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Russia eases visa rules for Georgia

DEC. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia said that it would ease visa regulations on Georgians, another sign that ties between the two neighbours are normalising after years of strained relations. Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 but relations have improved since Mikheil Saakashvili quit as Georgian president in 2013. The Russian foreign ministry said it may even lift visa rules for Georgians altogether.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Football-linked trial starts in Azerbaijan

JAN. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The trial of five men accused of killing journalist Rasim Aliyev in August has opened. Aliyev was beaten on the streets of a provincial Azerbaijani town and died in hospital. Before he died, he said supporters of international footballer Cavid Huseynov who he had criticised in a match report has attacked him. Mr Huseynov is not among the men standing trial for killing Aliyev.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Business comment: 2015: The year of currency woes

JAN. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — After Azerbaijan abandoned its currency peg to the US dollar, leading to a second sharp depreciation of the manat in 10 months, confidence in South Caucasus and Central Asian currencies reached a new low.

2015 was a tough year, which began with Turkmenistan slashing 19% off the value of its manat currency on Jan. 1, hinting that oil and gas exporting countries were facing bad times.

The following February, Azerbaijan devalued its currency and later in August Kazakhstan stopped pegging the tenge to the US

dollar, a decision that triggered a sharp depreciation. But although this trend is closely linked to the fall in oil prices since the summer of 2014, that’s not the whole story.

After the rouble collapsed at the end of 2014, it was only a matter of time for countries that enjoyed high trade volumes with Russia. They had to follow suit and devalue their currencies to remain competitive.

In addition, devaluing and unpegging a currency may also serve as a way to give stability to the domestic budget.

Kazakhstan’s Central Banker Daniyar Akishev said the tenge will follow the price of oil. That way energy-exporting firms will have a chance of balancing their books.

But countries with unpegged currencies need to keep an eye on speculation. Azerbaijan now requires a valid ID for currency exchange of more than $500 in value. Tajikistan put in place limits to ATM withdrawals of $400 and could reduce the number of licences for exchange points.

And interventions are unlikely to cease. Kyrgyzstan and Georgia’s Central Banks have already marked the first week of 2016 with purchases in the currency market.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Kazakhstan’s parliament agrees $1b loan

DEC. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s parliament ratified a deal to take a $1b loan from the Asian Development Bank to plug a gap in the government’s finances. The deal was agreed in November. The sharp fall in oil prices has hit Kazakhstan’s economy hard shrinking growth rates and government revenues.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Kazakh businessman ups Kazkom stake

DEC. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kenes Rakishev, son-in-law of Kazakh defence minister Imangali Tasmagambetov, became the majority shareholder in Kazakhstan’s largest bank, Kazkommertsbank, after he completed his purchase of investment group Alnair Capital Holding, media reported. Mr Rakishev will now own, directly and through Alnair, 56.75% of Kazkommertsbank. Alnair had been linked to the Kazakh elite.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Kyrgyzstan to construct pipeline to China

JAN. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan will begin construction work on a new gas pipeline running to China in March, media reported quoting Deputy Economy Minister Aibek Kaliev. The pipeline, which will take several years to build, will complete a route running from gas fields in east Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and on to Kyrgyzstan and China.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 263, published on Jan. 15 2016)

Azerbaijan shakes up security

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to create two new security agencies, the State Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service, and disband the National Security Ministry. Earlier this year, Mr Aliyev sacked Eldar Mahmudov as national security minister. The next day police arrested several ministry officials.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Kyrgyzstan woos Russians to Issyk Kul

DEC. 15 2015, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s government wants Russian tourists now blocked from travelling to Turkey for a week or two in the sun to head to Lake Issyk-Kul instead.

Media quoted Mikhail Kim, deputy director of Kyrgyzstan tourism department, as saying that he expects an influx of Russians after Russia blocked tourists from travelling to Turkey in retaliation for a Turkish warplane shooting down a Russian warplane. He also said he had written to Russia’s tourism officials to encourage them to send people to Issyk-Kul and other Kyrgyz resorts.

“It is like in the USSR, when workers from all over the Soviet Union were coming to Kyrgyzstan for vacations,” he said.

Industry insiders, though, told the Bulletin that although there has been an increase in the number of Russians holidaying in Issyk-Kul to around 60,000 per year, they doubt there would be a deluge next summer.

The head of a local tour agency who preferred to remain anonymous told the Bulletin: “For the last 1-1⁄2 years, we have seen a gradual increase of Russian tourists coming to Kyrgyzstan, and we want to have more of them coming.”

During the Soviet Union, Issyk Kul used to be regarded as a top holidaying spots. It dropped back in popularity with the onset of cheap flights to Turkey and Europe, though.

Emil Umetaliev, head of the Kyrgyz Concept tour agency, said there would not be boost in tourism.

“We have high prices, bad service and long way from Russia,” he said told local media. Russia will prioritise their own resorts like Crimea, he added.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Kazakh tenge drops to fresh lows

DEC. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh tenge fell to its record low against the dollar this week, after the US Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, a move that will inevitably dent Kazakhstan’s fragile economy.

On the eve of the celebrations for the 24th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, the tenge had already bottomed out at 337.8/$1 (Dec. 15). When trading re-started after two days of holidaying in Kazakhstan and an interest rate rise in the US, the tenge fell another 1.4% to hit 342.5/$1.

The tenge now trades at half its value in August, before the Central Bank ditched the Tenge-US dollar peg.

The Fed’s rate rise decision on Dec. 16 was expected, but it was still bad news for Emerging Markets.

And Kazakh state-owned companies seemtobeplanningforworsetocome.

An alleged official letter sent out by state-owned energy company Kaz- munaigas and leaked on social media, instructed its subsidiaries to draft plans for the period 2016-2020 accounting for oil prices at $30/barrel and a tenge/dollar rate of 360 (Dec. 14). Brent oil is currently trading at $36.70/barrel.

Kazmunaigas could not be reached for comment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

Kazakh TransGas names new CEO

DEC. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – KazTransGas, Kazakhstan’s gas distributor, named Rustam Suleymanov as its new CEO. Mr Suleymanov has worked at KazTransGas for 15 years. Former CEO Kairat Sharipbayev was named chairman of the board.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)