Tag Archives: GDP

Turkmen economic growth to be lumpy, says IMF

JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a statement, the IMF said that Turkmenistan’s economy would grow at an uneven rate over the next few years with inflation remaining at “moderate” levels while the economy dealt with various external pressures linked to its over-reliance on gas exports as a revenue earner. It put both GDP growth and inflation at around 6% over the next couple of years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan’s GDP will rise, says WB

Leave a Reply

MAY 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a new report, the World Bank said that it predicted economic growth in Kazakhstan of between 2% and 3% over the next three years. It said that GDP numbers showed improvements, despite the economic downturn, because of planned investments in the oil and gas sectors. The Kashagan and Tengizchevroil projects have both attracted major investments over the last few years which are coming through into Kazakh GDP growth now.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 330, published on May 28 2017)

Armenian GDP growth to be higher than expected

Leave a Reply

APRIL 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The IMF increased its expected GDP growth in Armenia in 2017 to 3% from the 2.7% it had forecast in December. It said that growth had been strong in the first quarter of the year, at 6%, mainly due to higher than expected foreign capital expenditure. The IMF said that it forecast inflation of 2% for 2017. Armenia has been fighting deflation over the past year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

Azerbaijani economy will grow, says Fitch

Leave a Reply

MARCH 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fitch, the ratings agency, said that the Azerbaijani economy was likely to pick up this year after contracting by 3.8% in 2016. In an interview with Reuters, Paul Gamble, head of Fitch’s emerging Europe department said that the economy would grow by 0.2% this year and 1.7% in 2018. Earlier this month, the Asian Development Bank said that Azerbaijan’s economy would shrink again this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Azerbaijan’s economy will shrink again in 2017, says ADB

Leave a Reply

MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s economy will continue to shrink in 2017, the Asian Development Bank said in a grim assessment of the country’s outlook following a disastrous 2016.

Overall, the ADB said that the Azerbaijani government’s prediction of 1% growth in 2017 was wildly over-optimistic and that a decrease of 1.1% was more likely. Last year,

Azerbaijan’s oil-backed economy shrunk by 3.8%, its worst year of economic activity since the 1990s.

“Our preliminary assessment as of today is minus 1.1 percent … and it’s most likely that our … assessment of GDP for this year will remain at the negative level,” Nariman Mannapbekov, the ADB’s country chief, told Reuters in an interview in Baku.

The ADB assessment will be a major blow to Azerbaijan which has been looking for some growth.

And, once again, Mr Mannapbekov urged the Azerbaijani government to focus on diversify the economy away from oil.

The slump in oil prices has hit Azerbaijan hard, forcing the government to slash funding.

ENDS

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

Oil price gives Kazakh GDP boost

Leave a Reply

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.

ENDS

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

Remittance flows to Tajikistan continues to slow

Leave a Reply

DUSHANBE, FEB. 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajiks working in Russia sent $1.9b back to Tajikistan in 2016, representing around a third of the national GDP, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said quoting Central Bank statistics.

The data underlines the fall in the value of the remittances being sent back from Russia, where a drop in oil prices and Western sanctions imposed after Russian interference in eastern Ukraine, has hit the economy and pushed it into a recession.

“Over 870,000 Tajikistan citizens are working in Russia. The amount of their money transfers to the motherland was $1.9 bln in 2016, corresponding to one third of the republican GDP,” Tass news agency quoted Mr Ushakov as saying.

Remittances of $1.9b is around 15% lower than in 2015, which was itself nearly 50% lower than in 2014. The proportion of Tajikistan’s national economy that remittances makes up is also down sharply. Previously, remittances sent to Tajikistan from Russia accounted for around half of its GDP.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are often described as being the most remittance-dependent countries in the world.

ENDS

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

Turkmen official GDP growth seems steady

FEB. 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen TV said that economic growth in Turkmenistan had fallen to 6.2% in 2016, down from 6.5% in 2015. Growth of 6.2% would still mark a major achievement for Turkmenistan which is reliant on gas sales for its revenues. Political observers have often challenged the veracity of the official data coming out of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan holds a presidential election this month that incumbent president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is set to win.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Azerbaijan’s GDP shrinks by 3.8%

JAN. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s GDP shrank by 3.8% in 2016, the country’s statistics committee said, confirming predictions of a heavy recession in the oil-dependent economy. The data means that, under pressure from low oil prices and a recession in Russia, Azerbaijan’s economy was one of the worst performing economies in the world last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)

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)