JUNE 2 2014 (Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan intends to build a centre for Islamic finance in Almaty, Central Bank chief Kairat Kelimbetov said. Mr Kelimbetov said the centre would be modeled on the City of London and offer potential investors tax and visa benefits.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on June 4 2014)
JUNE 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan intends to build a centre for Islamic finance in Almaty, Central Bank chief Kairat Kelimbetov said. Mr Kelimbetov said the centre would be modelled on the City of London and offer potential investors tax and visa benefits.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
JUNE 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The third branch of a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China opened on May 31, media reported. Line C, as it is known, will double the pipeline’s capacity to 55b cubic metres of gas per year by 2015. Gas exports to China are vital to Central Asia’s economies.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Rashid Meredov, Turkmenistan’s foreign minister, travelled to Kabul to meet with Afghan officials and discuss the second deadly attack on a Turkmen border post from Afghanistan this year. Mr Meredov’s visit was triggered by an attack that killed three Turkmen soldiers in May.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkish Petroleum Corp., the state-owned Turkish oil energy company, agreed to buy an extra 10% stake in the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea from France’s Total for $1.5b.
This means that Turkish Petroleum now owns 19% of the Shah Deniz and is Azerbaijan’s second biggest partner in the project, behind BP.
The deal shifts the energy power vertical in the region as it reduces Turkey’s reliance on Russia for supplies while increasing its dependency on Azerbaijan.
Turkey is a NATO member and with the stand-off over Ukraine continuing, shifting energy reliance away from Russia is, undoubtedly, a sensible strategy. And who better to turn to than Azerbaijan? Turkey and Azerbaijan are ethnically, culturally, politically and linguistically close. They make natural allies.
For Azerbaijan the deal is an important one as Turkey’s entry into the Shah Deniz project is a massive show of faith in its prospects. It is being upgraded in an important second phase. Turkey is also a major stake holder in the TANAP pipeline that will pump gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have always been close, although over the past few years these have grown even closer. Azerbaijan has now established itself as a major gas supplier to Europe and it is only natural that it works increasingly closely with Turkey to secure this sector.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Investors holding bonds in Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank rejected a restructuring deal, Reuters reported. This would have been the second restructuring deal in four years for the bank that was effectively nationalised in 2009 during the global financial crisis. A new deal will have to struck to re-structure the debt.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) started promoting its Eurobond issue. IBA plans to issue between $350m and $500m of Eurobonds. Azerbaijan’s ministry of finance owns 50.2% of IBA. The Eurobond sale will indicate investors’ appetite for Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
JUNE 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -An estimated 300 people in Osh, south Kyrgyzstan, blocked a main road to protest the arrest of former parliamentarian Ahmatbek Keldibekov. The authorities have accused Mr Keldibekov of abuse of office. Any sign of unrest in south Kyrgyzstan is a potential problem.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Tension has eased in south-east Tajikistan after officials agreed to launch an investigation into the causes of violence that killed several people a week earlier, media reported. The government’s authority is limited in the region of Gorno-Badakhshan. In 2012, security forces fought pitch battles to control the area after they tried to arrest a local warlord.
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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
MAY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia is considering dropping visa requirements for US citizens, media quoted deputy foreign minister Sergey Manasarian as saying. Earlier this year Armenia allowed EU citizens to stay 90 days without a visa after the EU relaxed rules for Armenians.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)