Category Archives: Uncategorised

Inflation spikes in Kazakhstan

NOV. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Inflation in Kazakhstan grew by 5.2% in October, compared to the previous month, after businesses increased their prices on goods and services across the country to balance a devaluation in the value of the tenge currency. The tenge has now lost half its value against the US dollar since Feb. 2014. Year-on- year inflation now stands at 9.4%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

EBRD raises Azerbaijan’s growth

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The EBRD doubled Azerbaijan’s economic growth predictions to 3% this year, an upgrade that will come as a relief for the the government which has been trying to cope with an economic downturn. It is reliant on oil as its main foreign currency earner. Oil prices have fallen 50% in the past 18 months.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Kazakh and Swedish telecoms form joint venture

NOV. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Swedish telecoms company Tele2 and Kazakhstan’s state-owned Altel said they will form a joint venture. The new joint venture will start operations in 2016 and will hold exclusive rights to the country’s 4G network.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

JOGMEC explores Kazakhstan

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOG- MEC) signed a deal with local authorities in Kazakhstan to explore for rare earth materials in the Karaganda and Kostanai regions. Earlier this year, the Japanese ministry of industry closed a deal to build a rare earths production facility in the north of the country. Kazakhstan holds one of the world’s largest reserves of rare earths.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Armenian church re-opens in Georgia

OCT. 31 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenian Orthodox Church reconsecrated the Cathedral of St George in Tbilisi, considered one of its most important churches in the region. The Cathedral was closed in 2012 for restoration work.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Flydubai flies to Kazakhstan

NOV. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Low-cost airline Flydubai launched its first flight to Astana, expanding its routes in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Astana will be the third destination in Kazakhstan for Flydubai, a company owned by the Government of Dubai. In Kazakhstan, Flydubai already flies to Almaty and Shymkent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Iran makes deals with Turkmenistan

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said trade between Iran and Turkmenistan would boom as the country opened up and made more deals with its neighbours in Central Asia. Local media quoted him as saying that Turkmen- Iranian trade measured $4b last year. He said bilateral trade worth $60b was possible within a decade.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Kazakhstan’s Eurasia Bank profit drop

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Net profits at Kazakhstan’s Eurasia Bank fell to 2.6b tenge ($9.1b) in the first nine months of the year, a fall of 67% from the same period in 2014. The bank, owned by businessmen Alexander Mashkevich, Alijan Ibragimov and Patokh Chodiev, declined to disclose further details of the results. In 2014, net profit fell by 13% compared to 2013.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Tajik plane crashes in S. Sudan

NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Tajik registered Antonov-12 cargo plane crashed in south Sudan, killing 40 people. The plane had been owned by a Tajik company called Asia Airways but operated by an Armenian company called Ala International. (See page 8 for more)

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Turkmenistan builds giant yurt

NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan built a supersized glass and aluminium yurt to celebrate the city of Mary’s position as 2015 Culture and Arts Capital of the Turkic World, media reported. The yurt, which can hold up to 3,000 people, drew criticism. Central Asian governments are given to grandiose projects, projecting an image of being out-of-touch.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)