Tag Archives: currency

Exchange booth volumes in Kazakhstan

JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The volume of sales of US dollars at kiosks in Kazakhstan rose by $600m in December to $1.7b, media quoted government data as showing. The data underlines the lack of confidence that Kazakhs have in the tenge. It has lost half its value in the past 12 months, a drop linked to a fall in oil prices. The 52% rise in US dollar sales in December was likely due to a sudden rise in tenge’s value.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Kyrgyz CBank should cut spending, says IMF

FEB. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank needs to slow its interventions in the currency market in order to avoid depleting its reserves, the IMF said at the end of a mission to Bishkek. The IMF had been on a fact-finding mission ahead of a meeting in April when Kyrgyzstan hopes to extend its borrowing. Its Central Bank has been buying som heavily to support its value.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

S+p downgrades Azerbaijan’s debt status

JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Azerbaijan’s debt status to junk and said that its economy would contract for the first time in a decade. The downgrade from BBB- to BB+ comes off the back of a 35% collapse in the value of the Azerbaijani manat, growing internal dissatisfaction and concern over disappearing jobs. Azerbaijan is reliant on oil exports for revenues.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Georgian lari hits all-time low

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Georgian currency, the lari, hit an all-time low of 2.47/$1, despite various interventions by the Central Bank to prop it up. Its previous low had been set in 1999, providing context for just how much value currencies in the South Caucasus and Central Asia have lost. The lari is down around 25% from a year earlier.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Turkmen President holds currency control talks

JAN. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said he wants the government to keep a stricter control on the currency market, hinting that the country might soon revise its monetary policy. Mr Berdymukhamedov has also voiced his dissatisfaction of a number of government officials in the past few weeks, a sign of a possible government reshuffle.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Currency booths in Kazakh city

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Currency exchange booths in Almaty refused to change US dollars after the price of oil started to rise slightly, highlighting the fears and weaknesses of the Kazakh economy. Like the rest of the region, Kazakhstan’s currency has slumped with the decline in oil price. Unlike some of its neighbours, Kazakhstan hasn’t imposed heavy currency controls.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Kazakh currency rate rise

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Central Bank increased interest rates on tenge held bank deposits by four percentage points to 14% in an attempt to defend the value of its currency. The Central Bank has maintained different interest rates on tenge and US dollar deposits for several years. US dollar deposits now earn interest of 2%, down from 3%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Inflation doubles in Kazakhstan

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Inflation in Kazakhstan in 2015 measured 13.6%, nearly double the rate of 2014, media reported quoting the state statistics agency. The final tally confirms that prices increased rapidly after a tenge devaluation in August. The tenge has lost around 55% of its value since Feb. 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Azerbaijan imposes capital barriers

JAN. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan imposed some of the most stringent currency controls in the region to try and halt the slide in its manat currency and to stop a feared wave of capital outflows as the economic storm that has hit the region strengthens.

The most draconian measure was an immediate 20% tax on purchases of property, securities and other investments in foreign currencies.

“People should know that the central bank, other government agencies are in a position to prevent the manat from falling sharply,” Azerbaijan’s Central Bank chief, Elman Rustamov, said in televised comments clearly aimed at shoring up public support. Last week sporadic clashes broke out in regional towns between angry protesters and police.

The Azerbaijani manat has lost 50% of its value in six months and people have lost confidence in the country’s financial system.

Mr Rustamov also said that the Central Bank held enough currency reserves to support the manat, despite a series of reports which suggested that it was running out of money after trying to defend its value unsuccessfully throughout 2015, and that several smaller banks would soon have to merge.

Other measures unveiled by Mr Rustamov to try to boost public support in the manat included allowing people to pay back loans of up to $5,000 at the manat/$ exchange rate prior to the last devaluation on Dec. 21 and cancelling tax on manat bank deposits and dividends.

Azerbaijan has been one of the hardest hit by the economic slowdown that has hit the region. Its economy is dependent on oil which has sunk in price to around $28/barrel from around $115/barrel in July 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Kazakh tenge depreciation hits revenues at Air Astana

ALMATY, JAN. 18 2016, (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s national airline Air Astana reported a 21% drop in revenues in 2015, a sign that the economic downturn is hurting state- owned companies.

Air Astana was not explicit about exactly what triggered the sharp drop in revenue. In a press release, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster said: “A sharp fall in revenue was more than compensated for by significant cost savings, including, though not limited to, jet fuel savings.”

Revenue in 2015 dropped to $738m. Net profit rose to $47.4m from $19.5m.

An Air Astana spokesperson told The Bulletin that more explanation on why revenues had fallen so sharply would be given in a full year report to be published over the next few weeks.

The suspicion is that the depreciation of the tenge has hit Air Astana hard. Its income is mainly in tenge and its costs in US dollars or euros. The tenge has lost 50% of its value over the past five months.

Air Astana is supposed to lease 7 aircraft from Netherlands-based AerCap, a deal priced in euros. The fall in the tenge makes the deal expensive.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)