Tag Archives: technology

Kazakhstan signs deal with DP World

JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Dubai’s DP World signed a deal with the Kazakh government to help develop a communication system between, and within, its various ports, a plan aimed at improving efficiency, media reported. No value was put on the deal and its exact specifics are not known but reports said the system is tried and tested and should help free up time and procedures at customs points. Kazakhstan is upgrading its trade infrastructure ahead of an expected increase in trade linked to China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Yandex opens office in Kazakhstan

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APRIL 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Yandex, the Russian language search internet search engine, opened its first office in Kazakhstan, another sign of renewed confidence in the region’s economy. The office in Almaty is an effort by the Russian language search engine to boost advertising revenues from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the eighth office that Yandex has set up outside Russia. It said there are 5m hits on its search engine each day from Kazakhstan. Yandex has its own dedicated yandex.kz URL.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Armenian Investor’s Club acts

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APRIL 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Drawing comparisons with Russia’s oligarch network, the so-called Investors’ Club of Armenia pledged to invest $300m in stimulating business across a range of sectors from tourism to IT to energy. The Investors’ Club is a group of Armenia’s wealthiest businessmen brought together by PM Karen Karapetyan. He set up the group just before an election earlier this month.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Armenian investors set up IT projects

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MARCH 29 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A group of Armenian investors have set up a fund to help kick-start IT projects, media reported, boosting Armenia’s reputation as the IT hub of the South Caucasus/Central Asia region. Reports said that the fund was looking to sponsor 10 start-ups with $200,000 each. Armenia’s government has been encouraging the development of an IT sector. It has made deals with Microsoft and an Armenian-US company produces smartphones and tablets in the country.

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(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)

Tablet production increases in Armenia

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FEB. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia produced 2,012 tablet computers in 2016, up from 932 in 2015, media reported quoting the national statistics service. The US-Armenian joint-venture Technology and Science Dynamics Inc started making tablets in 2014 under a headline scheme designed to try to turn Armenia into something of tech-hub destination. Last year it also started producing smartphones.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Kazakh government holding seeks Japan loan

NOV. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Baiterek, a Kazakh government holding, said it secured a $300m loan from Japan’s SMBC, part of the Sumitomo group. The agreement, signed during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Japan, will support the supply of high-tech equipment. The Kazakhstan Development Bank, a subsidiary of Baiterek, will receive the funds and finance joint projects with Japanese companies.

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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)

Uzbekistan plans to create new e-library

OCT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – LG CNS, the IT provider owned by Korea’s LG, signed a $12.1m contract with Uzbekistan’s ministry of IT and communications to build a national online electronic library system. The project will be started at the Navoi national library and will then be expanded to education institutions, government agencies and airports.

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(News report from Issue No. 299, published on Oct. 7 2016)

Armenia launches smartphone

JUNE 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Under the slogan “It’s time for Armenian products”, a mobile phone designed and built in Armenia by a US-Armenian joint venture went on sale in Yerevan.

The ArmPhone smartphone retails at between $100 and $300. It also, importantly, goes some way to boosting Armenia’s ambitions of becoming a genuine tech hub in the South Caucasus.

This is the second device that the JV, Technology and Science Dynamics Inc, has unveiled. In February 2014, it launched the ArmTab tablet.

Vahan Shakaryan, chairman of Technology and Science Dynamics Inc, said the company would sell the ArmPhone across the FSU and establish a shop in Moscow.

“It is important to note that our product is high quality and we stand behind and take responsibility for the quality of our product,” media quoted him as saying. “We produce in Armenia, we are with our con- sumers and take full responsibility for every step, from production to customer service.”

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(News report from Issue No. 284, published on June 10 2016)

Georgia to use Bitcoin tech for new land registry

TBILISI, APRIL 27 2016, (The Conway Bulletin) — The Georgian government and BitFury, a US company with a base in Tbilisi that develops technology used by the Bitcoin virtual currency, will jointly develop a land registry system which they hope will set new global standards.

The new model for the National Agency of Public Registry will reduce bureaucratic practices and costs for citizens, according to officials.

“By building a blockchain-based property registry, Georgia can show the world that we are a modern, transparent and corruption-free country that can lead the world in changing the way land titling is done,” Georgian media quoted Papuna Ugrekhelidze, the agency’s chairman, as saying.

Blockchain technology is a data- base system that Bitcoin has pioneered. It is considered the most efficient system to log data.

The Agency of Public Registry said the cost of a land registry transactions will drop to virtually zero.

Last September, BitFury said it would invest $100m in a new Technology Park in the Gldani district of Tbilisi. BitFury already operates a data centre in Gori, 70km west of Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)

Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank goes digital

APRIL 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second- largest bank, said it has launched a new banking subsidiary, Altyn-i, which will operate a digital-only model. Altyn-i will operate under Altyn Bank, the successor of HSBC Kazakhstan, that Halyk Bank bought in March 2014 for $176m.

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(News report from Issue No. 277, published on April 22 2016)