Category Archives: Uncategorised

Shanghai buys into Kazakh capital

JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Shanghai’s Stock Exchange said that it had agreed a deal to buy 25.1% of Astana’s planned new bourse. The Astana Stock Exchange is planned to open by the end of the year as the centrepiece of a new Astana International Financial Centre. It wants to attract foreign companies and has already said that its national companies — Air Astana, Kazmunaigas and Kazatompom — will list part of their companies on the Astana Stock Exchange.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Comment: Authority figures and democracy

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EDINBURGH, JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — This past week, politics in Britain have been overshadowed by the election meltdown and loss of authority of the British PM, Theresa May. She went from having a 20 point lead in opinion polls only two months ago to a single digit lead over Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, on election day. She won, but was returned a much diminished figure.

This is a stark contrast to the strongmen that rule Central Asia, where the democratic touch is so light. That doesn’t mean, though, that there isn’t plenty of political intrigue to enjoy and saviour in the region.

And this week has given us the story of how Shavkat Mirziyoyev has undone one of his key rivals for power, former economy minister Rustam Azimov. Once a potential Second President of Uzbekistan, he now finds himself heading up an entity called the Export-Import Bank. A story of power-plays and, possibly, betrayal.

There has been an apparent growth in grassroots movements in Uzbekistan. Our new correspondent reports from Tashkent on what has been described as the biggest protest in the country for 12 years. It’s great reporting on a very important story.

In Georgia and Azerbaijan the case of the abducted journalist continues to cause the authorities discomfort, as does the reminder that Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge is still an IS recruitment area.

On the business front, we report on China’s first foray into Kazakhstan’s banking sector and on olive oil production in Georgia.

Azerbaijan plans logistics base

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JUNE 7 2017 (The Bulletin) — Following the trend for centres dedicated to increasing trade and boosting logistics across the Central Asia and South Caucasus region, Azerbaijan said that it was going to create a tax-free zone at its Caspian Sea port of Alyat. Governments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus have been rushing to position themselves as the natural link between Asia and Europe. Taleh Ziyadov, director general of Baku International Sea Trade Port said he wanted to create a “five star hub” at Alyat, which is 65km from Baku.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Georgian olive oil producer wants to break into market

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TBILISI, JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s first home-grown and home-processed olive oil is now being sold across the country, the culmination of a Turkish-inspired ambition.

In an interview with The Bulletin, George Svanidze, Georgia Olive CEO, said that he had always wanted to return from Turkey, where he lived, to develop a business in Georgia.

“We, the diaspora, wanted to bring something good, new investments to Georgia,” he said. “Our Turkish partners have three generation experience in olive oil production, so we decided to bring back this culture to our country.”

And it is this entrepreneurship, this ability to assimilate knowledge abroad and bring it home that makes the Georgian economy resilient and open, analysts have said. It has recovered quicker than its neighbours from a sharp economic downturn over the past three years.

Mr Svanidze said that he and his partners planted their first olive trees in Georgia in 2010. Since then, with the help of a government sponsored scheme called Produce in Georgia, the olive grove has grown to around 350 hectares – roughly the size of 350 rugby pitches. They have now set up a processing plant near the village of Sakobo in Kakheti.

And Mr Svanidze said that the soil quality in Georgia was superior to Italy, Turkey and Greece, the three main traditional makers of olive oil.

“We have such high-quality olives that we produce 1 litre of olive oil from 3.5kg of olives,” he said, comparing this to the usual 5kg needed.

Part of the challenge is tapping into the domestic market. Not many people cook, or eat, with olive oil, preferring to use cheaper oils from nuts.

Zura, the director of a wine shop, said as well as being more expensive, olive oil was too pungent for local palates. “I know Europeans really love it, but it’s no good for our kitchen. The taste is too strong,” he said.

But Mr Svanidze has heard this all before. “First we will take the Georgian market, after that the Trans-Caucasus market and afterwards we will export to Europe and Asia,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Turkmenistan has imprisoned Gulenists, says HRW

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JUNE 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — The New York-based Human Rights Watch accused the Turkmen government of illegally detaining and imprisoning 18 men allegedly linked to the Gulen network that Turkish President Recep Erdogan accuses of plotting a coup.

