Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgian prosecutors investigate police over rapper arrest

JUNE 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgian prosecutors said that they had launched an investigation into police conduct over the arrest of the Birja Mafia rappers, 28-year-old Mikheil Mgaloblishvili and 21-year- old Giorgi Keburia, who accused security forces of planting drugs on them. The Birja Mafia are popular in Georgia and the arrest of Mr Mgaloblishvili and Mr Keburia sparked demonstrations in Tbilisi and Batumi. They said that the police wanted revenge for a song that they released earlier this year that mocked them.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

EBRD to find solar park in Kazakhstan

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JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — The EBRD is set to finance the construction of a second solar power park in southern Kazakhstan, media reported. The EBRD will give a loan of $45m for the solar power park, the Clean Technology Fund will give $10m and the owners of the field, not named by media, will stump up another $80m. After the construction of Burnoye Solar 2, it will constitute one of the biggest solar power fields in Europe or Central Asia.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

US investors criticise Azerbaijan’s IBA restructuring

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JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — The Wall Street Journal quoted US holders of International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) debt as saying that the proposed restructuring deal was unfair and designed to benefit the bank’s Azerbaijani owners. IBA has asked debt holders to write off 20% of their investments in a deal to restructure $3.3b worth of debt. Part of the restructuring process would also mean that the debt is reissued as sovereign bonds.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kyrgyzstan should drop charges against journalist, says CPJ

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JUNE 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said that Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Committee should drop charges against Ferghana News journalist Ulughbek Babakulov that an article he wrote on a knife fight in May was designed to ignite racial hatred. Mr Babakulov has fled the country and has said that his reporting was based on Facebook posts of the fight in the south of the country between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks and that the security services were trying to cover up any suggestion of ethnic tension.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan halves Karachaganak cost expansion

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JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh officials said that the cost of extending production at the Karachagank gas condensate field had halved. Murat Zhurebekov, chief executive of PSA LLC, a unit of state energy firm Kazmunaigas, said that the cost of boosting production at Karachagank had halved from an earlier estimate of $9b. He didn’t explain why this estimate had been reduced, although he did say that it was linked to low oil prices. Eni and Royal Dutch Shell each own 29.25% of Karachaganak. Kazmunaigas owns 10%, Chevron 18% and Lukoil 13.5%.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Uzbek President approves French investment

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JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree that formalises an investment by French carmaker PSA, owner of the Peugeot and Citron brands. PSA plans to produce around 16,000 vans every year in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek car-making sector is important domestically as it is one of the few outside the oil and gas sector with foreign investors. US’ GM is a 25% stake holder in a joint-venture with Uzbekistan’s Uzavtosanoat.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Tajik President flies to Yerevan

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JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon flew to Yerevan for a state visit, a relatively rare foray into the South Caucasus. At a joint press conference Mr Rakhmon and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan promises to boost bilateral ties, including setting up a direct flight between the two capitals.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Road accidents cost billions in Kazakhstan

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JUNE 14 2017 (The Bulletin) — Road accidents in Kazakhstan are denting its economic potential and will hold back China’s much- vaunted “One Belt, One Road” trade initiative to links East Asia with Europe via Central Asia, the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies said in a new report. It estimated that traffic accidents cost Kazakhstan $9b a year, the equivalent of 4% of GDP.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan does not receive special treatment over IBA debt

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JUNE 13 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s Central Bank will not receive preferential treatment from Azerbaijan’s majority state-owned IBA bank when it restructures its debt, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters. Kazakhstan’s state pension fund bought $250m worth of IBA debt in 2014 just as the oil price started to fall. Earlier this year it said that it was having to restructure debt totaling $3.3b. Most creditors face losing 20% of their investments.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Uzbekistan considers weapons purchase

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JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek defence minister Atabek Ibadullayev travelled to Kazakhstan to tour weapons plants in Uralsk which produce armoured vehicles and optical rifles sites. Kazakhstan’s ministry of defence then released a statement which said that although Uzbekistan hadn’t yet purchased any weapons, Mr Ibadullayev had expressed an interest. Kazakh-Uzbek military ties are improving.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)