JULY 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s military ordered a readiness check of its units stations in Armenia, the AFP news agency reported. The military garrison stationed in Armenia is one of Russia’s largest overseas deployments.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan needs to invest about $2b into its infrastructure if it wants to provide clean drinking water for its entire population, Alimurod Islomzoda, head of the Tajik state public utilities company, said.
This is a rare public omission in Tajikistan but Mr Islomzoda didn’t stop there. He also said that updating the system would take 80 years.
“To date, only some 57 percent of the country’s population has access to safe drinking water,” the Asia-Plus news agency quoted Mr Islomzoda as saying. “About $2b is needed and the full rehabilitation of the water supply systems will take 80-85 years.”
Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and with vital remittances from Russia dropping by around 40% this year because of a downturn in the Russian economy, the outlook is looking worse.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz Pres. Almazbek Atambayev said he would support expanding the Russia and China led Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) to include Iran, Pakistan and India, local media reported. The SCO is holding a summit meeting in Ufa, Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prices in Armenia have been dropping since January, its official statistics agency said. It said that overall inflation in June measured a 5.5% increase from the same month one year earlier. A drop in food prices has slowed inflation, the Central Bank said in a statement.
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – YEREVAN — Demonstrators in central Yerevan shifted their rally against an electricity price rise on Monday after police cleared barricades from the central street they had occupied for two weeks.
A Bulletin correspondent said around 1,000 people gathered at Freedom Square in the centre of Yerevan for another protest on Thursday evening. Police watched the protest but the atmosphere was calm.
“We demand one thing. The immediate and complete cancellation of the decision adopted by the State regulatory commission on baseless rise of electricity tariffs,” one of the protesters said.
Thousands of people have been protesting in the evenings in the centre of Yerevan, demanding that the government scrap the plan to raise the price of electricity, the third price rise in two years. The Russian-owned electricity company says the hike is necessary to support the power grid.
A state regulatory commission has already approved the price rise but in an apparent concession to the protesters earlier this month Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan ordered an audit of the electricity company.
And, on Wednesday, an Armenian state watchdog fined the electricity company $126,000 for violating the rights of consumers for demanding residents in new-built housing pay up front for their electricity.
The protests have widespread support even though the numbers have been dwindling.
“I’m very busy and that’s why I can’t take part in the protests,” said Georgi Barseghyan, a Yerevan resident. “So are other members of my family. But we all are with them.”
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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Parcel delivery company DHL has signed a deal with Kazakhstan’s railway company Temir Zholy which it said would improve and increase freight transport between China and Europe. The deal highlights Kazakhstan’s growing prominence as a transport route between Europe and Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Geostat, the Georgian statistics agency, reported an increase in year-on-year GDP growth to an estimated 2.1% in May, up from 0.9% in April. The economic data will be welcome news for the Georgian government which has been under pressure because of a downturn in the economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Cargolux, one of Europe’s largest air freight carriers, started flights to Turkmenbashi on Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea coast, the company said. Cargolux said it would fly four times a week to Turkmenbashi. Turkmenbashi can be used as a hub for Central Asia’s Caspian Sea region.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JUNE 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazmunaigaz, Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, said it would sell half its stake in the Caspian Sea Kashagan oil field to Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund.
This is a curious arrangement as Samruk-Kazyna actually owns Kazmunaigas. It may be a way for Kazmunaigas, which has been badly hit by the sharp drop in energy prices, to borrow cash cheaply.
According to a press release from the London Stock Exchange, Kazmunaigas is seeking the consent of the shareholders in the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) , the consortium which operates the Kashagan, to sell half of its 16.88% share to Samruk-Kazyna for approximately $4.7b.
“Samruk-Kazyna’s agreement to purchase the Kashagan Shares reflects the State’s strong support of KMG (Kazmunaigas), as a strategic national asset,” the statement said.
Part of the cash raised by the sale would be used to pay $2.2b Kazmunaigas owes in fees relating to its 2013 purchase of the Kashagan stake from US company ConocoPhillips.
Kazmunaigas said that the sale would come with an option to buy back the stake in Kashagan for the same price between 2016 and 2020.
NCOC declined to comment.
Kazmaunaigas had run up large debts, partly because of the oil price slump. Halyk Bank analyst Sabina Amangeldi said in a note last month that the company already has seven Eurobond issues outstanding worth a total of $8.8b.
She also noted that lower oil prices had knocked Kazmunaigas’ revenues by around a third and that profit had been wiped out.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)
JULY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s defence minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, visited Lithuania for meetings with his Lithuanian counterpart Juozas Olekas and PM Algirdas Butkevicius. This is important because it shows how Azerbaijan is trying to boost its connections in Europe and with NATO members.
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(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)