NOV. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Alliance Bank has completed a $1.2b debt restructuring deal and will now merge with Temirbank and ForteBank to become one of the biggest lenders in the country, Reuters reported. The government bought a stake in Alliance Bank in 2009. Temirbank and ForteBank are owned by billionaire Bulat Utemuratov.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)
NOV. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s energy transport monopoly KazTransGas regained control of its Georgian subsidiary, KazTransGas-Tbilisi. Georgia had effectively expropriated the company in 2009 over unpaid debt. KazTransGas- Tbilisi owns a 2,400km gas distribution system in Georgia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Italian energy company ENI said it had signed a deal with Turkmenistan to extend its operations in the country.
The deal is important for ENI because it has been criticised for its operations in Kazakhstan, particularly its running of the delayed and over budget Kashagan field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. By extending its presence in Turkmenistan, something that the company has been working on all year, ENI underlines its commitment to Central Asia.
At a signing ceremony alongside Italian PM Matteo Renzi, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that ENI had agreed a deal to extend one onshore production sharing agreement and three offshore exploration areas.
“We have come to a conclusion that there must be an active investment ideology present in our countries’ relations,” he said without giving any more terms of the deals.
China is Turkmenistan’s main gas client but Europe is also becoming more important. Earlier this month it signed a deal with a consortium building a pipeline from Baku to central Europe. This pipeline will deliver Turkmen gas to central Europe for the first time.
Turkmenistan is estimated to hold the world’s fourth largest gas reserves.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Canadian miner Stans Energy said Kyrgyzstan was trying to revoke its licences for two rare earth mines that it owns. The row is part of a long-running dispute between Stans Energy and Kyrgyzstan. Stans Energy has said that it will quit Kyrgyzstan altogether, dealing another blow to the country’s investor image.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have set up a company to develop the so called TAPI gas pipeline that they plan to build, media reported. Establishing a company is another step towards building the 1,800km pipeline. All four countries own an equal share in the company.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The falling value of the Russian rouble is hitting vital wine exports to Russia, the head of the Armenian wine-making union, Avag Harutyunyan, told media. Russia is the biggest market for Armenian wine and brandy. Mr Harutyunyan said that Armenia would export 30% less wine this year than last year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – n a rare public protest against the Uzbek authorities, students at Uzbekistan’s National University published an open letter on a website which said they had been forced to pick cotton during the harvest season. Campaigners around the world have criticised Uzbekistan for using forced labour in its cotton harvest.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
I
NOV. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan imported 52,000 cars in Jan-Oct this year, a drop of 38.5% from the same period in 2013, media reported quoting the state statistics agency. The drop is likely attributable to a combination of weaker economics and new emissions regulations.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Ata Meken party, one of three parties in the ruling government, said it supported nationalising the Kumtor gold mine. Kumtor is the focus of a row between Kyrgyzstan and its Canadian partner Centerra Gold. Ata Meken may have chosen this populist policy to bolster itself ahead of a parliamentary election next year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)
NOV. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to reduce the threat of sabotage, Russia’s energy ministry asked Kazakhstan to use a pipeline through Ukraine to export its crude oil.
The offer was first made in September, but was only reported by Reuters this month when the state-owned energy transport company, KazTransOil, called for local companies to participate in the bid. Although volumes have not yet been agreed, the agreement should allow Kazakh oil to run through the Druzhba (friendship) pipeline, built in 1964, whose Southern branch terminates in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
By agreeing to help fill the Druzhba pipeline, Kazakhstan is stepping directly into the ongoing civil war in Ukraine and the surrounding proxy conflict between the West and Russia.
For Russia, the benefits are fairly obvious. It wants to retain some use for the major Druzhba pipeline and would be able to charge Kazakhstan rent for using it. Russia would also reduce its risk exposure to the pipeline.
For Kazakhstan, the benefits are less obvious. Taking on the route is a major geopolitical headache.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)