APRIL 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Annualised inflation in Georgia remained a stubbornly low 3.5% in March, the Georgian national statistics agency reported. The biggest contributor to price rises during this period was the cost of heating, fuel, water and electricity which rose by 11.4%.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Remittances from Russia to Tajikistan rose to $4.15b in 2013, a jump of 14%, media reported quoting the Central Bank. Remittances, especially from Russia, are vital for the Tajik economy.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s economy has grown 10% over the past year, media quoted the Turkmen government as saying. Turkmen government statistics can be inflated but, even so, the apparent jump in the size of the economy shows the scale of Turkmenistan’s economic growth.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — International sanctions imposed on Russia because of its de facto annexation of Crimea will adversely affect Kazakh exports, Kazakhstan’s energy minister Uzakbai Karabalin told parliament. Mr Karabalin said that Kazakhstan may look to increase oil exports via Azerbaijan, China and Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
APRIL 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the government’s flagship pension reforms were illegal, triggering a fresh crisis at the top of the Armenian political spectrum.
The ruling was a major blow to the government which has stubbornly stuck to its pension reform agenda despite increasing levels of public discontent. It also appeared to come as a surprise.
The following day Tigran Sargsyan resign as Armenia’s PM, although he did not link his resignation explicitly with the Court’s ruling. There have been perpetual rumours about his health and other job offers.
Later this month, the government also faces a vote of no confidence in parliament. Opinion polls have shown that its popularity has sunk to fresh lows.
And most of this unpopularity stems from the pension reforms.
Thousands have marched against changes which were introduced at the start of the year. The reforms stated that everybody born after Jan. 1 1974 would have to pay 5% of their salary into a state pension fund. The state has promised to match private contributions to the pension fund up to a maximum of $61 per month.
But now the Constitutional Court has ruled that the pension reforms introduced by the government restrict the rights of its citizens.
The problem for Armenia is, similarly to other countries in the former Soviet Union, it simply has to reform its state pension system to pay for its aging population and to compensate for the large grey economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
MARCH 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Remittances from Ukraine and Russia to Georgia fell during the first two months of the year, media reported, quoting Central Bank statistics. Cash from Russia is still the largest proportion of remittances to Georgia, nearly half, but the statistics said it was down by around 6% from a year earlier.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The grey economy in Armenia generates roughly 40% of GDP, media quoted human rights activist Karen Andreasyan as saying. Mr Adreasyan said that the high proportion of GDP generated by the grey economy creates problems in tax and customs areas.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The 20% devaluation of the tenge earlier this year will trigger an increase in bad debt, Roman Kornev, director of financial institutions at Fitch Ratings said. The Kazakh government wants to reduce the amount of non-performing loans on banks’ portfolios.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s parliament approved increased government spending to compensate people for the 20% drop in the value of the tenge and counter rising inflation.
Overall, Kazakh government expenditure will increase by 6% to $39.1b.
The increase is more evidence of the inflationary effect of the currency devaluation on Feb. 19. Shops have increased their prices and large corporations have boosted salaries.
To calm public frustration, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev promised to increase pensions, public sector salaries and student grants. Parliament’s decision to increase government spending is simply making good on these promises.
The Kazakh government will fund the budget increase by transferring cash from the National Fund, where it keeps profits from oil revenues.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Prices of basic agriculture products such as potatoes, carrots and tomatoes have risen by as much as 60% this year, media reported. A note from the ministry of agriculture said that the price rises were a seasonal issue triggered when farmers try to sell the last of the previous year’s harvest.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)