In its report, Human Rights Watch said that the men were part of a group of 100 men arrested in September and October last year after a request from Turkey.

“The men’s families found out about the arrests in Turkmenistan only through unofficial contacts. They were allowed no contact with their loved ones until after the trial, which was closed and held at the pretrial detention centre. Four state- appointed lawyers served as the men’s defence counsel,” HRW said in its press release.

In Turkey, the security forces have rounded up thousands of supporters of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. In Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Turkey has asked the authorities to detain and deport people linked to Gulen, mainly in the education sector.

Gulenists travelled to these newly independent former Soviet republics in the 1990s and set up what are now some of the region’s best-regarded universities and schools.

Human Rights Watch said it had seen a summary of the verdict handed out to the men which said that the court had found them guilty of offences linked to the incitement of social, ethnic and religious hatred and also involvement in criminal organisations.

Turkmenistan has one of the worst records for human rights and free speech and is considered a secretive, closed-off country. It has not commented on the Human Rights Watch allegations.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Georgia plans to build a trade hub

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JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s government said that it plans to build two new logistics hubs, one at Kutaisi and one outside Tbilisi, in an effort to brand itself as a transit hub between Asia and Europe. Economy minister Giorgi Gakharai said the Tbilisi hub would cost $82m to build and the Kutaisi hub would cost $72m. This year Georgia signed a free trade agreement with China which it said it would use to promote itself as a trading bridge between China and the rest of the world.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Abkhazia says arrests five Tajiks with IS link

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TBILISI, JUNE 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia said that they had arrested five Tajik men for having links to the extremist IS group.

Men from Central Asia have come under increased scrutiny for links to the extremist IS group after a series of attacks this year blamed on the rise of extremist recruitment in the region.

In its four line message on the arrests, the Abkhazian authorities did not say where the men were arrested or why they were suspected of having links to IS. “After carrying out the necessary actions, the detainees were handed over to the Russian side to carry out operational-investigative actions,” it said.

What appears unusual in this case is the presence of five Tajiks in Abkhazia, not known for attracting migrant workers from Central Asia.

Russia is one of the few countries to recognise Abkhazia as an independent state.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Azerbaijan plans to close Shah-Deniz

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JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan plans to close gas production for a month at the Shah Deniz offshore in August to fix a faulty export pipe, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister Mariam Valishvili told Reuters in an interview. Shah Deniz is operated by BP, although it has not commented on Ms Valishili’s comments. It exports its gas via a pipeline that runs through Georgia and Turkey. Shah Deniz 1 has been producing gas since 2006. Shah Deniz II is due to come onstream by the end of 2019 and form the basis of a new flow of gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Investment boosts for Uzbek car making

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TASHKENT, JUNE 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Looking to give the Uzbek car-making sector a boost, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev unveiled a series of investments and tax cuts specifically aimed at boosting production and job numbers.

The uzdaily.uz website reported that on June 1, Mr Mirziyoyev had signed into law an investment scheme worth $800m for Uzavtosanoat. It reported that it was hoped that production would jump by 300% and the number of people employ would also surge accordingly.

The Uzbek auto sector has been heavily hit by a collapse in the Russian car market. Data released in April showed that the number of cars produced in Uzbekistan had halved in 2016 to around 92,000. This year, though, there are signs that the the Uzbek car making sector is beginning to rebound.

French carmaker PSA, which owns the Peugeot and Citron brands, has signed a deal to assemble 16,000 cars in Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Kyrgyzstan trials opposition leaders

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JUNE 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Omurbek Tekebaev, leader of Kyrgyzstan’s Ata-Mekan party, and Duishonkul Chotonov, Kyrgyzstan’s former emergencies minister, went on trial for allegedly taking bribes in 2010. They were arrested in February, triggering a series of protests in the capital Bishkek. Both men deny the charges and have said that they are politically motivated. Mr Tekebaev is the Ata Meken candidate for a presidential election in October.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)