Tag Archives: industry

Alstom increases stake in Kazakh train-maker

ALMATY, DEC. 22 (The Conway Bulletin) — French train-maker Alstom, bought another 25% stake in Astana-based EKZ, from Kazakhstan’s Temir Zholy, to bring to 75% its ownership of the locomotive manufacturer.

This is an important deal for Kazakhstan as it shows increased confidence in its manufacturing base by major Western companies. Kazakhstan is trying to show it is serious about diversifying its economy away from oil, gas and minerals.

Didier Pfleger, Alstom Senior Vice-President for Middle-East and Africa, said the deal highlighted the success of the EKZ project and also Alstom’s commitment to the region.

“By increasing once again Alstom’s share in EKZ, we show our confidence in the attractiveness of Kazakhstan and we contribute to the development of new expertise and skills locally to address not only Kazakhstan’s needs but also regional ones,” he said in a press statement.
The value of the deal was not declared.

EKZ was set up to assemble the Prima range of locomotives in 2010 by Alstom (25%), Russia’s Transmashholdings (25%) and Temir Zholy (50%). Alstom bought a 25% stake from Temir Zholy in 2016 too. It now owns 75% of the company and Transmashholding owns 25%.

As well as assembling the Prima locomotives at its factory in Astana, EKZ now also assembles passenger wagons. Outside the extractive industries, EKZ is one of Kazakhstan’s headline companies. It employs 420 and is seen as critical in diversifying the Kazakh economy.

Kazakhstan has become a major hub in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure strategy giving its railway system a boost.

The Kazakh government has also committed itself to upgrading its network. There are 20,000km of railway tracks in Kazakhstan, the third largest railway network in the world using the 1,520mm gauge.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Azerbaijan makes diversification plans

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JULY 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan plans to set up a new textile champion that will generate 550 jobs and place the country at the heart of regional, if not global, garment production, the ministry of economy said in a statement. The ministry said that the textile park centre was planned for Mingachevir Industrial Park in the north-central area of the country, although it didn’t release any other details. Azerbaijan has been under pressure to diversify its economy away from oil and gas.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

Azerbaijan’s plant to double Methanol

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JUNE 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s methanol plant aims to double sales from 2019, the CEO of SOCAR Methanol, Elnur Mustafayev, said in an interview with ‘Consulting and Business’ magazine. Methanol’s main use is in the refining process of natural gas. The plant was built by AzMeCo and started production in June 2014. Mr Mustafayev said that it was the only methanol plant in the region and that it aimed to increase production to 500,000 tonnes per year, still some way short of its 750,000 tonne limit.

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Fibre optic production starts in Uzbekistan

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MAY 30 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan plans to start producing fibre optic cables, mainly for domestic use, media reported. Telecompaper.com said that production was planned at 50,000km of cables every year and that Uzbekistan would lay 277,000km of cables by 2021, part of a scheme to expand its the Uzbek broadband network. Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said he wants to create jobs through infrastructure schemes.

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(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)

Uzbek banks to support cottage industries

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MAY 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered his government to set up a consortium of banks designed to support home-based businesses, media reported. The finance could be important in Uzbekistan where many businesses are based at home.

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

UAE to develop chemicals in Kazakhstan

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MAY 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — UAE’s Mubadala Development Company and Kazakhstan’s United Chemical Company agreed to develop a chemical complex in the west of Kazakhstan that will produce 800,000 tonnes of polyethylene each year. Kazakh deputy energy minister Magzum Mirzagaliyev told the media that the plant is planned for the western Atyrau region. Kazakhstan and the UAE have been developing bilateral ties. Polyethylene is the plastic, primarily used to produce plastic bags and plastic bottles.

