Tag Archives: Kazakhstan

Poroshenko flies into Kazakhstan

OCT. 8/9 2015, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — After an on-off build-up lasting months, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko visited Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana a meeting that could upset relations between Kazakhstan and Russia.

Mr Poroshenko’s visit to Astana is a diplomatic victory for Mr Nazarbayev who wants to be viewed as a potential peace broker between Kiev and Moscow over the civil war in eastern Ukraine. Mr Nazarbayev visited Kiev last December.

At a joint press conference, Mr Poroshenko thanked Mr Nazarbayev for his support “of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Kazakhstan has to tread a careful diplomatic tightrope as it needs to appease both its Western backers, who support Ukraine, and also Russia, with which it has close economic and political ties.

Kazakhstan has not recognised Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

During his visit, Mr Poroshenko also met with Kazakh prime minister Karim Massimov to discuss trade opportunities that will emerge in 2016 with the establishment of a free trade zone between Ukraine and the European Union and with Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organisation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Kazakhstan based ERG borrows $352m

OCT. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan-based Eurasian Resources Group said it has opened two credit lines with Russian lender VTB, highlighting its need for cash during this turbulent economic period. The two loans total $352m and will be used to upgrade two aluminium plants.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Kazakhstan’s airline leases 4 Airbus

OCT. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — AerCap, a Netherlands-based aircraft leasing company, will provide four Airbus to Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s flagship airline. Angus Kelly, AerCap’s CEO, said the new aircrafts will be mainly used for Air Astana’s long range flights between Asia and Europe. In June, Air Astana also agreed a deal with AerCap to lease seven Airbus aircrafts starting in 2016.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Tethys shareholders reject Kazakh companies’ final buy-out offer

ALMATY, OCT. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Nostrum Oil & Gas withdrew its offer to buy Tethys Petroleum, ending hopes of a merger between the two Kazakhstan- focused companies.

Shortly after Nostrum announced it had scrapped its bid, Kazakhstan- based AGR Energy submitted an offer to buy a large chunk of equity in Tethys for a premium. The AGR offer, helped Tethys shares rebound by 12% on the Canadian stock market.

Earlier the final word on the long- running Nostrum bid came from Tethys’ largest shareholder, Pope Asset Manager. It said it did not support the latest offer of 0.147 Canadian dollars per share that would have valued the company at $49.5m.

Nostrum had tried to buy Tethys’ shares for two months but a deal slipped away as the sustained oil price collapse ate into the value of energy companies in general and Tethys shares in particular.

Both companies have their main operations in Kazakhstan. The value of their assets has decreased due to the weakening Kazakh tenge against the US dollar.

Nostrum’s withdrawal was an opportunity for AGR, a company linked to the Assaubayev family. It put in an offer of $20m for a large portion of Tethys’ equity, valuing shares at 0.165 Canadian dollars. In addition, AGR also proposed a $5m loan to support short-term liquidity and the option of buying more shares.

Earlier in August, Tethys failed to conclude a $47.7m refinancing deal with AGR, which would have granted the Kazakh company a controlling stake in Tethys.

The Assaubayev family was involved in Kazakhstan’s gold sector but has since switched its focus to oil. In August 2014, it invested $62.5m into British company Max Petroleum becoming a 51% shareholder.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 251, published on Oct. 9 2015)

Business comment: Analysts see oil output drop

OCT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In the past few months of tumbling oil prices, analysts have discussed Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and debated whether they could keep oil production steady.

The PRIX index, a young and fully independent barometer of the 20 major oil exporting countries, forecasts a fall in oil exports in Q4 2015 for both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, a stark change after a positive forecast in Q3 2015.

PRIX’s methodology is simple, as it collects forecasts on oil exports from around 300 analysts around the world. It has rapidly gained credibility due to the volume of data it generates.

John Friedman, analytical advisor at PRIX, said: “We’re still in a bear market for oil.”

He noted that exporters do not yet want to give in and cut exports despite low oil prices.

Indra Overland, project director at PRIX, said the situation in Azerbaijan was particularly worrisome.

“Oil production in Azerbaijan is clearly falling. This is due to resource depletion, though one could also argue that it is indirectly due to the unattractive climate for exploration and investment,” Mr Overland said.

Importantly, the PRIX index also highlights the agreement, or lack thereof, between the surveyed analysts. It is interesting to note that disagreement among analysts covering Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has risen significantly, as oil prices and export data keep falling.

ENDS

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

Grain harvest rise in Kazakhstan

OCT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan is on target to produce 17.3m tonnes of grain this year, up from the 17.1m tonnes produced last year, media reported quoting the agriculture ministry. Grain has become an important export commodity for Kazakhstan. The ministry also said it is trying to find more clients for its grain in SE Asia.

ENDS

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

Kazakh government orders textbook publisher to redraw map of Ukraine

OCT. 1 2015, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s ministry of education ordered the Metkep publishing house to redraw a map used in one of its textbook which suggested Crimea was part of Russia.

Like most countries, Kazakhstan has not officially recognised Russia’s annexation of Crimea after a referendum last year in which the majority of people voted to leave Ukraine.

The Ukrainian embassy in Astana last week complained about the map in the school textbook, embarrassing the Kazakh government which needs to tread a fine diplomatic line between Russia and West.

ENDS

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

Kazakh football team sneak draw in Champions League

ASTANA/ Kazakhstan, OCT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Just when the crowd began to think that it was all over, the ball slipped into the back of Galatasaray’s net. The Astana Arena, with 30,000 FC Astana fans inside, shook with celebration.

The third own-goal of a mad and exciting match sealed a 2-2 draw for FC Astana in the first ever Champions League football game played in Central Asia.

Incredulous FC Astana fans were besides themselves with joy at the unexpected result.

“I am not keen on football, but when there are games like this, I turn into a real football-freak” said Bota, a 27- year-old FC Astana fan. On her nails she had painted the Kazakh flag.

The atmosphere at the Astana Arena, a state-of-the-art stadium with synthetic grass and retractable roof, was electric and very patriotic. The 30,000 FC Astana fans were dressed in blue-and-yellow, the colours of Kazakhstan’s flag. They didn’t stop singing and chanting for the whole 90 minutes.

In Kazakhstan’s Premier League many seats are empty but not for this match against Istanbul’s Galatasary. On the pitch FC Astana were not just representing the Kazakh capital, they were representing the entire country.

“This game is a way to prove that we are not Boratstan,” said Bota in a reference to the fictional comic character called Borat. “We have a lot of things to show and be proud of.”

Kazakh fans hadn’t forgotten that Galatasaray forward Lukas Podolski tweeted a picture of Borat after his team were drawn in the same group as FC Astana. Every time he touched the ball, they booed.

FC Astana is essentially a state club, part of the President’s Sport Club Astana alongside an ice hockey and cycling team, and financed by the national fund Samruk-Kazyna.

And this historic football match helped distract many people from the increasing economic gloom. Perhaps with some irony, one of the FC Astana chants was “We believe in Astana. We do not care about devaluation.”

Whether they qualify or not for the next round of the Champions League, FC Astana will also host Atletico Madrid and Portugal’s Benfica this year.

ENDS

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

Finnish company wins tender in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Finnish-based Wärtsilä won a tender to build a 40MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant near the Caspian port of Aktau, in west Kazakhstan. The Kazakh company KazAzot will manage the plant, which Wärtsilä plans to complete in late 2016. The plant will power the city of Aktau and its industrial hub.

ENDS

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

Kazakh bank completes buyback

SEPT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh lender BTA Bank completed the buyout of its shares from Samruk- Kazyna by buying the final 4.26% stake that Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund owned in it. Samruk-Kazyna bought BTA to save it from collapse during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/9. Over the past year, Kazkommertsbank, another Kazakh bank, has merged with BTA Bank.

ENDS

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