Tag Archives: business

Kazatomprom to reduce uranium output in 2019

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FEB. 1 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazatomprom, the world’s biggest uranium producer, said that it would continue to reduce its output in what it said was a “market-centric” approach. Uranium prices have been suppressed since a tsunami in Japan in 2011 knocked out a nuclear power station and worried governments who cancelled other nuclear energy projects. In 2018, Kazatomprom produced 21,705 tonnes of uranium, down 7% from 2017. The Kazakh government sold a 15% stake in Kazatomprom last year on the London Stock Exchange in its most high-profile IPO to date.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Kazakh government buys bankrupt Tsesnabank

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ALMATY/Feb. 7 (The Conway Bulletin) — — An obscure brokerage ultimately controlled by the Kazakh government bought a 99.5% stake in Tsesnabank, part of a deal that saved Kazakhstan’s second-biggest bank from bankruptcy.

The actual amount that Almaty-based First Heartland Securities paid for Tsesnabank has not been disclosed but it follows directly on from a 604b tenge ($1.6b) bailout agreed by the government this month. Tsesnabank had already been bailed out in September last year when the government’s bad debt fund bought $1.8b of debt linked to the agricultural sector.

First Heartland Securities is controlled by state-owned Nazarbayev University. This gives the government, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his family, total dominance over the Kazakh banking sector. His son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev, and daughter, Dinara Nazarbayeva, own Kazakhstan’s largest bank — Halyk Bank.

In a statement, First Heartland Securities said that under the terms of the deal it will inject 70b tenge ($185.8m) into Tsesnabank. Erke Nurkenov, First Heartland Securities’ chairman, said that Tsesnabank’s operations would not be impacted by the change in ownership.

“First Heartland Securities will continue to develop Tsesnabank and strengthen its position in the SME segment and work with individuals, primarily focusing on improving the quality and availability of service,” he said in a statement.

Pres. Nazarbayev’s ally Adilbek Zhaksybekov had owned Tsesnabank. He had been head of the Presidential Administration before resigning in September with a promise to sort out his ailing bank. He was replaced as Tsesnabank’s chairman by Shigeo Katsu, president of Nazarbayev University, and Bekzhan Pirmatov, formerly deputy CEO at First Heartland Bank, was appointed the Tsesnabank CEO.

Tsesnabank had been heavily exposed to the agriculture sector. Since a 2015 devaluation of the tenge, its debtors have struggled and the proportion of bad debt in its portfolio expanded rapidly.

Although analysts had warned of Tsesnabank’s collapse for months, it will still shake investor confidence.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Anglo Asian Mining drops 2019 output forecast

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FEB. 7 (The Conway Bulletin) — Anglo Asian Mining, the Azerbaijan-focused gold miner, said it expected gold output to fall to 65,000-67,500 ounces in 2019, down from 72,798 ounces in 2018. The announcement immediately triggered a fall in the price of Anglo Asian Mining’s share on the London Stock Exchange. It had been one of the top performers in 2018. >>See Markets on page 8 for more
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Paddy Power Betfair buys Georgia’s Adjarabet

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TBILISI/Feb. 2 (The Conway Bulletin) — — London-listed betting company Paddy Power Betfair bought a controlling 51% stake in Tbilisi-based Adjarabet for $115m and said it would buy the remaining 49% of the company within three years.

For Georgia and the South Caucasus, Paddy Power Betfair’s takeover of Adjarabet is a vote of confidence in their economies and revenue growth in their online gambling markets. Adjarabet is the market leader for online betting in Georgia, with roughly a 40% share of the market. In 2017 it expanded into the Armenian market.

Peter Jackson, Paddy Power Betfair CEO, said that the purchase was in-line with the company’s acquisition policy.

“Adjarabet’s leading brand presence and strong management team has established it as the clear number one in the fast-growing, regulated online Georgian market. Together with our Group’s technology and sports capabilities, we are confident that Adjarabet will be strongly positioned to continue to build on this success.”

Adjarabet is the trading name of Atlas, a Georgia-registered company that had been wholly owned by Tbilisi-based investment company City Loft. In 2018 it had revenues of 215m lari ($81m).

Adjarabet runs the full range of online gambling services from sports betting to virtual casinos. It takes its name from one of Georgia’s first casinos in the southwest region of Adjara.

Analysts said the Georgian and Armenia online gambling sectors were growing and were a safe investment for Paddy Power.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Wizz Air to expand routes from Georgia

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FEB. 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air said it would start up flights to Basel, Copenhagen, Brussels, Tallinn, Eindhoven and Bari from its base at Kutaisi in Georgia. Wizz Air is credited with bringing mass tourism from Europe to Georgia since it set up a base at Kutaisi in 2016. It already operates flights to 21 European destinations from Kutaisi.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

CASA-1000 to be delayev

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FEB. 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Afghan company building part of the CASA-1000 power-line that will link Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with Pakistan said the project will be delayed for eight months because of a delay in deals to build substations in Pakistan and Tajikistan. CASA-1000 is being funded primarily by the World Bank and it is considered a vital project for the economies of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It was meant to be finished at the end of 2018.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Italian ceramic maker to move production to Armenia

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FEB. 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — Italian Stoneware signed a deal to move part of its production for its Ceramisia brand to Armenia. Under the deal, ceramic pots will carry the slogan: “Designed in Italy, made in Armenia”. Media reports said that 150 jobs will be created in Armenia by the move.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Europe bans Turkmenistan Airline

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FEB. 5 (The Conway Bulletin) — The European Aviation Safety Agency banned Turkmenistan Airlines from flights to EU airports until it had proved that it meets international safety standards. The ban is a blow to Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov who has spent millions of dollars buying new jets for the airline. Turkmenistan Airlines flys from Birmingham and London Heathrow via Ashgabat to India. To cover the gap, it hired aircraft from a Spanish operator.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

Georgia’s m2 buys luxury hotel

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FEB. 6 (The Conway Bulletin) — The real estate unit of London-listed Georgia Capita, m2, said that it has bought the remaining 40% that it didn’t already own in a Tbilisi luxury hotel for $5.2m. m2 did not name the yet-to-be-built hotel but it did say that it would be the only luxury hotel in its collection.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019

KAZ Minerals reports higher production

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JAN. 24 (The Conway Bulletin) — KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused London-listed copper producer, announced results that showed production that was 294 kilotons of copper, 17% higher in 2018 than in 2017, pushing up its share price. The production figure was at the top end of guidance previously given by the company.
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>This story was first published in issue 398 of The Conway Bulletin on Jan. 31 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019