NOV. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan produced 1m tonnes of cement for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, media reported. The boost in cement production is thanks to China which has built and operates a new cement plant. China has also paid for a massive infrastructure programme.
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(News report from Issue No. 207, published on Nov. 5 2014)
SEPT. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan produced 6% more cars between January and August this year compared to the same period in 2013, the state’s statistics committee reported. The data shows that the Kazakh economy is still relatively buoyant despite the decline of the all-important Russian economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)
SEPT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s jewellery output fell by over 41% in the first six months of the year, the national statistics agency reported, underlining the problems facing the economy. Jewellery processing is one of Armenia’s most important industries. Sanctions on Russia have severally dented Armenian economic growth this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)
JULY 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – TALCO, Tajikistan’s aluminium smelter and its most important industrial asset, cut production by nearly 50% in the first half of the year to 61,100 tonnes because of a fall in demand, media reported quoting an official. TALCO is the mainstay of Tajikistan’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan will almost double the amount of uranium it sends to South Korea, media reported after a trip by South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Ms Geun-hye has been on a tour of Central Asia, building relations and making business deals.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan is not known as a trading powerhouse, its main export is migrant labour to Russia, but a recent low-level diplomatic meeting in Dushanbe once again highlights the importance of its aluminium smelter.
Tajikistan’s deputy transport minister, Sherali Gandjalov and Georgia’s ambassador in the country, Konstantin Zhgenti met to discuss securing trade routes for aluminium exports from TALCO through the South Caucasus trade corridor, Asia-Plus reported.
Mr Gandjalov and Mr Zhgenti specifically discussed the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea coast. Poti is a major transit point for raw materials needed for Tajik aluminium production as well as an export route for finished aluminium products heading to European markets.
But all is not well at TALCO, the state aluminium- smelter. It is saddled with debts and last year laid off 20% of its staff as global aluminium prices bottomed out.
These former TALCO staff will most likely be adding to Tajikistan’s most economically successful export — migrant workers to Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)
May 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Industrial production in Azerbaijan increased by 5.1% in the first 4 months of the year, the state stats committee reported. The data is more good news for Azerbaijan’s economy. Last month, the Central Bank cut interest rates to its lowest level for three years.
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
MAY 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Industrial output in Armenia fell by 2.8% in the first three months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, media reported quoting the National Statistics Service.
The statistics agency did not specify why industrial output had fallen.
Economist have warned that Armenia faces a difficult year. At the end of 2013 an IMF mission to Armenia said the economy faced major challenges.
“These include responding to the slowdown of growth in 2013, low private and foreign direct investment in recent years, and relatively high poverty and unemployment,” it said in a report.
This year Armenia has moved increasingly to position itself within Russia’s orbit. It has done this for two main reasons. Both strategically and economically it needs Russia’s support.
Armenia’s relative economic weakness is pushing it faster towards Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)
JULY 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fresh figures showed that Armenia’s economy is expanding steadily, media reported. Armenia’s economic activity index increased by 4.4% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2012. Using the same comparison, industrial output was 8.4% high in the first six months of 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 144, published on July 22 2013)
MAY 11 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s aluminium smelter, vital to its economy, produced 12% less metal in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2012, a source at the company told Reuters. The source blamed the shortfall on a gas dispute with Uzbekistan and modernisation work that slowed output.
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(News report from Issue No. 088, published on May 18 2012)