Tag Archives: IFI

ADB drops Tajikistan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan rail project

DEC. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut funding for a railway project that would have linked Tajikistan and Turkmenistan via Afghanistan because of a deterio- ration in security.

The decision will be a blow to various infrastructure projects in Central Asia that involve Afghanistan, including the high profile TAPI gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India and the CASA-1000 power transmission route running from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan.

“Although Turkmenistan has completed construction of its section of the railway, we would not like to construct a railway where security is not guaranteed. It’s very risky,” ADB’s country director C.C.Yu told media.

This year, the Taliban has increased its attacks in northern Afghanistan, at one point capturing the town of Kunduz near Tajikistan. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have all warned that security is worsening although, previously, infrastructure projects have not been postponed or delayed.

The railway route in question was supposed to run over 440km and bypass Uzbekistan, often considered a troublesome neighbour by Tajikistan in particular and Turkmenistan to a lesser extent.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

World Bank funds road in Georgia

DEC. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The World Bank has approved funding of $140m to upgrade a motorway running east-west across Georgia, media reported. Georgia’s infrastructure needs upgrading and the east-west motorway has been identified as an important project which will improve transport routes for 2.2m people.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

ADB supports Tajikistan

DEC. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Manila-based Asian Development Bank approved a grant of $53.4m and an additional loan of $6.6m to Tajikistan to help it develop private businesses. The ADB said the grant was designed to bring in programmes that would reduce business costs as well as increase protection for small companies.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

EBRD to boost activity in Armenia

DEC. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that its priorities in Armenia over the next four years would be to improve small business competitiveness, develop local capital markets and improve public utilities. The EBRD is a major investor in Armenia with over $1b worth of investments.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

EBRD gives airport loan to Tajikistan

NOV. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has given Khujand airport in north Tajikistan, a loan of $900,000 to modernise its runway and buy other essential kit, media reported. The EBRD is a major lender to infrastructure projects in Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 258, published on Nov. 27 2015)

Georgia bottled water company builds new factory

NOV. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Healthy Water, the Georgian-Swiss company that produces the Nabeghavi brand of mineral water, will build a new factory in the western Guria region to expand its product line and increase its share of Georgia’s valuable bottled water market.

The new €30m ($32m) plant will open in 2016 near Batumi in western Georgia and add six bottling lines to the company’s production chain.

Healthy Water also plans to start producing lemonade, fruit juices and iced-tea. Funding for the new factory comes from a number of backers, including the EBRD.

As well as producing the upmarket Nabeghlavi brand, with its iconic green glass bottles and branding, Healthy Water also produces bottled water under the Bakhmaro brand. In 2014, it was the second-largest bottled water company in Georgia behind Borjomi, the most famous Georgian bottled water company.

Borjomi, with its slightly salty taste, dominates the Georgian bottled water market with 41% of the market.

Healthy Water has a 36% market share, split between its brands.

Healthy Water’s real aimmaybe the lucrative export market. It already exports its Nabeghlavi and Bakhmaro brands to North America, eight European Union countries, China, Russia and Turkey.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Eurasian Dev Bank to give Armenia $300m crisis loan

NOV. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Almaty-based Eurasian Development Bank is close to agreeing a deal to lend the Armenian government $300m to help it through the economic malaise enveloping the Central Asia and South Caucasus region.

If it is agreed, the first $100m is due at the end of this year with the outstanding $200m handed over by the end of 2017.

Like other countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Armenia has been trying to deal with the fallout of the drop in oil prices and a recession in Russia which have combined to tip the entire region into an economic depression.

“Current macroeconomic actions have been agreed with the Armenian government,” Dmitry Pankin, the EDB CEO, told the Armenpress news agency.

“The project has been approved by the expert council and is now being considered by the Eurasian Stabilisation and Development Fund. After the official decision, the final conditions will be agreed upon.”

The Eurasian Development Bank is an overtly political organisation. It’s membership mirrors the membership of the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union — Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia — with the addition of Tajikistan.

It was set up before the Eurasian Economic Union to give the trade bloc extra weight.

It also acts as a kind of sweetener. Armenia is reliant on Russia for economic and political support. It joined the Eurasian Economic Union at the start of this year under duress from Russia but can now access cheap loans to keep its economy running.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

EBRD supports Turkmen SME

OCT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A joint European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and EU project will make 2.5m euros available to small and medium sized enterprises in Turkmenistan. The project will run for three years and give Turkmen SMEs access to business advisers as well as funds.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Auchan starts supplying food to Tajik capital store

DUSHANBE, SEPT. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — French retail group Auchan said it will supply its new hypermarket in Tajikistan with Russian-produced goods from November after a successful test-run.

The Russian branch of Auchan had earlier signed an agreement with Schiever Group to open a 5,000 square metres store in Dushanbe.

From a warehouse in Novosibirsk, Russia will supply around 80% of the products for sale in Tajikistan’s new store, the company said.

The project, conceived in 2014, was co-financed through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which allocated $5m for the construction of Tajikistan’s first hypermarket. Through the deal, EBRD has become a stakeholder in Schiever Tajikistan.

Tajikistan is the third post-Soviet country, after Russia and Ukraine, to host an Auchan hypermarket. It also plans one in Armenia. Reliant on workers’ remittances, Tajikistan needs more foreign investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

ADB boosts Kazakh SMEs

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Damu, a state-owned fund that helps SMEs in Kazakhstan, said it is negotiating on behalf of local businesses for a better interest rate on loans from the Asian Development Bank. The ADB has made $500m worth of loans available to SMEs in Kazakhstan since 2010. The Damu fund wants a $228m tranche made available to SMEs with an interest rate of 14% or below.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)