Tag Archives: economy

Georgia’s Central Bank props up lari

DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Bank sold $40m to try to stem a drop in the value of the lari, its first currency intervention since Oct. 12. In the past three months, the lari has lost around 19% of its value against the US dollar, worsening an already difficult economic outlook. In 2016, Georgia has sold $280m. The Central Bank blamed a strengthening US dollar for the lari slide.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kyrgyzstan deal to sell 4,000 donkeys to China sparks anger from animal rights activists

BISHKEK, DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz plans to export 4,000 donkeys to China have angered animal rights protesters who have said that the animals are transported in inhumane conditions and are often killed for gelatin extracted from their skins which is then used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The BBC reported that Chinese importers bought the donkeys from a village near Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan for an estimated 3,000-4,000 soms ($43-57) per donkey.

China is a major importer of donkeys. It sources many from Africa.

The donkeys are often used to work the land but are also butchered for their skins. Chinese medicine producers want the gelatin from the donkeys’ skins.

A couple of years ago, donkey meat was discarded in Kyrgyzstan, after hundreds of donkeys had been killed and skinned.

Animal rights activists want the export of donkeys to China to be stopped or at least regulated. Business leaders in the region though said that the donkey trade had become a profitable export for poor farmers.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Comment: Kazakhstan wants to stimulate mortgages, explains Toleukhanova

DEC. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Land has been an emotional issue in Kazakhstan.

In the spring, Kazakhstan saw some of its biggest ever protests with thousands of people demonstrating over plans to give foreigners more rights to land. The protests worried the government and also drew attention to existing laws which granted 1kmsq of free land to every Kazakh. Land is cheap in Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world with a population of just 17m.

Since then hundreds of thousands of people have applied to receive their free slice of Kazakh steppe. This is rough land with no infrastructure, exposed to some of the harshest weather conditions south of the Arctic.

Faced with a sharp economic downturn, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been eager to please. He’s promised to build the infrastructure needed to make the land liveable. The problem is the Kazakh government doesn’t have much money.

Instead, the Kazakh government wants to attract private investment. Primarily, it aims to encourage private construction companies to stimulate construction with affordable loans and to trigger a house-buying boom by subsidising mortgages.

The new government program is called Nurly Zher, which means Bright Land in Kazakh.

Economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev has said that the government expects GDP to increase by 7.7% during the whole period of the programme and create annually 25,000 jobs.

But experts are doubtful. Kazakhstan needs comprehensive structural economic reforms rather than government handouts.

Representatives from business and the economy say people can’t even afford subsidised mortgages. Commercial banks are also wary of handing out mortgages. A 50% devaluation of the tenge has triggered a lack of confidence. Bad debt levels are approaching danger levels. This is coupled to a lack of political will. Ministers usually implement government programmes initiated by the President but rarely initiate something of their own. The price of failure would be too great. The unwillingness to dig deep into problems and concentrate only on surface issues is typical of the Kazakh government and reflect a political stagnation .

By Aigerim Toleukhanova, the Bulletin’s Almaty correspondent

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

FDI in Azerbaijan falls by 5.3%

DEC. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investment into Azerbaijan fell by 5.3% in the first nine months of the year, the Azerbaijani central bank said, more evidence of the country’s sharp economic decline. Oil revenues form the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy. These have collapsed over the past couple of years, mirroring a sharp drop in prices. Oil majors have been less willing, too, to invest in Azerbaijan’s oil sector because of the price fall.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Armenia’s economic activity rises

DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s economic activity index recorded a rise of 2.3% in November compared to the same month in 2015, the state statistics agency said, suggesting some positive news after a slew of poor economic headlines. The biggest risers were the service sectors and industrial output which recorded rises of 6.8% and 7.8.%. The biggest drop was in construction, a key economic driver in Armenia. It fell more than 10%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Georgia’s economy grows by 2.3%

DEC. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s economy was 2.3% larger in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter of 2015, highlighting economic growth in Georgia despite difficult conditions. Geostat also said that Georgia’s economy had grown by 2.7% in Q1 2016 and 3% in Q2 2016. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have seen their economies fall in value.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Azerbaijan’s GDP shrinks by 3.9%

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s GDP was 3.9% lower in the nine months to the end of October this year compared to the same period in 2015, the country’s statistics committee reported, confirming the country’s sharp economic downturn. A collapse in oil prices and a recession in Russia have dragged down Azerbaijan’s oil dependent economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

FDI in Georgia rises by 5%

DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investment in Georgia, vital for its economy, was 5% higher in the first nine months of 2016 compared to 2015, the country’s statistics agency said. Total investment for Jan — Oct 2016 was $1.3b. The transport and communications sector attracted the most investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

WB cuts growth targets in Armenia

DEC. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The World Bank revised down its growth estimates for Armenia to 0.4% from 2.8% earlier this year because of a sharp economic contraction in the past six months. Gohar Gyulumyan, the World Bank’s senior economist in Armenia, said that growth had been strong in the first half of the year but had fallen off since July. Growth in 2016 would be 2-2.5%, she said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Georgia unveils budget for 2017

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s government unveiled a budget for 2017 that increased taxes on cigarettes, cars, alcohol and oil products to offset a planned drop in corporate tax and a rise in social spending. The increase in spending is designed to propel Georgia through a deep economic downturn. The ministry of labour, health and social affairs, by far the most heavily financed government ministry, will get a boost of around 6% and the budget for the ministry of infrastructure and regional development jumps by a third.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)