JAN. 11 2023 (The Bulletin) — London-listed Steppe Cement said that high inflation in Kazakhstan would hit its profit in 2022, forcing its share price to drop by 15%. The announcement was significant because it was one of the first times that business has admitted that high inflation in Kazakhstan, at 20%, is hurting it.
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— This story was published in issue 532 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Jan. 16 2023
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JUNE 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — Prices for cement in Kazakhstan have risen because of a boom in house construction, media reported. Industry minister Beibut Atamkulov said that the price of cement was up by 30-40%. The Kazakh government has driven a house building boom, in part to help its economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Cement use has soared across the region. Uzbekistan doubled its cement use in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2020.
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— This story was published in issue 487 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on June 9 2021
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021
JUNE 23 (The Bulletin) — Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov approved the expansion of two cement factories, suggesting that despite the impact of the spread of the coronavirus, Turkmenistan would continue to construct new buildings. The sites will be built by privately-owned companies but will be owned by the Turkmen state.
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— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
FEB. 26 2020 (The Bulletin) — In 2019, constructors in Tajikistan built 24% more buildings than they did in 2018, Tajik media reported. Tajikistan, and especially Dushanbe, is going through something of a construction boom, fueled by cheap loans from China.
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— This story was first published in issue 438 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020
DEC. 28 2019 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev officially opened a new Chinese-built chemical production complex near Navoi in the centre of the country. Mr Mirziyoyev said that the plant had “changed Uzbekistan’s dependence on imports of PVC, caustic soda, and created a large number of new jobs”. It also further cements China’s influence, in business and politics, in Uzbekistan.
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— This story was first published in issue 433 of the weekly Bulletin on Jan. 13 2020
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NOV. 27 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s government is considering introducing a law that would force cement producers to measure and monitor their air pollution. The move is an indication that governments in the region may start to take more seriously the issue of worsening air quality. Other the past few years, Central Asia’s cities have become choked with car exhaust fumes and factory smog. Feeding demand from a booming construction industry, Uzbekistan’s cement sector is one of its fastest-growing industries.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
FEB. 7 (The Conway Bulletin) — China’s Huaxin Cement said it will construct a new cement factory in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region. The plant will cost $150m to build and have a capacity of 1.2m tonnes per year. The new plant is expected to start operations in December. Several companies have built cement factories in Central Asia over the past few years.
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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
JAN. 30 (The Conway Bulletin) – China’s Gezhouba Group Cement Co has said it will open a new plant in Kazakhstan’s Kyzlorda region this year, media reported. Azernews quoted the company’s head, Lee Min, as saying that sales would be concentrated in the former Soviet Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.
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>>This story was first published in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin
JUNE 2 2017 (The Bulletin) — Trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan has increased considerably over the past few years, Tajik transport minister Khudoyorzoda Khudoyor said on a visit to Kabul. This is important for Western strategists who have tried to promote trade between Central Asia and Afghanistan and Pakistan as way to impose a lasting peace in the region. Specifically, Mr Khudoyor said that Tajikistan had exported $74m of goods to Afghanistan in the first four months of the year, including $11m worth of cement.
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(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)
MARCH 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — China’s Anhui Conch Cement Co. said that it wanted to invest in a 2m tonne/year cement plant in Uzbekistan because of the improve economic conditions in the country. Cement production has become big business in Uzbekistan with Chinese, Turkish and Russian companies all setting up production there, but if Anhui Conch did build a 2m tonne capacity plant it would be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the country.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)