FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Central Bank devalued the tenge by 20% despite months of denial that it was contemplating a move. Pressure has been mounting on the tenge and other currencies in emerging markets because of a strengthening US dollar.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — On what has been dubbed “Black Tuesday”, Kazakhstan’s Central Bank devalued the tenge by 20%.
The sudden move was designed to relieve pressure on the currency, despite Central Bank chief Kairat Kelimbetov saying for months that a devaluation was not on the cards. Last month he even urged Kazakhs to save more in tenge.
With the United States preparing to increase interest rates, the dollar has been strengthening and currencies in emerging markets have been under increased pressure. It had only been a matter of time before the Kazakh tenge flinched but the sudden drop will still have major consequences.
Mr Kelimbetov’s credibility has been badly damaged. He’s only been in the job since October so he’s still a relative novice. Longer term, the depreciation shows the tenge as weak and unstable.
Most of Kazakhstan’s imports are designated in dollars and so inflation is expected to rise fast; the depreciation of the tenge has also wiped out millions of dollars of ordinary Kazakhs’ savings.
This is the second sharp tenge devaluation in five years and there is a real chance that ordinary Kazakhs won’t trust the currency again.
In Almaty, some ATM machines stopped working for a couple of hours after the announcement and shops closed for the day. The public was worried.
Ainur, an Economics undergraduate said she was “concerned about a possible hike of her tuition fees. Gulmira, the administrator of a busy grocery shop, said prices had not yet increased but would soon. Near to her shop, electronics stores had taken down their price tags. Their websites were also closed for business.
On twitter, there has been talk of demonstrations against the devaluation. Feelings are running high.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan may be set for a rebrand after President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he thought it was time for a name change.
Mr Nazarbayev told a group of businessmen that he thought dropping the -stan suffix would be a good idea because of the stigma attached to the so-called Stans.
To make his point, Mr Nazarbayev cited the example of Mongolia which he said was thriving because it wasn’t a Stan.
There may also be a hint of snobbery in the proposal. Perhaps Mr Nazarbayev simply feels that Kazakhstan is too big and too important to be lumped together with the other four Central Asian Stans, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In any case, Mr Nazarbayev suggested Kazakh Yeli as an alternative to Kazakhstan. Kazakh Yeli means Nation of the Kazakhs.
Calling Kazakhstan, Kazakh Yeli would, however, be slightly more than just cosmetic. Stan comes from Persian and means land or territory. Kazakhstan, therefore, means Land of the Kazakhs and not Nation of the Kazakhs.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Media groups accused the Kazakh authorities of bias after Police arrested four bloggers who had protested against perceived favouritism shown by Almaty mayor’s Akhmetzhan Yessimov. Three of the bloggers were arrested protesting outside a restaurant where Mr Yessimov was dining with favoured bloggers and another was arrested six days later.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s largest bank, and Kenes Rakishev, the son-in-law of the mayor of Astana, finalised a $1b deal to buy most of BTA Bank from the Kazakh government. The merger will happen by the end of the year, said Kaskommertsbank. The Kazakh government bought debt ridden BTA Bank in 2009.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Around 700 workers building the 88-storey Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana went on strike after complaining about their pay, media reported. The Abu Dhabi Tower project was unveiled last year to much fanfare. UAE investors are funding the $1.6b tower which was expected to be finished by 2016.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh media reported that police in Astana had arrested the deputy minister for defence, General Baghdad Maykeyev, for taking a bribe. Investigators have focused on corruption in Kazakhstan’s defence procurement sector for the last few years. Corruption in Kazakhstan is considered endemic.
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(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
JAN. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan has spent the last couple of years opening up diplomatic outposts in increasingly far flung capitals of the world. Now it has published a policy paper on what it wants out of this diplomatic push and where it sees itself in the world.
The Concept, as it is called in post-Soviet diplomatic lingo, draws similarities with a 2013 Russian foreign policy document.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed off on the paper in January but it was published only last week.
The Concept lies inside the broader Strategy-2050 which aims to bring Kazakhstan into the top 30 most developed countries. The document states unambiguously that Kazakhstan will pursue its national interest abroad, under three key principles: pragmatism, mutual benefit and equality.
Nargis Kassenova, a Kazakh foreign policy professor, told the Conway Bulletin that she thought an important feature of The Concept was the emphasis on the “preservation of the national identity”.
The document also described Kazakhstan’s various bilateral relations.
Russia is described as an “ally, a so-called “strategic cooperation” is in place with China, while the US and Europe are strategic partners.
Presenting The Concept, Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov also told the official Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper he wanted to broaden Kazakhstan’s diplomatic outposts further still.
“Kazakhstan’s growing authority and economic capabilities have laid foundations for expanding cooperation with Africa, Central and Latin America,” he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — KCell, Kazakhstan’s largest mobile telecoms provider, posted full year net profit for 2013 up 2.5% to $408m mainly driven by increased demand for 3G data services. The company, majority owned by Sweden’s TeliaSonera, said mobile penetration measured 180% by the end of 2013. This high penetration rate is an indicator of development.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Kazakhstan started the trial of four Kazakh men who travelled to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists, media reported. Media reports said the men were captured in Syria and sent back to Kazakhstan. Regional leaders worry that young men will head to Syria and return with increasingly extremist views and hardened with battle experience.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
