Tag Archives: Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan increases petrol prices

JAN. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government increased the price of petrol by 20% because of continued shortages. Uzbeks are already labouring under a series of price rises, from food to general utilities. The jump in petrol prices could cause resentment to grow.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Uzbek president’s daughter engages in power battle

JAN. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The embattled eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Gulnara Karimova, alleged that the son of foreign minister Abdulaziz Kamilov held dual Russian-Uzbek citizenship, illegal under Uzbekistan’s laws. Ms Karimova is battling to retain her power and influence in Uzbekistan.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Samarkand Bank closes in Uzbekistan

JAN. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s financial authorities have shut Samarkand Bank for undisclosed violations, media reported, the second bank it has closed in the last two months.

After the authorities withdrew its trading license, Samarkand Bank, just like Credit Standard Bank before it, transferred its assets to the state-owned People’s Bank of Uzbekistan.

There is, typically, a political reason, for this sort of targeted action in Uzbekistan and in the case of Samarkand Bank, the clue is, possibly, in the name.

Shortly after the Uzbek authorities cut the license of Credit Standard Bank in November 2013, allegations appeared on Uzbek websites linking it to Gulnara Karimova, the embattled eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. She is currently locked in a power battle with rival clans and analysts said the closure of Credit Standard Bank may have been an attempt to undermine her.

The Karimovs are part of the Samarkand clan, named after Uzbekistan’s second city. Samarkand Bank’s name and origins suggest a link between the bank and the clan. Disbanding it will play into the hands of the so-called Tashkent clan, headed by various members of Uzbekistan’s intelligence service.

Once again, politics may well be the root cause of another banking closure in Uzbekistan.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Petrol prices soar in Uzbekistan

JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government has quietly increased the price of fuel by 20%, media reported. The new prices came into effect from Jan. 10.

The main cause of the petrol shortages in Uzbekistan are problems at the country’s largest oil refinery in Ferghana.

It’s still unclear what impact this price rise will have on Uzbek society. Tension is already rising because of price increases for basic utilities and food. Last year in Samarkand a group of women held a rare anti-government protest. Still, in Uzbekistan’s tightly controlled society there has so far been few signs of dissent.

And Uzbeks have already been adapting to steadily rising fuel prices.

The main problem for drivers is a deficit of oil in Uzbekistan. This means that state-owned UzGazOil has had to import and refine oil at more or less commercial rates, pushing up the price of petrol.

Reports from Uzbekistan have said that many drivers have already modified their vehicles to run on gas, which is cheaper, rather than petrol. This can be a dangerous practice as these gas fired wagons are prone to exploding.

The Uzbek authorities announced the petrol price rise quietly and official media didn’t cover the event.

But there was more bad news for drivers. From April, the government is introducing a 3% so-called road maintenance tax on new cars.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Uzbekistan releases jailed activist

JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Tashkent released from prison Khasan Choriev, the 71-year-old father of a United States-based Uzbek human rights activist, media reported. Mr Choriev had been convicted in August 2013 of rape, an allegation that his supporters said was fabricated. The authorities said Mr Choriev had earned his amnesty through his good behaviour.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)

Tethys Petroleum pulls out of Uzbekistan

JAN. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In another blow to Uzbekistan’s image as a place to do business, London-listed Tethys Petroleum said that it is pulling out of the country.

In a statement circulated on Jan. 2, the company said it had pulled out of Uzbekistan “due to recent changes in the business climate and political environment”.

It expects that disengaging from its only project in Uzbekistan, the North Urtabulak oilfield in central Uzbekistan, will take three months.

Last month, Uzbek authorities arrested the head of Tethys Petroleum in Uzbekistan and accused the company of stealing oil worth $30m to $40m.

Tethys’ decision may also be linked to the ongoing political instability in Uzbekistan. Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of President Islam Karimov, is currently fighting to maintain control of her assets and influence. Observers have said that political instability may embroil Uzbekistan for some time.

But Tethys’ withdrawal does highlight the problems for foreign companies of doing business in Uzbekistan.

They complain of interference from the authorities, random tax bills and police visits.

Last year Russian telecoms company MTS pulled out of Uzbekistan after a long-running and very public row with the tax authorities. Oxus Gold, a British gold mining company, quit Uzbekistan in 2011 also after a run-in with the authorities.