APRIL 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev is likely to sign various bilateral deals with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when he visits Beijing from April 6 – 8, Kazakhstan’s media reported. The Tengrinews website reported that Kazakhstan has increased crude oil shipments to China by 20% per year since 2006.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
MARCH 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In comments made on a trip to Dushanbe, Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov appeared to signal Kazakhstan’s intent to mediate in a long-running dispute between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan over water rights, media reported. With Iran’s help, Tajikistan is building a dam that will effect water flow to Uzbekistan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
APRIL 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — For aspiring diplomats, Tbilisi is considered a bit of a back-water. Relations between Kazakhstan and Georgia are stable and uncontroversial. Georgia is important to Kazakhstan mainly because some of its energy makes its way to Europe through the Georgian pipeline or railway network.
What it isn’t is glamorous or high-profile and that’s precisely why the appointment of Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s adviser for the last five years, as Kazakh ambassador to Georgia attracted so much attention.
The feeling was that Mr Yertysbayev had been demoted gently, perhaps he’d made one too many unguarded remarks or perhaps Mr Nazarbayev just wanted to freshen up his team.
Mr Yertysbayev had been Mr Nazarbayev’s adviser since May 2008. As well as advising him behind the scenes, Mr Yertysbayev performed an important role by floating potential policy moves to gauge public reaction.
He aired the potential of Timur Kulibayev, Mr Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, becoming president and also updated the media on former British PM Tony Blair’s operations in Kazakhstan.
The last five year stint as Mr Nazarbayev’s adviser had been Mr Yertysbayev’s third in the role. He may well yet return.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
APRIL 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Russian ice-hockey star playing for a Kazakh team died after being hit in the head by an opposition player, media reported. Dmitry Uchaykin, who was playing for Pavlodar in northern Kazakhstan, died from a brain haemorrhage the day after the match. He had driven himself home but felt increasingly unwell in the night.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
APRIL 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Central Bank kept interest rates at a record low of 5.5% due to continued sluggish inflation data. It last cut interest rates in August 2012. The Kazakh economy grew by 5% last year, disappointing policy-makers who want higher growth.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
APRIL 5 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Negotiators converged on Almaty for a second round of talks aimed at unlocking the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme. These two-day talks are a follow up to negotiations in February. Iran has said that it is developing nuclear capability for civilian purposes but the US suspects that it wants to build a bomb.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
APRIL 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Underlining Kazakhstan’s reliance on its energy sector, Kazakh PM Serik Akhmetov, signed into law a 50% increase in oil export duties.
From April 13, exporters will pay a $60 tax to the government for every tonne of oil they export, up from $40. Reuters quoted deputy economy minister Marat Kusainov as saying that the extra revenue will be spent on social projects.
Wherever the extra revenue is spent, energy companies will no doubt be tired of being used as a cash cow whenever the Kazakh government wants to raise cash.
The government has flip-flopped on the oil export duty, introducing it in 2008, scrapping it altogether in 2009, when the global economy tumbled and energy prices fell, before reintroducing it again.
In 2010, the export tax stood was $20 per tonne. This increased to $40 per tonne in 2011.
The oil export duty also re-enforces the feeling that the Kazakh government is often too focused on taxing energy exporters rather than developing other parts of the economy.
After all, in 2011 Kazakh government ministers promised there would be no oil export tax rise until at least 2014.
Clearly the plan, if not the mind-set, changed.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
MARCH 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – The governor of Kazakhstan’s Central Bank, Grigori Marchenko, called for the government to grant it full independence, media reported.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 128, published on March 22 2013)
FEB. 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Britain’s Supreme Court threw out a final appeal by Kazakh fugitive billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov against a 22-month prison sentence for lying in court about his assets. Ablyazov is facing charges that he embezzled $6b from Kazakhstan-based BTA Bank where he had once been chairman.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 126, published on March 8 2013)
FEB. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – A government report in Kazakhstan criticised the country’s health system for not producing enough local doctors, allowing essential equipment to fall into disrepair and for ambulances often arriving late.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
