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Kazakhstan expels 61 Indian workers after fight

SEPT. 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan expelled 61 Indian workers after a fight at a construction site in Astana. The fight, with Kazakh security guards, highlights the often strained relations between migrant workers in Kazakhstan and locals. Kazakhstan’s economy now attracts labourers from across the region, including from China and India. The fight took place on the construction site of the 75-storey Abu Dhabi Plaza, set to become Central Asia’s tallest building.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Erdogan visits Kazakhstan, signs $590m of deal

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SEPT. 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a visit to Astana lead by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish businesses signed deals worth $590m, Kazakh officials said according to local media. Turkish media said that investments by Turkish business in Kazakhstan now topped $2.1b. These investments are mainly in the construction sector.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Azerbaijan expecting decision on Absheron soon

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SEPT. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani state oil and gas company SOCAR expects a decision on whether to develop the offshore Absheron gas field to be made by the end of the year, a source a the company told Reuters. Absheron is seen as an important field that should boost Azerbaijan’s reputation as a major gas exporter. It was discovered in 2011 by a consortium lead by France’s Total.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Turkish company wins tender to build new ring road around Almaty

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SEPT. 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A consortium led by Turkey’s Alsim Alarko, a unit of Alarko Holding, has won a tender to build a new ring road around Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Media didn’t give the size of the tender, which was awarded by Kazakhstan’s investment and development ministry and held in May 2016. The announcement came a couple of days after a visit by Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Astana.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Kazakh court sentences former head of State National Security Council

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SEPT. 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A military court near Almaty sentenced Nartay Dutbayev, the former head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Council, to 7-1/2 years in prison for stealing state secrets. Dutbayev had been head of the National Security Council from December 2001 until February 2006. The case was held behind closed doors and no other details of Dutbayev’s offences have been released. Reports said he had been stripped of his rank and medals.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Azerbaijani Appeal Court frees newspaper editor

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SEPT. 15 (The Bulletin) — An appeals court in Azerbaijan freed the financial director of the Azerbaijani opposition daily Azadiliq (Liberty), Faiq Amirli, from prison in what has been hailed by rights activists as a rare victory. Amirli was sentenced to prison in July for tax evasion. Prosecutors said he owned books by the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey, Azerbaijan’s key ally, has accused Gulen of inciting a failed coup last year.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Azerbaijan’s budget airline to extend flight routes

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SEPT. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Buta, the new low-cost airline of Azerbaijan’s state-owned AZAL, said that it intends to extend its flight routes to Russia, Turkey, Iran and Georgia. Buta made its inaugural flight to Tbilisi at the start of the month. It is based out of Baku Heydar Aliyev airport and mainly flies Embraer planes. Buta is an ornamental pattern used to decorate carpets, textiles and buildings.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Karaganda honours Soviet rock legend Victor Tsoi

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AUG. 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The central Kazakh city of Karaganda unveiled a monument to one of the biggest rock artists to come out of the Soviet Union – Viktor Tsoi. He was a founder of the Kino band. Tsoi died in a car crash aged 28 in 1990. He was born and brought up in Leningrad but was famed around the USSR.
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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017

Economy grows

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AUG. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Powered by a boost in exports and remittance inflows, Georgia’s economy grew by 4.4% in the first seven months of the year, government data showed, an increase from the 2.7% rise during the same period last year (Aug. 30). Exports in the first seven months of the year were 28% higher than in the same period in 2016. Geostat, the government statistics agency, also said business activity in general in Georgia had picked up and that there had been a 7% increase in the number of businesses registered.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Tajikistan to launch first sovereign debt issue

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DUSHANBE, AUG. 30 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Brushing aside a worsening banking crisis, Tajikistan said that it was going to launch its first ever sovereign bond .

Commentators said that the Eurobond could be issued at the start of September and have a lifespan of around nine years, although they did not give a coupon value. The cash raised in the Eurobond would go towards funding the construction of the Rogun Dam, one of the biggest hydropower projects in the world.

It will also make Tajikistan the second country in Central Asia, after Kazakhstan, to issue sovereign debt, giving Western investors increased exposure to the region.

Media later said that Tajikistan was aiming to raise $500m through the Eurobond that was likely to have a coupon of around 7.625%.

Shortly after the announcement, ratings agency Moodys, which has Tajikistan at the “highly speculative” investment grade of B3, warned potential investors of the risks involved in a Tajik investment. It said that Tajikistan’s banks were under increased pressure.

“The issuer rating also incorporates the credit challenges posed by institutions that are weak on a global scale, although progress on financial reforms and macroeconomic stability indicate some improvements,” it said.

Over the past 15 months, the Tajik government has rolled out a bailout plan to stop banks from going bankrupt.

The Central Asia region has been recovering from a prolonged economic downturn linked to a recession in Russia and a collapse in oil prices from mid-2014.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)