JAN. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The price of wheat in Kyrgyzstan has reached a record high because of a poor crop last year, high energy prices and the falling value of the Kyrgyz som, media quoted media reported. Kyrgyz households are sensitive to food price fluctuations as they spend around 60% of their income on food.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015
>>Pressure building on the C.Bank as lari hits 10-year lows>>
JAN. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s economic policymakers have said that they will not intervene to halt the fall in the value of the lari currency.
Pressure has been building on the Central Bank as the lari has lost 7% of its value against the US dollar this year, adding to a 12% loss at the end of 2014.
But economy minister, Giorgi Kadagidze, said that the Central Bank would not start spending its reserves to prop up the currency.
The lari is now trading at over 2 to the US dollar. This is the cheapest that the lari has been for over a decade.
The big worry for Georgian economic decision makers is that inflation will start creeping up.
At its last meeting on interest rates in December, the Central Bank elected to keep the key rate unchanged. The Central Bank chief, Giorgi Kadagidze, said that if there was any hint of inflationary pressure appearing he would raise interest rates.
Georgia had been less affected by the turmoil in Russia’s economy and the drop in oil prices over the past six months. Clearly the poor economic data is beginning to catch up with it.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-based energy company Dragon Oil said it would reduce its capital expenditure in Turkmenistan by 26% this year because of the decrease in oil global price, media reported. Dragon Oil’s slashing of its capital expenditure budget in Turkmenistan highlights the pressures that energy-focused economies are under.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Building work in Armenia fell by 4.3% last year compared to 2013, data released by the national statistics agency showed. The construction sector is an important part of the Armenian economy and its decline highlights the problems faced by business as it deals with the fallout from Russia’s economic downturn.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to boost exports, lawmakers in Armenia have drafted a bill to cut export profit tax to 2% from 20% for large exporters. The government says the tax cut will create jobs. Its opponents say that the tax cut will dent competition and simply help large companies retain their dominant market positions.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign investment in Uzbekistan is again under the spotlight after Russian news agency Regnum quoted the British ambassador in Tashkent, George Edgar, saying that companies were having to quit the country because of various problems with the business environment.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>Tajikistan is heavily linked to Russia economy>>
JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan is actively considering applying for membership of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, Belarusian news agency BelTA quoted Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, as saying at a meeting of the Russian parliament.
This is the first major statement this year that Tajikistan still intends to join the trade bloc. It’s also significant because it implies Russia wants Tajikistan in the club.
The Eurasian Economic Union came into existence at the start of the year, replacing the Customs Union. It’s a trade bloc although analysts have said that the Kremlin is looking to use it to promote its own political agenda.
Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union on Jan. 1. Kazakhstan and Belarus were already members and Kyrgyzstan is due to join later in the year.
“Tajikistan is also interested and is mulling over the prospects of joining the Eurasian integration processes,” BelTA quoted Mr Nebanzya as saying.
Tajikistan’s economy is closely linked to Russia. It relies on jobs in Russia for its workers, who send back remittances which make up roughly half the country’s GDP.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
JAN. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Bank increased its refinancing rate, the cost it charges other financial institutions to borrow money, by 1% to 9.5% to slow inflation. In December, the Central Bank increased the refinancing rate to 8.5% from 6.5%. New data showed prices rose 4.6% in December.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>New tax code is an effort to stop tax evasion>>
JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A new tax code in Armenia is upsetting the very people it is supposed to be helping.
The government has decided to reduce the tax for small business, those earning less than $122,000, to 1% of their sales from 3.5%. The downside of the new law is that the traders and shopkeepers have to document more closely their sales.
Media reported that hundreds of traders demonstrated in front of the parliament building against the new tax laws. Their problem is the introduction of the extra paperwork.
The bottom line is that the government wants to increase tax receipts. To do this it has decided to crackdown on tax evasion and the fiddling of receipts. And this is where the problem lies. The Armenian traders’ will have to fill in more paperwork and, they say, will actually earn less under the new tax code because they will have to declare more of their sales.
The small traders have also complained that they are being used as guinea pigs before the new tax code is rolled out to bigger businesses.
With the Armenian economy reeling from the turmoil in Russia, the government is desperate to highlight good news. It has already had to postpone the introduction of the new tax code from November until Feb. 1. The issue is becoming increasingly contentious.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)
>>Stats show increase in wages but illnesses also rise>>
JAN. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s a double-edged sword living in the west Kazakh region of Mangistau, according to the Kazakh stats office at least.
Mangistau, the main oil producing region of the country, has been enjoying a salary boom that other regions of Kazakhstan can only dream of. Last year the average workers’ salary in Mangistau rose by 22% to over $1,000/month. This is around 50% more than average salaries in other rural areas of the country.
Of course Mangistau’s fortunes are closely linked to the fortunes of the energy industry which has been enjoying something of a boom over the past few years. With falling oil prices, though, that could be about to change.
The stats don’t all show good news, though. Various statistics said Mangistau has the highest rate of several diseases in the country. Some environmentalists have said that people breathe and drink the by-products of uranium mining projects and the decommissioning of the old nuclear power plant in Aktau.
Worker disputes in the region also affect the region. In 2011, the town of Zhanaozen was the centre of clashes between protesters and police. At least 15 people died.
It’s a trade-off then. The salaries may be higher in Mangistau but the work pressures and the health risks are too.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)