Tag Archives: inflation

Georgia’s TBC Bank plans IPO

MAY 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBC Bank is aiming to be the second Georgian company to list on the stock exchange in London. It named a price range for its shares at its proposed IPO at the end of June of between $13 and $16.

This is an important IPO for Georgia and the wider former Soviet Union. For Georgia, TBC Bank will be the first IPO since the end of Mikheil Saakashvili’s era as president. For the wider former Soviet Union, it will test investors’ appetite for buying into the region while the conflict in Ukraine appears to be worsening.

Rival Bank of Georgia floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and is now part of the FTSE-250.

TBC Bank, valued at nearly $800m, aims to float around 50% of its stock in the IPO. It is the biggest bank in Georgia in terms of retail deposits, with a 33% share of the market.

The TBC floatation will also be a test of how investors view the Georgian economy. It has improved over the last year, partly because relations with Russia have improved, but there are still plenty of weaknesses. Inflation is still stubbornly low and direct foreign investment, so important, is taking some time to pick up again.

Still, with the South Caucasus’ status as a transit region for cargo and energy products between the Caspian Sea and Europe growing, Georgia has experienced an economic re-bound.

The TBC IPO at the end of June will be a good indication of how investors feel about the region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)

Armenia cuts interest rates

MAY 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate to 7.25% from 7.5% after data showed that inflation was within its target range, Reuters reported quoting the Central Bank. Annual inflation in April measured 4.4% within the 2.5% to 5.5% bracket.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)

Azerbaijan cuts interest rates

MAY 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan cuts its key interest rate to a three year low last month because of a drop in inflation, Elman Rustamov, head of the Central Bank, said.

The Azerbaijani economy is generally on the up. There are some weak points, such as loose controls over consumer borrowing, but the Central Bank is managing to maintain growth rates as well as keeping inflation under control.

So confident has the Central Bank been feeling that on April 30 it cut its key interest rate to 4.25% from 4.75%. This was the first rate cut for 14 months and marks the lowest level since 2011.

Mr Rustamov explained the thinking behind the rate cut.

“Inflation in the country is at its lowest level. By the outcome of the first quarter, the inflation in the country stands at 2%,” he said.

“Interest rates need to be reduced. They should be reduced to such a level that they will be suitable both for the population and for businesses.”

Of course slowing inflation can also mask other problems. There may have been a slowdown in consumer demand and the economy may need a nudge.

But relaxing interest rates also presents a risk to Azerbaijan’s economy. Recent reports from international economists have all highlighted the threat from consumer borrowing. Moody’s said that consumer loans would grow by 20% this year, compared to 25% last year.

Cutting interest rates is hardly going to curb this trend.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)

Inflation rises in Kyrgyzstan

MAY 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Inflation in Kyrgyzstan in the first three months of the year measured 7.1%, media quoted the Kyrgyz Central Bank as saying. The Central Bank said that a fall in the value of the Kyrgyz som, it fell in line with most currencies in Central Asia, had increased inflation above expectations.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)

Inflation increases in Georgia

MAY 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Annualised inflation in Georgia in April was 3.4%, media quoted the Georgian statistics agency Geostat as saying. The main driver of inflation was food prices which measured nearly 8%. Prices in Georgia have increased since October last year, a relief for policy makers after years of deflation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)

IMF upgrades Uzbek growth

APRIL 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The IMF has upgraded Uzbekistan’s economic growth rate to 7% in 2014 from 6.5% earlier forecast, media reported. It also said that inflation would creep up to about 11% from an earlier estimate of 10.4%. Inflation has boomed in Uzbekistan and poses a real risk to the economy..

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)

Property prices jump 25% in Kazakhstan’s former capital

APRIL 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Property prices in Almaty have risen by 25% over the past year as the economy rebounds and the city attracts migrants looking for work, media reported. Kazakhstan’s economy is still relatively fragile and the large property price increase has triggered concerns of a bubble.

(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)

Inflation rises in Armenia

APRIL 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Consumer prices in Armenia were 4.6% higher in March compared to the same period in 2013, media quoted the state’s statistics centre as saying. Food prices rose by 2.6%, tobacco and alcohol by 7.3% and non-food items by 3%.

(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)

Inflation in Georgia remains low

APRIL 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Annualised inflation in Georgia remained a stubbornly low 3.5% in March, the Georgian national statistics agency reported. The biggest contributor to price rises during this period was the cost of heating, fuel, water and electricity which rose by 11.4%.

(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)

Tajik food prices increase

APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Prices of basic agriculture products such as potatoes, carrots and tomatoes have risen by as much as 60% this year, media reported. A note from the ministry of agriculture said that the price rises were a seasonal issue triggered when farmers try to sell the last of the previous year’s harvest.

(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)