Category Archives: Uncategorised

US law firm to open in Tashkent

JAN. 29 (The Conway Bulletin) – US law firm White & Case said that it was opening a full-time office in Tashkent because of the improved economic and political environment. A statement by the company said that the office, which will be staffed by partners visiting from its London and New York offices as well as local lawyers, would focus on merger, acquisitions and dispute resolutions. Specifically, it also said that the driving motivation for opening the office had been provided by the liberal-minded reforms introduced by Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in power since Sept. 2016.

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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

Emergency landing at Tbilisi

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FEB. 4 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Ukraine International Airline passenger plane made an emergency landing at Tbilisi airport after its brake system failed. Reports said that the Kiev-Tbilisi flight made several turns to burn off fuel before making the emergency landing. Nobody was hurt during the landing.

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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

Lola Karimova quits UNESCO role

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FEB. 2 (The Conway Bulletin) – Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, the youngest daughter of former Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, said that she had left her position as Uzbekistan’s ambassador to UNESCO, fulfilling a commitment she made five months ago (Feb. 2). Ms Karimova-Tillyaeva’s elder sister, Gulnara Karimova, is still under house arrest in Tashkent accused of various financial crimes. The Karimovs were once all-powerful in Uzbekistan but since 2014 have suffered a sharp decline in influence. Islam Karimov died in September 2016.

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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

CURRENCY MARKETS: Kyrgyz som hits highest level since June 2017

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FEB. 6 (The Conway Bulletin) – Support from the Central Bank pushed the Kyrgyz som up to 68.4/$1 from 69.31/$1, its biggest single-day leap since April 2017. It has come off slightly since then but the som is still trading at around an eight month high.

Analysts said that there were no fundamental reason why the som should jump in value and instead said that the move was likely down to quiet support from the Central Bank. The Kyrgyz Central Bank has a reputation for intervening to support the som if it looks to be dropping too low.

In November and December, the som had been flirting at lows not seen since the start of 2016 when oil was below $30/barrel and Russia’s economy, the driver for Central Asia, had been in recession.

Aside from the Kyrgyz som, most of the currencies shifted down a couple of ticks, while the Georgian lari, breaking its bull-run, stayed level.

With oil and the rest of the global commodities coming off highs, it is likely that there will be some reverses over the next few weeks.

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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

Air Astana reports profit for 2017 and rise in passengers

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ALMATY FEB. 5 (The Conway Bulletin) — Air Astana, the Kazakh national airline that is preparing for an IPO this year, posted full-year results for 2017 that showed revenue growth of 22% and a profit of $39.1m.

The results will be a relief for Kazakh government officials after the airline, which is 51% owned by Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna and 49% by BAE Systems, posted a loss in 2016 for the first time.

In a statement, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster said that EXPO 2017, the international exposition hosted by Astana for three months from June, and a rise in the number of transit passengers using the new terminal at Nazarbayev Airport, also in Astana, had driven the growth.

“Transit business grew by 58% and is now 12% of total business. Our comparatively low unit cost has enabled us to successfully grow this business segment by being competitive in key overseas markets, such as Russia, China, India and the EU, and smaller high growth markets such as Ukraine, Georgia and Uzbekistan,” he said.

Revenue in 2017 was $754m and passenger numbers were 4.2m, up 12%.

Air Astana was incorporated in 2001, flying its first flights in 2002 and replacing the Soviet-tinged Air Kazakhstan as the national flag carrier.

Air Astana has also become vital for linking Kazakhstan with the rest of the world as a handful of major airlines, including KLM and British Airways, have dropped flying to Almaty or Astana.

Mr Foster, the Air Astana CEO, said that the company would continue to grow in 2018 but that costs were rising. “Cost control, whilst maintaining quality standards, will be the key challenge in the coming period,” he said.

Air Astana, alongside the high-profile atomic agency Kazatomprom and Kazakhtelecom, is part of a clutch of state-owned companies that Kazakhstan is selling off this year on the new Astana Stock Exchange and on an international exchange.

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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

Kyrgyz opposition politician imprisoned for 12 years

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BISHKEK, JAN 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in the Kyrgyz capital sentenced Kanatbek Isaev, an opposition politician, to 12 years in prison for corruption after a high profile trial that critics of the government described as a politically motivated farce.

The imprisonment of Isaev, who was arrested in May, five months before a presidential election, further crushes opponents of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and his ally and predecessor Almazbek Atambayev.

It has also triggered a wave of criticism over the Kyrgyz authorities apparent selective clampdown on corruption which has focused on critics of the government — politicians, businessmen and journalists.

Discussing press freedom in Kyrgyzstan, CIVICUS Alliance, a global network of civil rights groups, said in a tweet: “The new president of #Kyrgyzstan has a choice: continue to attack government critics, or break with the legacy of his predecessor and allow for public discussion on the challenges facing the country.”

Last year, the popular news website Zanoza was fined $400,000 for insulting the president and an opposition TV station was closed down. On Dec. 19, police raided NTS, the TV station of Pres. Jeenbekov’s main rival in the October election Omurbek Babanov. He has fled abroad since his failed presidential bid, renounced his political ambitions and accused the authorities of closing down NTS.

Isaev, the jailed MP, is a former mayor of Tokmok and was a high profile supporter of Mr Babanov before his arrest. The corruption charges date back to 2008-10, when he was Tokmok mayor.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Kazakhstan starts chairing UN Security Council

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JAN 1 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan began a 1-month chairmanship of the UN Security Council for the first time. It is sitting at the Security Council as one of two representatives for the Asia-Pacific region. Its 2-year term as a UN Security Council member finishes at the end of 2017. Pres. Nazarbayev had set serious precedent on Kazakhstan becoming the first Central Asian member of the Security Council.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Germany’s Honorary Consul in west Kazakhstan dies

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DEC. 26 (The Conway Bulletin) — Germany’s Honorary Consul in west Kazakhstan, Peter Kreiger, has died, the German diplomatic service said. Kreiger was 54-years-old and was living in Atyrau. He had been Germany’s Honorary-Consul for West Kazakhstan since October 2010 and worked as a consultant in the oil and gas sector. Media suggested that he had died of a heart attack.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Kazatomprom sells off stake in US nuclear company

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DEC. 25 (The Conway Bulletin) — Japan’s Toshiba Corporation bought back a 10% stake in the bankrupt US nuclear power station builder Westinghouse Electric for $522m from the Kazakh nuclear agency Kazatomptom. Kazatomprom had bought the stake in 2007 for $540m. A put option in the contract meant that, although Westinghouse had been declared bankrupt in March 2017, Toshiba was forced to buy back the stake from Kazatomprom for a fixed price. Kazatomprom is the world’s biggest uranium producer. The state-owned company is preparing an IPO in 2018.

— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Turkmen gas supplies to China drop

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DEC. 26 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gas supplies to China from Turkmenistan fell by 7% in November although compared to the same period in 2016 volumes have still increased, Reuters reported quoting Chinese customs data.

There has been no official explanation from either Turkmenistan or China on the gas supply drop but the slump will pile extra pressure onto the already-faltering Turkmen economy.

Turkmenistan’s economy is dependent on its gas sales to China. It is China’s largest supplier, providing it with 40% of its imports. Chinese data showed that imports from Turkmenistan were 1.592m tonnes, down from 1.71m tonnes in October. This is still 11% higher than a year earlier.

Turkmenistan’s economy is already under pressure from the collapse in energy prices since 2014.

Turkmen Pres. Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has sacked ministers and other officials as he looks to shift blame. The government has also cut subsidies for utilities and reports have said that the Black Market price of the US dollar has soared against the Turkmen manat.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin