MARCH 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – China handed over four prisoners jailed for drug trafficking over to Kazakhstan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The deal, whereby the unnamed prisoners serve out their sentences in Kazakhstan, underlines the close relations between Kazakhstan and China.
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(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)
MARCH 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ has stopped exporting finished cars to Kazakhstan due to the introduction of new customs duties, Vedomosti reported quoting a source close to the company. The new taxes, introduced this year, increase the overall average price of an auto- mobile by $2,000. Instead, AvtoVAZ will expand its exports of car parts to its factories in Kazakhstan. This was confirmed to Kazakh media late on Thursday by an AvtoVAZ spokes- person.
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(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)
MARCH 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Utility tariffs in Kazakhstan were 11.2% higher in February this year compared to February 2015, the state statistics agency said. The biggest cost rise was a near 20% increase in sewage charges imposed on households. Heating and hot water prices have risen by nearly 6% and rubbish collection by around 5%. The data is more evidence of a rise in the cost of living in Kazakhstan after the currency lost around 50% of its value last year.
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(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)
FEB. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Almaty acquitted Yulia Kozlova, a journalist for nakanune.kz which is often critical of the authorities, of drug related charges. Ms Kozlova has said that the charges were politically motivated. Acquittals in Kazakhstan are extremely rare. It may be that the authorities are trying to deflect a barrage of negative criticism accusing them of cracking down on independent media.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kazakh court fined the consortium operating the Karachaganak gas and condensate field in the north of the country 526b tenge ($1.5m) for environmental damage. The court said the KPO consortium emitted around 43.8 tonnes of pollutants into the atmosphere between April and July 2015. KPO consortium shareholders include BG Group, ENI, Chevron, Lukoil and state-owned Kazmunaigas.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings for Baiterek Holding from BBB-/A-3 to BB+/B. S&P said “the likelihood of extraordinary government support to the consolidated Baiterek group [is] almost certain”. It said its negative outlook mirrors that of the agency’s latest assessment of Kazakh sovereign credit. Baiterek’s subsidiaries include the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and the Investment Fund of Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
MARCH 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Amnesty International accused the authorities in Kazakhstan of turning a blind eye to torture and the mistreatment of prisoners. The human rights group said the authorities often didn’t bother to investigate torture cases alleged against police and prison staff. The criticism will embarrass Kazakhstan which has said it had improved the treatment of prisoners.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Telecoms companies in Kazakhstan are rolling out 4G services after the government opened the market up to competition at the end of 2015. Tele2 Kazakhstan said it launched 4G services in several central and eastern districts in Kazakhstan, building on its merger with Altel in November. Before the market was liberalised, Altel had been the only licensee of 4G services. Kcell and Beeline also said they will launch pilot 4G coverage in major cities.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
MARCH 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The economic downturn that has hit Central Asia and the South Caucasus in the past two years has dented people’s purchasing power.
Most people earn salaries in their local currency but these have lost between 50% and 25% of their value in the past months.
This has triggered some social unrest, especially in the South Caucasus. In January, people in Azerbaijan took to the streets to protest against rising food prices and stagnating wages.
The same reasons were voiced by miners in Tkibuli, Georgia, who went on strike for two weeks asking for a 40% increase in salaries. Now reports have emerged from Yerevan where market stall owners briefly scuffled with police over rental prices.
In Central Asia, protests are less frequent and, generally, silenced quickly by the authorities. Last month, however, dozens of Kazakh women banging pots and blowing whistles protested in Almaty about mortgage repayments.
The crisis is starting to bite hard and the people are growing increasingly restless.
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(Editorial from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps following Kazakhstan’s lead, Kyrgyz parliamentarians are going to discuss the potential to issue a so-called sukuk, media reported. A sukuk is a debt which adheres to Islamic laws and principles. One of the advantages is that a sukuk may attract a greater range of potential investors from the Middle East and South-East Asia. The Kyrgyz parliament still has to discuss new laws aimed at easing a route to issuing a sukuk.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)