Category Archives: Uncategorised

Cognac sales fall in Armenia

JUNE 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The impact of sanctions on Russia is hitting all the economies of the South Caucasus and Central Asia but none more so than Armenia.

Armenia is particularly reliant on Russia for both financial support and as a market for its export. Last month, the Armenian Central Bank said it would cut interest rates for the third time this year to a four year low to try and curb falling inflation.

The latest inflation numbers show just how much work the Central Bank needs to do to prop up the economy. Armenia’s statistics agency said that inflation for the first half of the year was 4%, at the bottom end of its range.

But even this figure hides the really worrying data. Average prices in June fell 1.8% against May.

For more evidence of Russia’s faltering economy hitting the more outlying regions of the former Soviet Union, cognac is as good a place to look as any other. Armenian cognac is famous around the former Soviet Union and Russia is its biggest export market.

The latest data showed that cognac production fell for the first five months of May by 11.1% to just over 5.5m litres compared to the same period in 2013.

Although no official explanation has been given, the message is still fairly clear.

“In the first quarter of 2014 Armenia exported to Russia half the amount of cognac compared with the the same reporting period in 2013,” an Armenian business website reported. “They [Russian cognac importers] are in an unstable financial situation and do not know what will the political conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Court jails Islamic extremists in Kazakhstan

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Almaty sentenced five men to between 6 and 7-1/2 years in jail for being members of the banned Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The authorities in Kazakhstan have said that they are fighting a growing wave of Islamic extremism. The court found the men guilty of spreading terrorist propaganda and inciting hatred.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Tajikistan’s meat price rises

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – President Emomali Rakhmon and key figures in his regime have criticised an “artificial” spike in the price of meat during the holy month of Ramadan.

As Ramadan began, Tajik media reported a jump in the price of a kilo of meat from $6-7 to $8-9. Other products saw smaller increases. Last Ramadan saw similar jumps, suggesting collusion in the country’s urban markets, where costs are highest.

Mr Rakhmon’s attack on the meat cartels should be understood less as a defence of religion — an embarrassing video of him dancing drunk at his son’s wedding became an internet sensation when it was leaked in May 2013 — and more as sensitivity over price changes that could precipitate instability. GDP is expected to grow by 7% this year, but inflation, at 7.7% for the first half of this year, is more than keeping up.

“Prices for petrol are lower than they have been in recent years, there is enough feed for the animals and the price of meat should not be rising,” said Mr Rakhmon.

The Mayor of Dushanbe, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, backed Mr Rakhmon’s stance emphasising the need to punish “shameless” butchers working out of the capital’s main bazaars.

Food assumes a special importance during the month of Ramadan when daytime fasting gives way to night time gorging. The Day of Eid holiday after the fasting period is associated with elaborate feasts.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Georgia rise

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia has imported 20% more gas from Azerbaijan this year compared to the same period in 2013, media reported. This shows the increasing inter-dependency of the countries in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is Georgia’s largest gas supplier.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Kazakh Air Astana plans IPO

JUNE 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Air Astana will aim for an IPO within three years, Peter Foster, its CEO, said, according to media. Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund owns 51% of Air Astana and BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) owns 49%. The Kazakh government has been looking to privatise various companies it owns.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Uzbek customs officials arrested

JUNE 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek police have arrested 100 people working at the state customs committee on corruption charges, media reported. The mass arrests are likely to be linked with a grab for power in Uzbekistan rather than a genuine anti- corruption drive.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Azerbaijan accused of shelling Nagorno-Karabakh

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia accused Azerbaijan of intensifying shelling of pro- Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tension has been rising around Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s defence minister, Seyran Ohanyan, also rejected calls for the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to monitor the cease-fire around Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Russia grants duty-free imports for Armenia

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia ratified a deal that gives Armenia tax-free imports of gas, oil and diamonds until it joins the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia has become a major patron of Armenia. This year it completed the purchase of Armenia’s gas supply network. Armenia hopes to join the Eurasian Economic Union this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Uzbekistan doubles uranium export

JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan will almost double the amount of uranium it sends to South Korea, media reported after a trip by South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Ms Geun-hye has been on a tour of Central Asia, building relations and making business deals.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Uzbek plumbers strike gold

JUNE 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Plumbers working in the city of Qoqan, east Uzbekistan, have found a gold bar weighing 13kg, media reported. The gold bar, found in one of the city’s sewers, has an estimated value of $800,000. It is unclear where the gold bar came from although it is thought to date from before the Soviet Union.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)