Tag Archives: copper

Kazakhstan lifts moratorium on subsoil licences

APRIL 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kazakh government announced that it had lifted a moratorium on granting more licences to subsoil developers, underscoring the sector’s importance for Kazakhstan’s future development.

Minerals and energy have been the backbone of Kazakhstan’s economic boom since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and that is not likely to change.

Global demand for metals may have dropped but lifting the ban, which was introduced in 2008 to allow a smooth introduction of new tax codes, will still spur foreign investor interest in Kazakhstan. The country simply holds too much untapped mineral wealth to be ignored.

And the Kazakh minister for new technologies and industry, Asset Issekeshev, immediately invited foreign companies to apply for licences at a tender in May.

Most of the $170b foreign investment in Kazakhstan since 1991 has been in the energy sector although senior government officials told Reuters the emphasis now would be on metals and non-hydrocarbon minerals.

To further encourage this, the government suggested that miners may be exempt from VAT.

ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 132, published on April 22 2013)

As global finances wobble, Kazakh stocks drop hard

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AUG. 10 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Attention may have focused on Western Europe and the US but Central Asia’s biggest financial centre, Kazakhstan, did not escape the turmoil that has gripped world financial markets over the last week.

A ratings downgrade for the United States and worries about eurozone debt have spooked investors. There has been a flight to safety — gold and the Swiss Franc have boomed — as investors have become more wary of risk. Not good news for emerging markets, then.

Tellingly, Kazakhstan has been one of the worst hit stock markets in the world. Between Aug. 1 – 9 Bloomberg data showed the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) lost about 22% of its value.

To throw in a few numbers, KASE — which includes the state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas, miner ENRC, copper producer Kazakhmys and the country’s biggest banks — is now valued at around 63% of its mid-February value. Many of the companies listed on KASE have their main listing on the London Stock Exchange where the drop was far less dramatic.

KASE recovered 7% of its value on Aug. 10 but it hasn’t been this low since the start of March 2009 when the world was tentatively starting to emerge from the global financial slowdown.

Of course volatile oil prices play their part in pushing KASE up and down but so does general investor sentiment and they worry about emerging market risk.

KASE may be a relatively minor stock market but it is still a decent weather mast. That said, emerging markets with their potential for high growth rates will always attract investors.

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(News report from Issue No. 52, published on Aug. 10 2011)

Kazakhstan’s Kazakhmys eyes Hong Kong listing

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MAY 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh copper producer Kazakhmys has won regulatory approval for a secondary listing in Hong Kong in June, media reported. Global companies are choosing to list in Hong Kong to improve their links to China. Kazakhmys is already listed in London.

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(News report from Issue No. 40, published on May 17 2011)

Kazakhstan’s Kazakhmys plans Hong Kong listing

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JAN. 26 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh miner Kazakhmys wants to raise $600m through a secondary listing in Hong Kong this year, media quoted unnamed sources as saying. Kazakhmys is already listed in London. In 2010, the Kazakh government increased its stake in Kazakhmys to 26%.

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(News report from Issue No. 25, published on Jan. 31 2011)

IMF assesses Central Asia and S.Caucasus

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OCT. 28 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Underdeveloped banking systems, a high rate of non-performing loans and inflexible exchange rates are potential brakes on economic recovery in Central Asia and the south Caucasus, the IMF said.

With their reliance on neighbouring Russia and global commodity prices, the global financial downturn in 2009 was tough for the economies of Central Asia and the south Caucasus. This year, with Russia and commodity prices recovering and the impact of domestic fiscal stimulus taking hold, the IMF predicts steady economic growth throughout the regions, other than for Kyrgyzstan.

Remittances from workers in Russia, so important for the poorer Central Asian and Caucasus countries, grew by 26% in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

The IMF said that inflation was generally under control at around 8%, although in Uzbekistan it was nearer 11%. For the IMF, the regions’ banking sectors are a concern. In Kazakhstan, the IMF pointed out, non-performing loans total nearly 26% of all loans.

IMF’s GDP % growth figures (2010 and 2011 are predictions):

Armenia +13.7 (2007); +6.9 (2008); -14.2 (2009); +4.0 (2010); +4.6 (2011)

Azerbaijan +25.0 (2007); +10.8 (2008); +9.3 (2009); +4.3 (2010); +1.8 (2011)

Georgia +12.3 (2007); +2.3 (2008); -3.9 (2009); +5.5 (2010); +4.0 (2011)

Kazakhstan +8.9 (2007); +3.2 (2008); +1.2 (2009); +5.4 (2010); +5.1 (2011)

Kyrgyzstan +8.5 (2007); +8.4 (2008); +2.3 (2009); -3.5 (2010); +7.1 (2011)

Tajikistan +7.8 (2007); +7.9 (2008); +3.4 (2009); +5.5 (2010); +5.0 (2011)

Turkmenistan +11.6 (2007); +10.5 (2008); +6.1 (2009); +9.4 (2010); +11.5 (2011)

Uzbekistan +9.5 (2007); +9.0 (2008); +8.1 (2009); +8.0 (2010); +7.0 (2011)

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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)

Kazakhstan buys stake in Kazakhmys

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OCT. 5 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kazakh government raised its stake in Kazakhstan miner Kazakhmys, listed in London, to over 26% by buying 11% of the company from chairman Vladimir Kim in a deal estimated at over $1.3b. In a report this year, lobby group Global Witness linked Mr Kim to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)

Kazakhstan’s ENRC buys Brazilian miner

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SEPT. 21 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Showing its appetite for foreign expansion, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the London-listed Kazakh mining company, bought the 50% stake of Brazilian iron ore mine Bahia Minerals it didn’t already own for $670m. ENRC is one of the world’s biggest ferroalloy producers.

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(News report from Issue No. 8, published on Sept. 23 2010)