NOV. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a boost to Tajikistan’s economy, its government said that a subsidiary of Coca-Cola planned to build a $30m bottling plant in the country, AP news agency reported. AP’s report said that Coca-Cola Icecek was potentially prepared to double its investment within a decade.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Media quoted Sahatmurad Mamedov, chairman of state energy company Turkmengaz, denying that Turkmenistan had cut gas supplies to Iran because of a pricing dispute, as reported last week by Iranian media. Instead Mr Mamedov said gas had been stopped to fix the pipeline and that the flow had now re-started.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
NOV. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Turkmen official told Reuters that production at the world’s second largest gas field, Galkynysh, would begin next year. Galkynysh was confirmed as the world’s second largest gas field last year and, when production begins, will cement Turkmenistan’s status as one of the region’s most important energy producers.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
NOV. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A senior official at SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company, hinted that the BP-lead group developing the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea would be expected to invest more cash into the project to maintain production, media reported. Azerbaijan has complained about below-expected production rates at the field.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
Nov. 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Local media quoted sources in the Uzbek government as saying that the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will finance part of a $168m scheme to modernise two hydropower plants near Tashkent. The IDB has not confirmed the finance deal which some media said would total $100m.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
Nov. 11 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Central Asia has increasingly become an economic battlefield with neighbouring nations competing for influence. China, Russia, the EU and the US all have major interests in the region. Now Japan has made a relatively bold move.
At a meeting in Tokyo with officials from the five Central Asia states, Japan’s foreign minister, Koichiro Gemba, pledged to invest $700m in the region.
Mr Gemba was vague on detail. He said that Japan’s main aim was to promote regional stability which would help promote peace in neighbouring Afghanistan.
He might be right of course, but no doubt Japan also has its eye on the region’s abundance of natural resources, in particular Kazakhstan’s supply of rare earth metals. These metals are needed in hi-tech industries, just the sort that sustains Japan’s economy.
Many countries have been vigorously searching for supplies of rare earths since China, which had produced around 90% of the world’s supply, said in 2010 it would reduce exports.
Earlier this month a joint Japanese-Kazakh plant opened in northern Kazakhstan producing rare earths. Japan is its main market. Japan’s pledge to invest $700m in Central Asia is likely to be connected to accessing the region’s natural resources.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
Nov. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Showing confidence in Georgia’s retail market, the EBRD said it had agreed to lend Smart Supermarkets, a relatively new chain of local convenience stores, $26m. The loan will be used to build a distribution centre and open 28 new shops across the country, mainly in residential areas.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
Nov. 14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iran accused neighbouring Turkmenistan of cutting off gas supplies because of a contractual dispute, media reported. Iran relies on Turkmenistan to pump gas to its northern regions. A Turkmen official denied that it had cut gas supplies to Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Uzbek court overturned a ruling ordering the state to confiscate the local assets of Russian mobile operator MTS. The surprise ruling could allow MTS’s local subsidiary, Uzdunrobita, to resume operations. Uzdunrobita stopped operations in August after prosecutors accused it of a series of tax violations.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
NOV. 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kcell, Kazakhstan’s biggest mobile operator, plans to list on stock exchanges in London and Almaty by the end of 2012, media quoted sources as saying. Swedish mobile operator TeliaSonera is the main shareholder in Kcell.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)