazakh economy is improving, had driven up revenues. Tele2 owns a 49% stake in its joint venture with Altel, which has around 6.5m subscribers – a 22% market share.
“Although still competitive, the market continued to benefit from higher pricing levels. The JV continued to replace old products with new offerings that offer better support for ASPU growth over time,” Tele2 said in its statement.
Altel is owned by state-run Kazakhtelecom. The joint-venture with Tele2 is seen as a challenger brand to the more established Kcell, part-owned by Sweden’s Telia, and Beeline, the brand name operated by Russia’s Vimpelcom.
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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)
