Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgian PM attends Pres. speech

FEB. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili attended President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s annual state-of-the-nation address to parliament, a sign that relations between the president’s office and the PM’s office are improving. Mr Kvirikashvili’s predecessor, Irakli Garibashvili, had snubbed the speech for the past two years. Mr Kvirikashvili was installed as Georgia’s PM at the end of last year by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest and most powerful man in Georgia. Mr Garibashvili had lost popularity and his public rows with Mr Margvelashvili had become a distraction in the build up to what is likely to be a tough fought election at the end of this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kyrgyzstan imposes fines for USD

FEB. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s anti-monopoly said it would start to impose fines against shops, companies and people selling products in US dollars rather than the local som currency. The new rules appear designed to boost the use and the strength of the Kyrgyz som. The som has lost around a third of its value.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kyrgyzstan looks to cash in on expropriation of MegaCom

BISHKEK, FEB. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s government said that it wanted to sell Alfa Telecom, which owns the mobile brand MegaCom, for around 19b som ($253m), cashing on its most lucrative asset grab from a revolution in 2010.

The sale of Alfa Telecom will mark the end of a battle for control over one of Kyrgyzstan’s most valuable companies.

Alfa Telecom had been controlled, directly and indirectly, by the son of former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. He was forced to flee the country in 2010 and one of the first moves by the new government was to start nationalising Alfa Telecom by taking control of a 49% stake in the company. It completed this process in 2014 when a court in Bishkek handed it the final 51% stake in the company from Alexey Yeliseyev, regarded as a frontman for the Bakiyev family.

Presenting plans to sell off, Alfa Telecom, Kyrgyz PM Temir Sariyev said: “We are presenting the auction to the international market, where competition is very high. The company is appealing for foreign investors and it needs a technological upgrade.”

Local audit firm All Star and the Kazakh branch of Ernst & Young assessed the total price of Alfa Telecom shares at $306m.

But with markets, especially Emerging Markets, subdued it will be a tough time to sell a telecoms company.

Last December, the government said companies from Russia, China, Turkey and Azerbaijan have expressed interest in buying Alfa Telecom.

A successful sale would be a boon for the Kyrgyz government which is struggling to fight off the impact of a worsening economic downturn.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kazakh bank sells shares

FEB. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazkommertsbank, one of Kaza- khstan’s largest lenders, said it sold the 99.4% stake it owned in BTA Bank to Kenes Rakishev, Nurzhan Subkhanberdin and other minority shareholders. The total cost of the transaction amounted to around 6.1m tenge ($16,200). Mr Rakishev and Mr Subkhanberdin now each own 49.18% in BTA. Both are also major shareholders in Kazkommertsbank.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Stand Energy files claims against Kyrgyzstan

FEB. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Canadian mining company Stans Energy said it filed a claim for damages in the UN arbitration court against the Kyrgyz government. The company says Kyrgyzstan wrongfully terminated its licences to operate the Kutessay II and Kalesay mines in 2012. Stans claims to have invested $128m in the gold mines and will also seek a $91m compensation for interests. The UN court will deliberate in mid-March.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Armenia’s ex-President receives cancer treatment

JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s first post-Soviet president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, had treatment for cancer in a hospital in California, media reported. It had been reported earlier in January that Mr Ter-Petrosyan, 71, had flown to the US for emergency treatment. He had been president from 1991-1998. He was a divisive figure who in 2008, was accused of whipping up anti-government protests that triggered clashes with security forces. At least 16 people died in the clashes when police opened fire on the protesters.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kyrgyz gov to sue Centerra

FEB. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz PM Temir Sariyev said the government is considering suing Centerra Gold over its plans to issue a fresh batch of shares. According to Mr Sariyev, state owned company Kyrgyzaltyn, which owns a 32.7% stake in Centerra, has signed a contract with a law firm to prepare a case. In 2015, Centerra decided to issue new shares. The Kyrgyz government has complained this would dilute its share.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kazakh mortgage holders protest

FEB. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 50 mortgage holders protested in Almaty because they said it was not possible to repay their debt after a devaluation of the tenge. This was the third protest by mortgage holders against banks this year, a rare sustained level of public discontent in Kazakhstan. The tenge has lost around 50% of its value. Last year, the Kazakh government gave banks $130m to refinance mortgages but protesters have said that more needs to be done. Analysts have said that one of the biggest issues the Kazakh government faces is growing consumer debt.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Editorial: Georgia and religion

FEB. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia looks set to make insulting religion a crime. This new law needs to be treated with extreme care.

It’s vital in a modern, progressive society to keep the principle of free speech sacrosanct and any move to erode this right should be rejected. And it does feel as if Georgian Dream, who know that they are going to be in a very tough, possibly dirty and definitely personal, battle to win a parliamentary election later this year, are playing politics with the issue.

Winning over traditional voters is vital for Georgian Dream. They have previously gone to great lengths to cosy up to the Orthodox Church and its supporters.

By making insulting religion a crime, they are protecting the Church further and should secure more support from the traditional, conservative section of the electorate.

There is a need to protect religion from slurs and insults, but this draconian law is probably not the answer.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Wizz Air to open base in Georgia

FEB. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Hungarian low-cost airline company Wizz Air said it will open an operational base at Kutaisi airport in central Georgia. This will be Wizz Air’s first base in the South Caucasus. Wizz Air intends to use Kutaisi as its hub for new regional destinations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)