APRIL 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a constitutional formality, the Kazakh government resigned immediately after Nursultan Nazerbayev was re-elected as president for the fifth time. He re-appointed his trusted lieutenant Karim Massimov as PM, ensuring stability in the government.
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev dismissed rumours a devaluation of the tenge was now imminent after he had won another election. “There are no such plans,” he said at a news conference. The tenge has come under enormous pressure to devalue because of a fall in oil prices and a drop in the Russian rouble.
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Cycling’s Astana Pro Team, a Kazakhstan-backed franchise, will retain its World Tour Licence despite allegations of mass doping (April 24).
The International Cycling Union’s Licence Commission’s decision surprised many who had been urging it to take strong action to clean up the sport.
The International Cycling Union suggested in February that Astana Pro Team would lose its licence over what it described as “compelling grounds” that it had doped.
This would have embarrassed Kazakhstan. Last year an Astana Pro Team rider, Vincenzo Nibali, won the Tour de France.
Some online stories suggested that the International Cycling Union wanted to avoid a legal case with Astana Pro Team and so dodged scrapping its licence. Instead it said Astana Pro Team would be subject to special conditions next season.
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan extended a ban on the import of Russian oil products by an extra month until May 20. An original 45-day ban had been due to end on April 20. Kazakhstan imposed the ban because an imbalance in the Russian rouble-Kazakh tenge exchange rate has triggered an influx of cheap Russian oil products.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tengizchevroil, Kazakhstan’s largest oil producer and one of its most successful post-Soviet energy projects, said that it was slowing expansion plans in response to the drop in global oil prices.
The announcement is yet more disappointing news for Kazakhstan. It is trying to cope with a sharp economic downturn triggered by the combined impact of the fall in oil prices and also the Western-imposed sanctions on Russia which have had a knock-on effect in the rest of the former Soviet Union.
“Global oil prices have dropped significantly, so we responded by slowing the project down and cutting spending for 2015,” reports quoted Aidar Dosbayev, head of production at Tengizchevroil, as saying at a conference.
Tengizchevroil is vitally important to Kazakhstan. It wants to become one of the world’s top energy producers although the much-delayed Kashagan project has dented its ambitions. And the delay in starting up Kashagan has meant Kazakhstan’s oil output hinges on Tengizchevroil.
Tengizchvroil had said it planned an expansion that would boost output to 38m tonnes of oil a year by 2019, up from around 27m tonnes.
The oil price drop, though, has slowed planes, Mr Dosbayev said.
“Although we slow down the pace of the project and reduce costs, our commitments to Kazakhstan remain unchanged,” he said.
In the short-term, though, Kazakhstan’s income from the project will be reduced and job creation will be limited.
Chevron owns 50% of Tengizchevroil, ExxonMobil owns 25%, Kazmunaigas owns 20% and Lukoil owns 5%.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nationals from another 16 countries will be able to travel to Kazakhstan without a visa from July, media reported quoting Gulnar Kurbanbayeva, deputy head of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs. Ms Kurbanbayeva also said visa-free travel for 10 top investment countries would be extended.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has delivered four Su-30SM fighter jets to Kazakhstan, media reported, part of a major overhaul of the Kazakh air force. By 2020, reports said, Kazakhstan is planning on buying another 32 fighter jets from Russia. Kazakhstan has spent billions upgrading its military.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev opened two new metro stations in Almaty, marking the westward extension of the service which opened in 2011. Almaty now has nine metro stations.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan prepared for a presidential election on April 26 that will extend the 26-year rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country’s only post-Soviet leader. He called an election to impose his authority during an economic downturn.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kcell, Kazakhstan’s largest mobile operator, said that Q1 income had fallen by 15% and its customer based had dropped by 3% because of an increase in competition.
Strikingly, Kcell’s CEO Arti Ots didn’t make an reference to the general economic downturn that has hit Kazakhstan in his comments on the Q1 results. This is important because most consumer orientated businesses in Kazakhstan have reported a drop in sales over the past few months.
“In the first quarter of 2015 we have seen continued growth in data services and increased revenue from handset sales driven by demand for smartphones,” he said. “Voice revenues have declined in the face of intensifying competitive pressure.”
Kcell is listed on the London stock exchange but controlled by TeliaSonera, a Nordic company.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)