Tag Archives: business

Kyrgyzstan-based Centerra completes deal

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan-focused miner Centerra Gold said it completed the acquisition of Thompson Creek, a Canadian miner, in exchange for 8% of its shares. Centerra said that the deal is consistent with its diversification efforts. Under the Centerra brand, Thompson Creek will continue its operations in British Columbia. The Kyrgyz government owns a minority stake in Centerra and had opposed the transaction because it said it would have diluted its shareholding in Centerra.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Telia’s losses in Uzbekistan grow

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Sweden’s Telia Company posted a net loss of $908m in Q3 2016 due to the settlement of court cases involving corrupt practices in Uzbekistan. Telia, which paid $1.4b to settle claims by US and Dutch courts in September, said that the court case is not yet closed, hinting of possible further claims. The company was accused of bribing Gulnara Karimova, daughter of late- Uzbek President Islam Karimov, to win telecoms licences.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazakhstan energy company posts 12% fall in oil output

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan-focused energy company Nostrum Oil & Gas posted a 12% fall in oil output in the first nine months of 2016, compared to the daily average it maintained in the same period last year. Lower production and sustained low oil prices meant that revenues in Jan.-Sept. 2016 fell by 35%, compared to last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

China wants tourism investment in Kazakhstan

OCT. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China wants to invest $11b in developing tourism on the banks of Lake Baikal in southern Kazakhstan, media reported. It said that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between two companies to start exploring the best way to invest the Chinese cash. Attracting Chinese tourist to Lake Baikal would be a potential boom for the area.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Pobeda starts flights to Armenia

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pobeda, a low-cost subsidiary of Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot, confirmed it will start flights to Armenia in the next few weeks. From November, it will fly from Moscow Vnukovo to Gyumri, Armenia’s second airport seven times a week. Earlier this month, Pobeda obtained permission to start Rostov- on-Don to Yerevan flights. Pobeda already flies to Almaty, Baku and Tbilisi.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazkom rebrands

OCT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazkommertsbank, one of Kazakhstan’s largest banks, rebranded to Qazkom. The bank’s management chose its 25th anniversary to introduce the new branding. Kenes Rakishev, a powerful businessman with ties to the elite, owns, directly and indirectly, 71% of Qazkom. Mr Rakishev has gradually increased his shareholding, essentially taking it over from founder Nurzhan Subkhanberdin last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazmunaigas production drops by 1.3%

OCT. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — KMG EP, a London-traded subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s state owned Kazmunaigas, said its oil production in the first nine months of the year fell by 1.3% to 9.1m tonnes, compared to the same period last year. Importantly, production from Ozenmunaigas and Embamunaigas, two of its loss-making subsidiaries in the west of the country, grew by 1% in this period.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Stock market: Nostrum Oil and Gas

OCT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Amsterdam-based Nostrum Oil & Gas continues to navigate through the troubled waters of low oil prices. Its stock has rallied heavily in recent weeks.

The positive trend in the London stock market could be tied to the promises of a better 2017, when the company aims to complete an expansion and boost production.

CEO Kai-Uwe Kessel is confident production will more than double in just two years. “Our main focus continues to be the completion of GTU3, which is on track to be delivered on budget in 2017, and which will more than double our production capacity,” Mr Kessel said in a statement.

In the first part of 2016, however, average daily production fell to around 36,000 barrels. Now the company says that it expects to boost output to 40,000 barrels/day by year end. Sustained low oil prices, together with production and sales hiccups, have hit revenues, down 35% in the first nine months of 2016 to $240m, compared to the same period last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

DHL sets up an office in Azerbaijan

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — German logistics giant DHL set up an office in Baku, part of its drive to build a transport hub in the South Caucasus. In May, state- owned Azerbaijan Railways and DHL signed an agreement to establish a logistics hub in Azerbaijan to transport goods from China to Turkey, Russia and Europe. In Azerbaijan, DHL will initially employ Turkish management.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)

Kazakhstan signs nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia

OCT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Saudi Arabia where he signed deals with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, including a deal to boost nuclear cooperation. Kazakhstan is one of the biggest producers of uranium in the world and has been trying to build up a market to sell to.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 302, published on Oct. 28 2016)