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

Fashion label opens factory in Georgia

FEB. 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian fashion design company Materia has opened a new factory on the outskirts of Tbilisi that will hire 250 people to produce clothes for export to Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Russia, Italy, China, Armenia, Kuwait, and Ukraine. The factory was funded by a 1.2m euro loan given the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

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

$9.5m sock-making factory opens in northern Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, FEB. 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz sock-maker Textile Trans opened a new $9.5m factory in the Chui region of northern Kyrgyzstan, a rare example of manufacturing investment in one of the the former Soviet Union’s poorest countries.

Textile Trans said the factory would employ 150 people and that it would producewoollen socks and tights mainly for the local market.

PM Sooronbay Jeenbekov opened the factory. He said that it was going to give a boost to the whole country.

“This is a significant event not only for the Chuiregion, but for the whole country. With the opening of this enterprise we will decrease the dependence of Kyrgyzstan on imports of textile products in the form of fabric, which will reduce production costs for local garment manufacturers,” local media quoted him as saying.

A loan of $7.5m from the Russian- Kyrgyz Development Fund helped Textile Trans pay for the new factory. The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund was an organisation set up in 2015 by the Kremlin as a sweetener for Kyrgyzstan to join the Eurasian Economic Union.

And this sort of investment is important in Kyrgyzstan. Around 50% of its GDP is linked to fragile remittance flows from workers living abroad, mainly in Russia, and another 10% or so of the country’s wealth is derived from the Kumtor gold mine in the east of the country. This is owned by Centerra Gold, although the Kyrgyz government owns a 27% stake in the Toronto-listed company.

Analysts have been calling for Kyrgyzstan to diversify its economic base away from gold mining and labour exports, and news that Textile Trans has opened a new factory will be welcomed.

Tourism is another major potential revenue flow that Kyrgyzstan wants to tap into.

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

China to build textile factory in Kazakhstan

DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — An investment company representing Xianyang city in central China and Kazakhstan’s Khlopkoprom-Cellulose plan to jointly build a textile factory in southern Kazakhstan, they said at a press conference. The factory will cost $100m to build and will create 2,000 jobs. The factory would be operational by 2019 and, if it does materialise, will please international economists who have been urging Kazakhstan to diversify its economic base away from mining and hyrdocarbons. Khlopkoprom- Cellulose is a factory already operating near the site that the new plant would occupy. It produces cotton products used in the medical sector.

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

E-space plans to develop electric car market in Georgia

TBILISI, NOV. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Two charging points for electric cars have been installed in Tbilisi, media reported, the first move in a push to promote the sector.

E-space, a Georgian company, plans to install 25 more chargers across the city by the end of the year, then 70 more by the end of 2017, followed by chargers along motorways.

Sulkhan Gvalia, former deputy CEO of Bank of Georgia and now E-space CEO, said the sector was ripe for development in Georgia.

“The problem in Georgia is that there is no infrastructure. So that is why we started with that,” he told The Conway Bulletin.

Recharging an electric car will be free until the end of 2017. The Tbilisi city government has said it will pay for the power supply bills at the first two charging points. For the next charging points, E-space wants to sign agreements with shops to host and pay for the power. The shops will benefit from the extra trade generated by drivers stopping to re-charge.

So far, there are 50 electric cars registered in Tbilisi but Nata Kasradze, E-space’s chief product development officer, said sales will rise.

“The visibility of the chargers will change the mentality of people,” she said. “We haven’t imported a single car yet but we already have about 30 requests from people who want to buy a car.”

E-space has five founders and is self-funded. The founders said they had developed a three-point plan for its business. To develop the infrastructure, then open a showroom to sell cars, scooters and motorcycles and finally develop a service centre.

On the streets of Tbilisi not everybody was convinced, though.

Dato, 32, said Georgians with money want to flaunt their wealth by buying a BMW or Mercedes .

“Electric cars are still very expensive,” he said. “Georgians who can afford to spend this amount of money will not spend it on an electric cars which still do not represent wealth.” Gocha, a businessman, agreed.

“This market is for the middle class, but it has to be well marketed so that people can see the benefit coming from it. I do not think that Georgians are ready for that”

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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)