JUNE 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan increased the amount of cargo and people it transported around the country, the government said. It’s not possible to independently verify the numbers but Turkmenistan has made several high profile announcements over the past months about boosting its transport sector.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Official Turkmen websites reported another rise in GDP, throwing into serious doubt the authenticity of official economic statistics. The official turkmenistan.ru said GDP had registered a year-on- year increase in the first five months of the year of 9.5% despite a currency devaluation and low global energy prices.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The IMF changed its forecast for Azerbaijan’s economy this year to reflect improved conditions, media reported. Reports quoted the IMF mission chief in Baku, Raja Almarzogi, as saying the IMF had increased its economic growth forecast in 2015 to 1.8% from 0.6%.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Dozens of young Azerbaijanis demonstrated outside the British embassy in Baku against what they described as double standards over criticism from London-based newspaper and human rights organisations of the European Games.
The protesters waved Azerbaijani flags and shouted: “England, avoid double standards!” according to media reports.
The protests appeared to be sanctioned by the authorities, perhaps as a counter demonstration to deflect from criticism generated by Azerbaijan’s crackdown on opposition activists and journalists.
London has become the main centre of criticism of Azerbaijan.
A group called Platform London published a book earlier this week titled: “All that Glitters Sport, BP and Repression in Azerbaijan”. BP is a major foriegn investor in Azerbaijan and is sponsoring the Games.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Uzbek-US joint car-maker General Motors Uzbekistan said it would discount two of its models by 15% until the end of 2015, an admission of sorts that its needs to boost sales to counter a falling market linked to economic turmoil in Russia.
Customers, though, can only claim the 15% discount on Lacetti and Cobalt cars by paying in US dollars with international debit and credit cards.
The car plant in the eastern town of Andijan is critical for jobs in the surrounding region and also an important barometer of Uzbek industry.
Most of its sales are made in Russia and also in neighbouring Kazakhstan but the fall in oil prices has hit the region and badly dented demand for cars.
In March, the plant sold 1,757 cars compared to 4,604 cars in the same month a year earlier, the Association of European Businesses, an industry lobby group, said.
As well as driving up car sales (pun intended), the government may also be looking to bolster US dollar flows in its economy.
Information leaking out of Uzbekistan on the state of the economy is light but it does appear to show that the slowdown in the Russian economy is having a major impact on Uzbekistan. Remittances are hugely important in Uzbekistan. They rely on a strong Russian economy. Economists have estimated that these will fall by 40% this year. Global gas prices, another important foreign currency earner for Uzbekistan, are also low.
By imposing a dollar payment scheme on car buyers, the Uzbek government may be trying to get hard currency flowing through the system once again as well as boosting sales at its flagship industrial asset.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ramaz Davitaia, a corporal in the Georgian army, died at a military hospital in Georgia three years after being badly injured in Afghanistan. Davitaia is the 30th Georgian solider to die supporting the NATO operation in Afghanistan. Georgia wants to join NATO and has been an enthusiastic supporter of US- led operations.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud visited Tbilisi and met separately with both PM Irakli Garibashvili and President Giorgi Margvelshvili. Prince Al-Waleed is a billionaire investor. Georgia has said it wants to boost foreign direct investment.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said lending to projects in Kazakhstan would hit a record $1b this year as the country diversifies away from oil, gas and other extractive minerals.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenian government’s proposed increase of electricity tariffs has angered people in Armenia and triggered small-scale protests.
This is the third price rise in two years by the Russia-owned electricity company and activists said they planned a series of protests against it.
A Bulletin correspondent said around 50 people demonstrated in front of Armenia’s energy ministry in Yerevan.
Susan, 33, was one of the protesters.
“Because of their bad management and inappropriate work, they want us to struggle and pay high prices,” she said.
Hundreds had demonstrated in May through Yerevan against the proposed electricity price rises and a group calling themselves Against Robbery threatened more aggressive action.
“We are going to implement radical actions using all our rights stated by the laws,” the statement said.
The Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission it had received an application from the monopoly electricity company Electric Networks of Armenia to increase the cost of electricity by 40%.
The Commission said it was likely to agree the price rise by June 17, although it did not say whether it would approve the full 40% increase. It said electricity imports have become more expensive because of the falling value of the Armenian dram. Hydroelectric power generation has also dropped because of dry weather.
The parliament plans to debate the price rises on June 12 and the government has said it will subsidise the increase for the poorest families.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)
JUNE 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s Lukoil will knock 10% off the price of assets in Kazakhstan it plans to sell to China’s Sinopec to ease the deal through, media reported quoting industry sources. The discount shows how oil and gas assets in Kazakhstan have lost value since oil prices fell sharply.
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(News report from Issue No. 235, published on June 11 2015)