Category Archives: Uncategorised

New low- cost carrier to fly in Armenia

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia, a new low cost airline, will start flying in April, pending the approval of Armenia’s aviation committee. The owners of Georgia’s low cost airline Georgian Airways, Tamaz Gaiashvili and Robert Oganesian, own 49% of Armenia, while Ashot Torosyan, an Armenian businessman, owns 51% of the company. Armenia’s aviation sector has been in flux since Air Armenia was declared bankrupt in 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia fines Coca Cola

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Armenian government agency slapped a 50m dram ($102,000) fine on Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Armenia for unfair competition. Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition found Coca Cola Hellenic guilty of “creating barriers to entry of competitors into the market.”

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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Georgian miners end strike

MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 1,000 miners at the Tkibuli mine in central Georgia ended their two-week long strike after agreeing a pay rise with Georgia Industrial Group (GIG) which owns the mine. Under the deal, the company GIG will increase miners’ salaries by 7% now and another 3% in April. The miners had wanted a 40% pay rise. Last week they broke into the GIG regional office.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Georgians protest Old Town transformation

FEB. 27 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — Anger, frustration, despair. These were the main emotions described by the hundreds of protesters who marched through Tbilisi’s Old Town protesting against plans supported by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former PM and the richest man in the country, to transform the surrounding hills into a series of hotels and entertainment centres.

“It’s unbelievable to me that they can get away with this.” Denis, 28, told The Conway Bulletin, while he was drawing a green NO on the palm of his hand.

“Why don’t they invest the $500m in revitalising our crumbling old town?”

Of course, though, there is another side. Mr Ivanishvili has said that the plans, which would also mean building a new cable car starting in Freedom Square at the heart of the city, will not alter the character of the city and will instead draw thousands more tourists, create much needed income and jobs.

“This project is interesting for our children and tourists. This will be a main tourist attraction. I am able and I want to assist my city,” Bidzina Ivanishvili has previously said.

For now, the developers appear to be winning the argument over the Panorama project and construction work has started, although planners have ruled against other projects.

The issues, though, remain the same across the region. Officials and businessmen, often linked to the political elite, want to develop a part of a city. Frustrated locals, often with few issues to protest legally about, want to stop them.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Azerbaijan’s SOFAZ drops 10%

MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Assets held by SOFAZ, Azerbaijan’s state oil fund dropped by 9.5% in 2015 to $33.6b. SOFAZ earns cash from oil and gas sales and transit fees. It spends on various social projects and has also been buying up manat to support it against the US dollar. The drop in SOFAZ’s net worth reflects the economic downturn and slump in global oil prices.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Turkmenistan constructs gas-to-liquids plant

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) -A consortium formed by Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Turkey’s Renaissance holding has started construction on a $1.7b gas- to-liquids plant in Turkmenistan. The plant will produce petrol from natural gas. When it starts production in 2018, the plant will process around 1.8b cubic metres of gas and produce 600,000 tonnes of petrol.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Azerbaijan’s ACG output drops

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Output at BP’s Azeri-Chirag-Gunehsli (ACG) dropped in 2015 to 31.3m tonnes of oil, down from 31.5m tonnes of oil in 2014. The ACG field is Azerbaijan’s largest field and the bedrock of its oil output. Azerbaijan has been pressuring BP to maintain ACG output.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Fitch cuts Azerbaijani credit ratings

FEB. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The ratings agency Fitch cut Azerbaijan’s sovereign credit score to junk, following the other two main agencies’ lead, highlighting that it expects the Azerbaijani economy to shrink this year. Azerbaijan has been hit hard by the fall in global oil prices.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia’s President appoints new energy minister

MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan appointed Levon Yolyan as his new energy minister. Mr Yolyan, who had been deputy head of the Control Chamber which holds various government agencies to account, replaces Yervand Zakharyan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Editorial: Kyrgyz and Georgian greens vs developers

MARCH 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Green spaces in cities across Central Asia and the South Caucasus are rare and under threat.

This is the case in Kyrgyzstan, where developers are eyeing up the, admittedly dysfunctional and overgrown Botanical Gardens. Conservationists, however, scored a major victory this week with the visit of PM Temir Sariyev to the Gardens. He spoke about renovating the Gardens and giving the structure a modern look, effectively saying the government wants the Gardens to stay where it is.

This is good and should be applauded. While Bishkek needs more space to build houses for people heading to the city for work, it can find this in other places. The Bishkek Botanical Garden should be left alone.

There is less hope for the surrounding hills of Tbilisi’s Old Town, where former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili wants to build a series of hotels. Locals took to the streets this week to protest against the plan.

Careful consideration needs to be given between creating jobs and attracting business over residents’ access to outdoor areas.

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(Editorial from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)