Tag Archives: economy

Kyrgyzstan relaxes Iranian visa rules

MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan said that it had simplified visa rules for Iranians, matching a trend in the region. Iran and Kyrgyzstan have been boosting trade, diplomatic and tourist links. Georgia and Armenia have already scrapped visa requirements for Iranians and other countries are also relaxing rules. Iran is seen as an important economic driver for the region, especially since some sanctions were lifted last year.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Kazakh C.Bank loans Delta $31m

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MARCH 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — As part of its well-publicised plan to help its struggling banking sector, the Kazakh Central Bank said that it had loaned Delta Bank, one of the smaller banks in Kazakhstan, 9.8b tenge ($31m), media reported. The loan, made on March 3, was linked to a missed coupon repayment that Delta Bank had needed to pay. This was connected to pension obligations.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Uzbek Central Bank issues new banknote

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MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Central Bank printed its first 10,000 som banknote, an official nod, perhaps, to high levels of inflation and the falling value of its currency. At today’s official exchange rate of 3,453/$1, the new note will be worth just under $3. The Central Bank introduced the 5,000 som banknote in 2013 and the 1,000 som banknote in 2001. Uzbekistan’s economy has been under pressure, pushing up inflation and devaluing its currency. The som has fallen by 13% since August.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Armenia PM wants more investment

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YEREVAN, MARCH 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan said that he would be prepared to cut state spending to attract more private investment in try to reboot the country’s stalling economy.

In particular, Mr Karapetyan, who had previously worked as the head of the national gas distributor ArmRosGazprom and is known to retain strong links with Russia, said that he was looking to attract up to $850m of private investment this year to reduce Armenia’s reliance on Kremlin handouts.

“Regular structural reforms will be implemented in Armenia, even if these reforms are unpopular,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Investors have been looking to the Armenian government for strong leadership. Mr Karapetyan, who took over in September 2016, is the third PM since April 2014. His two predecessors quit after failing to transform expensive state pensions and losing control of an armed takeover of a police station.

In 2015, the government also backpedaled over proposed reforms to electricity tariff increases that it wanted to impose after a series of large street demonstrations.

Armenia has been suffering from deflation and low growth rates, an economic downturn shared by the region which is dependent on Russia as an economic engine. Russia has been suffering from a recession triggered by a drop in oil prices and Western-led sanctions.

Mr Karapetyan said that he want to cut the government’s deficit to 2.7% of GDP from 5.9% in 2016.

“It will have a negative impact,” he said in the interview. “But we want to compensate it through private investment.”

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Currencies: Georgian lari, Kazakh tenge, Uzbek som

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pushed up by decent economic data and a rise in interest rates to battle inflation which threatens to pick up this year, the Georgian lari hit a four-month high against the US dollar on March 7 of 2.45/$1, according to data from Bloomberg.

It slipped back slightly towards the end of the week to 2.5/$1 but it is still 9.1% stronger than on Jan. 1.

The Kazakh tenge fell slightly over the past fortnight but it is, too, performing well in 2017, racking up gains of around 5% this year.

As for the Uzbek som, as shown in our graph, the authorities appear to have speeded up their managed devaluation of the currency. The official exchange rate is now at 3,452/$1 an all-time low. The graph clearly shows how the steps taken to devalue the som have increased in size since mid-February. The Uzbek som is now 4.3% weaker against the US dollaxr than it was on Feb. 16. This managed downward trajectory for the som is expected to continue.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Oil price gives Kazakh GDP boost

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MARCH 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Strong oil prices may boost GDP growth in Kazakhstan to 2.8% this year, economy minister Timur Suleimenov told Reuters in an interview. The previous government GDP growth estimate for 2017 had been 2.5%. Last month, Kazakhstan increased its expected oil price this year for its government budget to $50/barrel up from $35/barrel.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

Deflation slows in Armenia

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MARCH 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Deflation in Armenia continued to slow in January, just as the Central Bank said it would earlier in the year. The National Statistics Service said that prices dropped by an average of 0.2% in February compared to the same period in 2016. In January, year-on-year deflation had measured -0.6% and in February 2016 it had measured -1.7%.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

Inflation starts to climb in Georgia

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MARCH 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Prices in Georgia were 5.5% higher in February 2017 compared to the same month in 2016, the State Statistics Service said, confirming Central Bank predictions of inflation pressure when it raised interest rates last month (March 2). It had set an inflation target of 4% in 2017.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

IMF agrees to fund Georgia

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MARCH 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — At the end of a two-week mission to Georgia, the IMF agreed a three year $285m funding programme aimed at encouraging economic reform and Western investors. The deal replaces an earlier one that had expired. It should give the Georgian govern- ment an extra level of support as it pulls out of an economic malaise.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

Georgian businesses strive to meet new EU hygiene regulations

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TBILISI, FEB. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s National Food Agency said it had suspended operational licences for 11 meat businesses because they failed hygiene requirements set out under new rules imposed by the EU.

The suspensions show the complexities of trying to bring hygiene standards in Georgia up to EU requirements so that businesses can take advantage of a new deal brought in last year which allows Georgian companies to export directly to Europe.

The 11 business included three slaughterhouses, four meat whole- sale facilities, three catering facilities, and one farmers’ market. On top of that, 34 business operators were fined due to minor infringements.

In an interview with The Conway Bulletin, Kakha Sokhadze, deputy head food safety inspector at the National Food Agency, said many local businesses still need to adapt to the new regulations.

“Because of the obligations we have with the EU, we are increasing the number of inspections and the more you cover, the more you find cases of non-compliance. Business operators should understand that there are new rules and new requirements,” he said.

Last year the EU and Georgia signed an Association Agreement that paved the way for various producers to export goods to the EU. Georgian companies have already signed deals with European importers to send wool and honey.

And the deal with the EU is having a far-reaching impact in Georgia.

Even meat which is not being exported now has to comply with new rules aimed at boosting hygiene.

Various labelling requirements, for example, were brought in on Jan. 1.

To export to the EU, each food category needs to be certified, said Carlo Natale, deputy head of the EU’s delegation in Georgia.

“Each product is approved after several studies and measurements are made in the country of production,” he told the Conway Bulletin. “At the moment we are examining fish and its various types of process- ing. Then, we will examine dairy products. The last one will be beef and meat. They are the most difficult.”

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)