JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry extended an environmental permit for Canadian miner Centerra Gold to operate at the Kumtor mine until the end of the year. The company now needs official approval of its mine plan for 2016 by the end of June in order to continue its work at the mine.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Union published an updated list of banned airline companies, which included 19 Kazakh and 13 Kyrgyz companies. Airline safety is still below international safety standards in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, according to most aviation agencies. Air Astana, part-owned by British BAE Systems, is the only airline allowed to fly to the EU.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – As the results of the referendum on Britain’s EU membership came in early on Friday, the decision to leave the EU has shaken the global market.
The Leave vote has hit the London stock market, where most of the companies focusing on Central Asia and the South Caucasus are listed. Economists now expect more volatility in the short term for the London Stock Exchange.
The so-called Brexit also negatively affected oil prices, sending both Brent and WTI down by 6% in just a few hours. Analysts have said that the period of uncertainty regarding oil prices will now last longer.
Currency markets were also hit, as the British pound lost value against the US dollar, effectively strengthening the greenback.
This had an immediate domino effect on currencies across Central Asia and the South Caucasus, where local currencies weakened against the US dollar.
The increasing uncertainty and volatility is now poised to harm, at least in the short term, local markets in the region, prompting elites in from Tbilisi to Astana to brace for more tough times. It will also hit global markets in general, forcing investors to flee to safety and this means missing out Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Now both the Fed in the US and the Bank of England will have to revise their economic policies and this is likely to insulate further their economies and pull investment back from Emerging Markets.
In these uncertain times, countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus cannot but hope that Western investors will go against the tide and continue investing in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Australia-based Manas Resources said it halted trading on the Australian Stock Exchange as it prepares the announcement of new acquisition at its Kyrgyz operations. Manas is developing two gold mines in southern Kyrgyzstan. The trading halt is a precautionary measure adopted to avoid speculation over the company’s share price. Trading will resume on June 27, the company said.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s National Migration Service said it is considering setting up a Kyrgyz language proficiency rule for foreign workers in the country, a move that is effectively aimed at reducing the number of Chinese foreign workers in the country. According to official sources, Chinese workers represent the vast majority of foreign workers in Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s PM Sooronbai Jeenbekov ordered changes to the ministerial structures of the government, establishing two new committees to take over responsibilities from the National Energy Holding, formerly the energy ministry, and the ministry of transport and communications). Mr Jeenbekov justified the changes as being needed to improve efficiency. His critics have said he is wasting money.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 16/17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The IMF approved two loans to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, part of a three-year plan to support macroeconomic reforms. It loaned $22m to Armenia, where it supported a controversial tax reform that received a first parliamentary approval on June 15. The IMF also gave a $13m loan to Kyrgyzstan and lauded the government’s measures to boost tax revenues and cut spending.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – British Virgin Island-registered Chaarat Gold said it received a two- year extension from the Kyrgyz government to present results for a gold mine it is exploring in north-west Kyrgyzstan. Now, Chaarat has to present a detailed development proposal for the mine by the end of 2018. The company completed a feasibility study for the mine, Chaarat’s only asset, in February.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz state-owned miner Kyrgyzaltyn said in a note that it had changed the composition of its board. Askar Oskombayev, adviser to the PM, will now serve as chairman, replacing Duishenbek Kamchybekov. Kyrgyzaltyn owns 32% of Canada’s Centerra Gold, which owns and operates the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan. Centerra and the government are currently embroiled in a legal battle to resolve disputes over ownership of the gold mine.
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
BISHKEK, JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed the first reading of a law that will restrict foreign funding of TV channels, a move its proponents have said is vital to protect media integrity but its detractors have said limits freedom.
The bill, which will have to be passed two more times, cuts the share of foreign financing for mass media outlets down to 35% and prohibits any foreign parties from establishing TV channels in Kyrgyzstan.
Media reported that the bill had been passed by 79 votes to 30.
Medet Tiulegenov, a political studies expert, said that the bill may have been pushed through by MPs to feed off popular mistrust of foreigners and boost their profile.
“By promoting a law against foreign investments in local media, MPs are trying to listen to that part of the population, which blames foreigners for problems here,” he said. “There are many MPs, who are not well-known among the population yet, but would like to get attention and popularity.”
This is the second major stand-off in Kyrgyzstan this year between groups of conservative, nationalist MPs and rights campaigners. Earlier this year, at the final reading, parliament rejected a bill that would have banned NGOs from directly receiving foreign funding.
Critics of the bill have said that its main aim was to close down the local office of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Begaim Usenova, a Kyrgyz media expert, said that this law is another attempt to restrict people’s freedom. “It is incorrect to say that foreign funded media sources are a threat to the state, the bill’s initiators could not prove that there has ever been such a case,” she said.
And the bill appears to have already been watered down after protests by a few dozen people in front of parliament. Restrictions on foreign funding of media were reduced to just TV, rather than including print and radio too.
Still, the bill does carry a degree of popular support in Kyrgyzstan.
Yulia, 33, a Bishkek resident, said: “This is a good law, as every foreigner has its own interests, whereas we have to care about our security.”
And Dauren, 30, another Bishkek resident, said: “I am happy that there are more Kyrgyz patriots in our parliament than western lobbyists.”
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(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
