OCT. 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan is the most difficult former Soviet state to do business in, the World Bank said in an annual report. It ranked Uzbekistan in 146th position, up slightly from last year, alongside Tanzania and Nigeria. The biggest problem with doing business in Uzbekistan, the World Bank said, were its tightly controlled borders.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 24 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The consortium developing the giant Kashagan oil field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea halted production to fix a gas leak. The shutdown will delay by a few weeks the commercial start of oil production that had been scheduled for this month.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200m loan to help build houses in rural Uzbekistan, media reported. ADB’s loan underscores the need for better housing outside Uzbekistan’s main cities. The loan is part of $500m tranche agreed between ADB and Uzbekistan in 2011.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Profit at the company which runs Almaty International Airport for the first nine months of the year hit $33m, up 65% from the same period last year, media reported. A group of investors linked to Kazakhstan’s business elite owns Almaty International Airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Six months after the bankruptcy of Armenia’s national airline Armavia, Air Armenia began to service its first scheduled route between Yerevan and Moscow. Air Armenia, set up in 2003 as a private air transport company, is looking to fill the void that Armavia’s bankruptcy left.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armaments is big business in Azerbaijan. The government has increased its defence budget rapidly over the past decade and also built up a domestic industry. Azerbaijan media said that its defence manufacturing sector had grown by 250% in the first nine months of the year.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s EuroChem, one of the world’s largest fertiliser companies, said it had begun phosphate mining in southern Kazakhstan. EuroChem is controlled by Russian businessman Andrei Melnichenko who is considered to be close to the Kremlin. EuroChem operations are expected to create hundreds of jobs.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted against a deal with Toronto-listed Centerra Gold to split ownership of the Kumtor gold mine 50-50. Instead, parliamentarians want a new agreement which gives the country a majority 67% stake in Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan’s single biggest industrial asset.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fuel shortages are spreading across Uzbekistan, including in Tashkent, media reported. Photos reportedly showing drivers queuing for fuel in the Uzbek capital are important because it had previously been less effected by shortages than the rest of the country. The Uzbek government denies there are fuel supply problems.
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(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)
OCT. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — It was a short message, sent via the WhatsApp and Viber instant messaging systems, but it still had a powerful effect.
On Oct. 25 subscribers to the Beeline brand in Uzbekistan received a message which said the authorities had decided to revoke its licence.
Russian mobile operator VimpelCom owns the Beeline brand which it operates in Uzbekistan through its Unitel subsidiary.
The message, although quickly rejected as a fake by Beeline, sent its clients scurrying to its main rival, Ucell, which is operated by Sweden’s TeliaSonera through the locally registered company COSCOM.
It’s bad timing for VimpelCom which is already facing an uphill battle to survive in Uzbekistan.
Uzbek tax inspectors have launched an investigation into its affairs. It has also run into conflict with the mobile regulators who previously turned down its request to expand its coverage.
Last year, VimpelCom’s main Russian rival MTS left Uzbekistan, complaining of harassment from the authorities.
The fake message and the panic it spread among subscribers would have damaged Beeline just when it needs to appear strong.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 158, published on Oct. 30 2013)