Tag Archives: business

Norway police arrests Ex-VimpelCom CEO over Uzbek bribes

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Norway arrested Jo Lunder, the former CEO of Russian telecoms company VimpelCom, in connection with alleged bribe paying in Uzbekistan, further damaging the reputation of foreign telecoms companies operating in Central Asia.

A few days earlier, Norway’s industry minister, Monica Maeland, sacked Svein Aaser as Telenor’s chairman over the corruption probe. She said that Telenor had been handling an internal investigation into the case badly.

“I no longer have confidence in Telenor’s chairman,” Ms Maeland said in a statement.

VimpelCom is alleged to have paid millions of dollars in bribes to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of President Islam Karimov, for mobile licences in Uzbekistan. Swedish TeliaSonera is also being investigated for bribe-paying.

In October, Telenor said it wanted to sell its 33% stake in VimpelCom, effectively cutting the company’s operations in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Kazakh president seals deals in London

NOV. 3/4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev flew to Britain and France to sign a series of headline grabbing deals and pose for useful photo-ops.

In London, Mr Nazarbayev met with PM David Cameron and the Queen. The two sides signed 40 deals for £3b ($4.6b).

Importantly, Mr Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter Dariga, a deputy PM, accompanied him on the trip and was part of the official photo with the Queen. In Soviet and post-Soviet iconography, featuring in official photographs sends a strong signal and being photographed next to her father at an official engagement with the Queen will have boosted any presidential ambitions that Ms Nazarbayeva harbours.

In Paris, Mr Nazarbayev met with President Françoise Hollande and signed another set of deals worth over $5b, according to state media in Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Air Liquide and Kazakh refineries cooperate

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — French company Air Liquide will form a joint venture with Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazmunaigas to increase production of industrial gases at the country’s refineries. The agreement, signed during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to France, will improve the performance of Kazakhstan’s three refineries at Atyrau, Pavlodar and Shymkent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Georgian winemakers feel Russian recession pinch

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s National Wine Agency said exports of wine fell by 43% in Jan-Oct 2015, a consequence of the economic downturn in Russia and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

More positively, exports to Europe and the US increased significantly and, so far this year, Georgia has sold 1.8m bottles of wine to China – an 87% increase.

“China is one of the most strategically important markets for Georgia,” the Agency said in a statement.

Russia remains Georgia’s largest market, although compared to the same period last year, exports have shrunk by 54% to 14.6m bottles. Kazakhstan outpaced Ukraine ranking second, while China jumped to fourth place.

Earlier this year, the Georgian National Wine Agency predicted a 50% fall in exports this year, as economic and political crises bite its most important customers.

Despite the fall in sales, the growth in new markets for Georgian wine should cheer its biggest wine producers — Badagoni, TelianiValley and Tbilvino.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Roxi output drops in Kazakhstan

NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Roxi Petroleum said technical issues in one of its main new wells in the BNG area in western Kazakhstan have slowed production. It didn’t give any more details. In a trading update, Roxi also said it would drill a new well nearby for $8.5m to speed up the beginning of operations. Roxi showed stagnant operational results in H1 2015.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Stock market: Roxi Petroleum, KAZ Minerals

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Stock markets saw commodities-focused companies lose terrain this week, despite a brief surge in oil prices above $50/barrel on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan-focused oil company Roxi Petroleum lost 16% in one week closing at 7.88p, perhaps driven down by technical issues slowing down its drilling operations at the BNG contract area in the western part of the country.

After peaking at 122.4p on Tuesday, mining company KAZ Minerals shares were down 8.5% to 105.7p on Friday. KAZ Minerals used to be called Kazakhmys.

In Toronto, Centerra Gold shares lost 3.5% to 7.15 Canadian dollars, continuing a 3-week slump following debates on the formation of a new government in Kyrgyzstan. The Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan is Centerra’s main asset and the company is a major taxpayer in the country. Centerra has said, though, that production at Centerra would be down this year on earlier forecasts.

A new government has now been formed in Kyrgyzstan, hopefully giving Centerra a stable partner to work with.

Shares in Bank of Georgia were down 4.5% to £19.11 on Friday.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

EBRD raises Azerbaijan’s growth

NOV. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The EBRD doubled Azerbaijan’s economic growth predictions to 3% this year, an upgrade that will come as a relief for the the government which has been trying to cope with an economic downturn. It is reliant on oil as its main foreign currency earner. Oil prices have fallen 50% in the past 18 months.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Kazakh and Swedish telecoms form joint venture

NOV. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Swedish telecoms company Tele2 and Kazakhstan’s state-owned Altel said they will form a joint venture. The new joint venture will start operations in 2016 and will hold exclusive rights to the country’s 4G network.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

JOGMEC explores Kazakhstan

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOG- MEC) signed a deal with local authorities in Kazakhstan to explore for rare earth materials in the Karaganda and Kostanai regions. Earlier this year, the Japanese ministry of industry closed a deal to build a rare earths production facility in the north of the country. Kazakhstan holds one of the world’s largest reserves of rare earths.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Flydubai flies to Kazakhstan

NOV. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Low-cost airline Flydubai launched its first flight to Astana, expanding its routes in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Astana will be the third destination in Kazakhstan for Flydubai, a company owned by the Government of Dubai. In Kazakhstan, Flydubai already flies to Almaty and Shymkent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)