JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — The US warship USS Porter docked in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, part of a regular series of visits by the US Navy. Georgia aspires to join the NATO military alliance and, to the irritation of Russia, regularly hosts NATO militaries for joint exercises.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 21 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Azerbaijan said that they may be dealing with a second wave of coronavirus infections after a spike forced the reintroduction of lockdown restrictions for two weeks. People have been told to stay at home, once again, and only leave after receiving permission from the authorities via SMS. Azerbaijan has recorded 14,305 coronavirus cases and 174 deaths.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — Officials in Turkmenistan poured scorn on a statement by the US embassy in Ashgabat that questioned whether the country really had been able to remain free of the coronavirus. The Turkmen government has insisted that it is one of the only countries in the world not to have the coronavirus but US diplomats have said that they have received reports of people suffering from symptoms consistent with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved another loan of $40 million to UzPromstroybank to be lent out to SMEs that need support to survive the impact of an anti-coronavirus lockdown. Like other international financial institutions, the EBRD has increased lending to Uzbekistan to help it deal with the coronavirus. The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, also gave a second Uzbek bank, Ipoteka-Bank, a loan of $35m.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — Shareholders of Halyk Bank, the largest bank in Kazakhstan, will vote on July 23 on whether to pay out the second of two planned dividend payments in 2020 because of the impact of the coronavirus on business. In May, Halyk Bank, which is majority-owned by Dinara Nazarbayeva and her husband Timur Kulibayev, voted to scrap its dividend. Ms Nazabayeva is the daughter of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — The Azerbaijani Central Bank cut its key interest rate to 7% from 7.25% but, as expected, this failed to shift the value of its manat currency. The Azerbaijani manat, like the Turkmen manat, are fixed rigidly against a set US dollar exchange rate.
The Tajik somoni and the Uzbek soum are also pegged against a US dollar rate, but less rigidly. The Uzbek Central Bank allows its currency to lose ground slowly, and in a controlled manner, against the US dollar. The Tajik Central Bank is less controlled but generally likes to keep its exchange rate level.
As for the other currencies, they are all manipulated by their central banks to a greater or lesser extent and with a greater or lesser degree of openness. The Georgian Central Bank does post updates on its currency sales to prop up the lari.
The biggest mover over the past week was the Kazakh tenge which, other than a brief foray three weeks ago, moved below 400/$1 for the first time since the start of March.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 22 (The Bulletin) — Police in Tashkent erected roadblocks around a suburbs where spikes in people infected with the coronavirus have been recorded. The authorities have lifted coronavirus lockdown restrictions but have also said that 71 neighbourhoods of Tashkent are considered to be so-called ‘Red Zones’. Uzbekistan has recorded 6,901 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — A new property tax due to be introduced this year in Armenia will fall more heavily on the poor than on the wealthy, an economist said. PM Nikol Pashinyan, who frames his government and the 2018 revolution that propelled it to power as being on the side of the poor, wants the new tax to bolster the budgets of local councils, but economist Suren Parsyan told Open Democracy that the move will increase tax burdens for poor people who inherited apartments in central Yerevan when the Soviet Union collapsed.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — The EBRD gave an unsecured loan of $100m to Georgia’s TBC Bank to help it lend out cash to small and medium-sized businesses fighting off the impact of the coronavirus. The EBRD has been a core supporter of SMEs in Georgia throughout the lockdown. Georgia has been praised for stamping out the virus but its economy is set to shrink by 5% this year.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — Georgian stocks fell across the board after more economic predictions said that the downturn triggered by the coronavirus is going to be deeper and more severe than first thought.
All other stocks moved up, with metal stocks tracking an increase in commodity prices and the Centerra Gold stock being given a boost by news unrelated to its Kumtor gold mine in east Kyrgyzstan.
Equity news is generally quiet at this time of year ahead of the Q2 earnings season which kicks off next month. Analysts have said that they are looking for strong results from the region’s metals miners. Metals prices have remained buoyant throughout the coronavirus economic recession. Oil has also recovered and is now at more than $42/barrel. It had been at less than $30/barrel.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020