MAY 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Due to Western sanctions against Iran and a sluggish world economy, steel production, an important part of Kazakhstan’s economy, continued to drop in the first four months of 2013, media reported quoting official data. Kazakhstan produced 22% less steel between Jan. and April 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
MAY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Alongside the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Norway and the China Construction Bank, Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) bought part of a $3.3b stake in Russian bank VTB, the bank told local media. The deal again shows just how much wealth Azerbaijan has at its disposal.
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(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
MAY 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital lying on the edge of the Kyzylkum desert, received the Guinness World Record for the highest density of marble buildings in the world. Flush with profit from gas sales, Turkmenistan’s leaders have re-built Ashgabat with white marble since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
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(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
MAY 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In terms of banknote sophistication — artwork and anti-forgery security — Kazakhstan is world class.
The International Bank Note Society named Kazakhstan’s 5,000 tenge note, worth around $33, as the best new issue of 2012.
This is the second consecutive year that Kazakhstan has won the award after its new 10,000 tenge note won in 2012.
With the help of the British banknote printer De La Rue, the Kazakh Central Bank designed and launched the new 5,000 tenge banknote on New Year’s Eve 2011/12.
The judges praised its bright orange colour as well as the banknote’s designs, including an outline of the country, the iconic Soviet-built Hotel Kazakhstan in Almaty and Independence Statue in the centre of the city.
The note also contains various anti-forgery watermarks and other devices that improve its security.
Unusually for banknotes, the 5,000 tenge note, which beat Canada’s 50 dollar bill and the Jersey 100 pound bill for the award, does not carry the image of a famous national person.
If banknote art and sophistication is a sign of a confident, growing economy that is increasingly proud of its currency and aware of its national symbols, then Kazakhstan is definitely moving in the right direction.
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(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 8 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 4.25% from 4.5%, the third cut this year, because of falling price data, media reported. In January, Georgia’s interest rate had been set at 5.25%. Data shows steady consumer price deflation since then, however, although the government still targets annual inflation of 3%.
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(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan has invited banks to manage a $1b debt issue, its first since 2007, finance minister Bolat Zhamishev told media. The announcement is significant as Kazakhstan is cash-rich from oil production; the debt issue will act as a barometer of the market’s interest in Kazakh debt.
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(News report from Issue No. 135, published on May 20 2013)
MAY 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazmunaigas, Kazakhstan’s national energy company, sold Eurobonds worth $3b in April, media reported quoting its press service. The relatively low interest on the debt — $2b 30-year Eurobonds sold with an interest of 5.8% and $1b 10-year Eurobonds with 4.45% — shows the attractiveness of lending to Kazmunaigas.
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(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
MAY 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prices in Georgia continue to fluctuate wildly. In the 12 months to end-April, the national statistics agency reported that Georgia’s economy experienced average deflation of around 1.7%, mainly pulled down by a large drop in fuel and food prices. Three years ago, annualised inflation was around 14%.
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(News report from Issue No. 134, published on May 6 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Poaching will kill off sturgeon in the Caspian Sea within four years, media quoted the Kazakh deputy Prosecutor-General, Andrei Kravchenko, as saying. Sturgeon roe is more commonly known as caviar and is a lucrative commodity.
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(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A man protesting against a proposed increase in the retirement age for women hurled two eggs at the Kazakh minister for labour, Serik Abdenov. The Kazakh government wants to raise the retirement age for women to 63 from 58.
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(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)