Tag Archives: Kazakhstan

Second round of Syria talks scheduled, says Kazakh ministry

FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A second round of talks focused on finding a solution to the war in Syria have been scheduled for Feb. 6, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said. The talks, with Turkey, Russia and Iran as the main powerbrokers, are a follow up to talks held last month in Astana. For Kazakhstan, the talks are a good opportunity to market itself as an arena for international deal-making.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Hackers attack Kazakh websites

ALMATY, JAN. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Hackers attacked 21 Kazakh government websites, the ministry of information said, raising concerns over the state’s cyber security.

The sites were attacked on Jan. 28. The ministry blamed the servers that hosted the websites but IT expert said the vulnerability of government websites was a well-known problem.

In a press statement, the Kazakh information ministry said: “These [hacking] cases happened because of an absence of control from the owners of internet resources who did not update the systems in time, proper protection, identification of the incident and signing a contract with unreliable clients.”

Arman Abdrasilov, a Kazakh cyber security expert, said that the hacking had been far wider than just the government websites. He said that, in total, 323 websites had been attacked.

He told The Conway Bulletin that government websites are regularly attacked but that the government covers the hacks.

“Twenty-one sites at once. It says that this is a systematic mistake and links back to the government’s attitude in general. We’ve been raising the [vulnerability] questions for at least three years,” Mr Abdrasilov said.

“Security of the whole system is equal to the security of its weakest part.”

The next day (Jan.31), Nazarbayev talked about cyber security threats in his annual state-of-the-nation address. He ordered security services to boost their various defences.

The hacked websites included the north Kazakhstan regional government website and the natural resources department in the Almaty city government.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakh bank says KKB needs to shed bad assets

JAN. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Halyk Bank CEO Umut Shayakhmetova told the Forbes Kazakhstan website that for talks on a merger with Kazkommertsbank to continue, Kazkommertsbank needed to deal with a pile of bad debt it had acquired after taking over BTA Bank in 2014/15. A deal between Halyk Bank, which is owned by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law and daughter, would create a banking giant in Kazakhstan that will dominate the banking sector.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakh central banker wants to support banks

FEB. 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Central Bank chief Daniyer Akishev said that he wanted to use state funds to prop up big banks that are listing under the pressure of an economic downturn linked to a drop in oil and gas prices and a recession in Russia. He told a government meeting that the Central Bank was going to evaluate the quality of the banks’ assets later this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakh president makes speech

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev made his second televised address to the nation in less than a week in which he promised to improve the country’s economy. The speech was short on detail and instead sounded like a to- do list. It had been billed as a follow- up to a speech last week in which Mr Nazarbayev said that he wanted to increase democratic reforms in Kazakhstan. He did talk about strengthening cyber security and adopting a new subsoil law.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakhstan to block unregistered phones

FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new law means that all unregistered mobile phones in Kazakhstan will be blocked from July 1 2017. The authorities say that the new law has been brought in to help fight potential terrorists but its detractors have said that it has been imposed to help the authorities monitor people who oppose the government more closely.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Kazakh president demotes former ally

FEB. 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> How significant is Imangali Tasmagambetov’s shift from central government to Moscow as ambassador?

>> Very. He was considered one of just a handful of people who could take over from Nursultan Nazarbayev as president. This is a major demotion and has come as a surprise. Like a chess player, Nazarbayev is clearly manoeuvring his pieces so that he can execute a well-managed and orderly transfer of power. Last month he said that he wanted to give parliament more power. It was dressed up as a move to increase democracy, although most analysts think that this is a red herring and that the real motivator is transition.

>> So who will really benefit from Tasmagambetov’s move to Moscow?

>> That’s not exactly clear, although Nazarbayev’s daughter, Dariga, is being teed up nicely for a major role in government. She has taken on a bigger public role and since September 2016 has been a Senator and the chair of the Senate’s Affairs, Defence, and Security Committee. It’s our view that this is a way to prepare and groom Dariga for the top job. Essentially, by packing Tasmagambetov off to Moscow, Nazarbayev has dispatched one of her rivals.

>> I see. But are you sure that being the Kazakh ambassador in Moscow is a major demotion?

>> Yes. All the major policy-making goes on in Astana. Tasmagambetov is now marooned in Moscow away from the centre of power in Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev also has form for sending high-ranking men, who have their own powerbase that may threaten his plans, into exile. In 2014, he sent Aslan Musin to Zagreb to be the Kazakh ambassador there. Musin had previously been head of the Presidential Administration between 2008 and 2012 and had a strong powerbase in the west of the country, where he was from.

>> Got it. Why would Tasmagambetov appear to have threatened Nazarbayev?

>> We don’t know the specifics but Tasmagambetov is popular with ordinary people. He is seen as being more “Kazakh” than many of the other elite insiders. He also has a high profile. This is partly because he was a popular mayor of Almaty and Astana. His son-in-law is Kenes Rakishev who has been used heavily by the Kazakh elite as the frontman for buying up various companies. His latest acquisition was a majority stake in Kazakhstan’s biggest bank, Kazkommertsbank.

>> But now he is going to disappear from public view. Is that right?

>> Pretty much. People just wont see or hear of him in his new job. He’ll also be away from the political action in Astana which is important.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Afghan authorities arrest Kazakh national

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Afghanistan have arrested a Kazakh national on suspicion of having links to terrorism, media reported quoting the Afghan foreign ministry. Media reports said that the man was from Atyrau and that he had been arrested in the northern part of Afghanistan. Kazakhstan has been trying to dampen an increase in recruitment by the radical IS group but it is rare for Kazakhs to be arrested in Afghanistan for links to Islamic extremists.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Tengiz will create 20,000 jobs, says Kazakh ministry

JAN. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The $36.8b expansion of the Tengiz oil field announced last year will create 20,000 jobs, Kazakhstan’s labour ministry said in a statement. Labour minister Birzhan Nurymbetov said that 18,000 of those jobs would be given to Kazakhs. This job creation is vital in Kazakhstan which has seen mass job cuts over the past couple of years because of the tight economic conditions.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

H&M still on track to open store in Kazakh city

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — H&M, the Swedish fashion retailer, still intends to open its first store in Kazakhstan despite a fall in profit last year, its CEO Karl-Johan Persson said during its full-year results presentation. Mr Persson said that the rising value of the US dollar was one of the main drivers of the drop in profit. Last year H&M said that it would open its first store in Almaty. This is important because analysts have been worried that an economic downturn that has hit the region would hit companies’ plans.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)