Tag Archives: business

Turkmenistan plans to change status of cotton processing plants

JULY 20 2021 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan is planning to change the status of its cotton processing plants in Mary, one of its bigger cities, and elsewhere in the country to open joint-stock companies, media reported. It is not clear why the Turkmen government wants to make the change, although the Trend news agency said that it was an important step towards modernising the plants and attracting investment.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Putin wants more aviation cooperation with Central Asia

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JULY 20 2021 (The Bulletin) — In a clear pitch for Russia’s aviation business, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin said that he wanted to deepen Russia’s cooperation in the aviation sector with other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Mr Putin was speaking at the opening of the MAKS 2021, air show in Zhukovsky, Russia. The EAEU includes Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan agrees deal with OPEC to increase oil production

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JULY 19 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan said that it had agreed a deal with OPEC to allow it to increase its oil production quota from August. Although not part of OPEC, Kazakhstan, with Russia and Azerbaijan, had agreed to go along with oil output cuts that OPEC set early in 2020 to try to push up depressed oil prices. From August, Kazakhstan will produce 1.491m barrels of oil per day, up by 16,000 barrels. This is still below its benchmark November 2018 levels.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan bans grain exports as drought worsens

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ALMATY/JULY 19 2021 (The Bulletin) — With a drought that has destroyed crops and wiped out livestock in much of Western Kazakhstan continuing, the Kazakh government said that it was limiting the export of barley and wheat which are used for animal feed (July 19). The initial ban on the export of barley and wheat is for six months although analysts have said it could last longer.

Activists have criticised the government for not doing enough to help farmers deal with the drought and have been posting pictures of dead and heavily emaciated horses in the arid west of the country.

Earlier this month, Kazakhstan declared the drought an emergency and Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev then fired Saparkhan Omarov, the agriculture minister, for failing to help farmers.

Kazakhstan is the largest grain producer in the Central Asia region.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijani banks say C.Bank imposes currency controls

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BAKU/JULY 17 2021 (The Bulletin) — Commercial banks in Azerbaijan are limiting foreign currency sales to try to prevent a fall in the value of the manat currency, the Bloomberg news agency reported.

It quoted several residents of Baku who said that they had tried to change manat into US dollars at commercial banks but had been told that the Central Bank had banned it. Azerbaijani media has been reporting on currency exchange limits for much of the year.

In an emailed response to Bloomberg’s questions on the blocking of foreign currency sales, the Central Bank was quoted as denying that this was a formal policy and that it instead promoted a “liberal” currency exchange.

But the Central Bank has maintained a tight peg on the value of the manat for the past five years, ever since it was bounced into two consecutive devaluations in 2015, linked to the oil price collapse of 2014, which damaged its reputation for competence.

Both the Georgian lari and the Armenian lari lost around 15% of their value at the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, and its associated lockdowns, last year. By contrast the Azerbaijani Central Bank maintained the value of the manat at 1.6995/$1. Analysts have said, though, that the pressure to devalue has been growing.

In January 2016, shortly after devaluing the manat for the second time, the Central Bank also brought in rules which temporarily stopped currency traders from buying or selling currencies.

>>See P.8 for currency market news

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Georgia’s housing market is booming, says Colliers

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JULY 16 2021 (The Bulletin) — Propelled by pent-up pandemic demand, Georgia’s housing market is picking up and is pushing sales to new highs, the Toronto-headquartered Colliers International said in a report. It said that in June this year, 3,378 apartments were sold in Tbilisi, an increase of 10% on the same period in 2019. Analysts have said that Georgia’s economy has recovered well from the pandemic.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Georgia cuts cost of casino licence in half

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JULY 16 2021 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s government said that licences to run casinos in Tbilisi would be halved from 5m lari ($1.6m) to 2.5m lari until January to offset some of the costs built up during the coronavirus lockdown. Opposition MPs have said that the government is trying to curry favour from businesses ahead of important municipal elections this year.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

TBC Bank says to reimpose Central Bank’s buffer requirements

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JULY 16 2021 (The Bulletin) — In an indication of its robust health and quick recovery from the pandemic, London-listed Georgian bank TBC said that it was voluntarily reinstating the Georgian Central Bank’s buffer rules. This buffer, the minimum proportion of assets that banks were expected to hold, was ditched last year to allow banks more flexibility to deal with the pandemic. TBC Bank said that its current capital ratio was 13.04%.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Air Astana returns to profit

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ALMATY/JULY 15 2021 (The Bulletin) — — Air Astana, the biggest airline in the region, said that it had returned to profit in the first six months of 2021 after recording a coronavirus pandemic-linked loss in 2020.

The airline, which is 51% owned by Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund and 49% owned by Britain’s BAE Systems, now includes FlyArystan, its low-budget brand.

Commenting on the results, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster said that strong demand on domestic routes had gone some way to making up for a continued drop in international travel.

“Strong market growth and a preference for air travel over long rail journeys have transformed Kazakhstan into the world’s fastest growing domestic market, with 31% passenger growth over 2019, undoubtedly stimulated by FlyArystan’s ultra-low fares,” he said in a statement.

Like other airlines in the region, Air Astana had shifted its focus over the past few years to promoting itself as a link between Europe and Asia. The coronavirus has undermined this strategy and Air Astana said that although some tourist routes to the Maldives, the Red Sea, Montenegro, Dubai, Turkey, Georgia and Sri Lanka were popular and high yield, international capacity was still 45% below 2019 levels.

Central Asia is also facing a third wave of coronavirus infections which is forcing countries to lockdown and, possibly to close borders. This, Mr Foster said, would hurt Air Astana.

“Covid case numbers are again moving in the wrong direction in Central Asia and many of the countries to where we are flying. Whether the recovery will be sustainable will come down to a race between Covid variants and vaccine take-up,” he said.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kyrgyzstan hosts Nomads Fashion Festival

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BISHKEK/JULY 15 2021 (The Bulletin) — Ignoring rising coronavirus infections, which some commentators have said could overwhelm the country’s health system, Kyrgyzstan hosted the inaugural World Nomads Fashion Festival.

The event, held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon Ata on the shores of the mountain-ringed Lake Issyk-Kul, was designed to increase the profile of regional fashion designers, explained organiser Nazira Begim.

“It is important that the ‘Made in Kyrgyzstan’ brand attracts the attention of leading fashion houses and helps it to develop cooperation with them,” she said

“I am sure that in the search for new solutions, famous designers will be interested in elements of national clothing styles.”

For Kyrgyzstan, nomads, their traditions, values and culture, have become an important part of its international branding. Cholpon Ata also hosted the first three editions of the International Nomad Games, in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Organisers of the World Nomad Fashion Festival said that designers from over 20 countries used the festival to showcase their work, which focused on flowing robes, baggy trousers and loose-fitting jackets. Facemasks were, notably, absent.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021