NOV. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s agriculture minister Asylzhan Mamytbekov said he is not going to intervene to stop bread price rising. Higher utility bills and problems with getting loafs to market have increased bread prices in recent months in southern Kazakhstan. Bread price rises are a potential source of social discontent.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has made clear he wants to transform, relatively, Kazakhstan’s economy.
He wants to sell stakes in the three banks that the state had to bail out in the 2008/9 global financial crisis, unify and nationalise Kazakhstan’s pension schemes and launch a handful of companies onto the stock exchange.
There’s a lot to do and that, analysts said, is probably the driving force behind his recent reshuffle.
Last month Mr Nazarbayev installed Kairat Kelimbetov, well-known for his loyalty, as head of the Kazakh Central Bank. Analysts also said the promotion on Nov. 5 of Bakhyt Sultanov from deputy head of the presidential administration to finance minister was driven by a similar motivation.
“The new budget, which carried an increase in taxation, the lifting of the pension age and the possible elimination of the so-called new-born cheque are controversial matters,” said Nygmet Ibadildin an Almaty-based analyst. “The promotion (of Sultanov) shows that the president is fully in control.”
Eldar Madumarov, an economics professor in Almaty, agreed. He also said that Bolat Zhamishev’s move from finance minister to regional development minister should be considered a promotion and not a demotion.
“Zhamishev is deemed to be responsible and was moved to be regional development minister,” he said.
Since clashes between protesters and police in 2011 killed 15 people in western Kazakhstan, the Kazakh government has prioritised improving life in the regions.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — When the Kazakh government orders something to be done, it generally gets done so when Halyk Bank declined an invitation to effectively buy out the state’s shares in BTA Bank, it was clear that something was up.
The Kazakh government wants to unite the country’s pension funds. It offered its 97% stake in BTA Bank in return for Halyk Bank’s private pension fund. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s second daughter Dinara and her husband, Timur Kulibayev, own Halyk Bank, the second biggest in Kazakhstan.
Mr Kulibayev used to be the darling of Kazakh politics and business and was talked about as a successor to Mr Nazarbayev. His star has waned, though, since a riot in western Kazakhstan killed 15 people in 2011.
At the time he was in charge of Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund. He was blamed for the riot and his rivals have been trying to undermine him since.
Reports from Kazakhstan have said that he has recently rowed with senior government officials and argued with his father-in-law.
Rejecting an order for his bank, Halyk Bank, to buy out the government’s shares in BTA Bank may be a public expression of this discontent.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The deal has been in the making all year. It’s still not there, yet, but it is close.
Rosneft, a Russian energy company, signed a preliminary deal with Kazakh energy company Kazmunaigas and oil pipeline monopoly KazTransOil to transit oil to China.
A final deal is expected by the end of the year.
Russia is increasing exports to China but it has run out of pipeline capacity. Kazakhstan has invested hugely in expanding its pipeline network and has excess capacity so, for a fee, it has agreed to pump Russian oil east.
The deal is important because it further cements the Russia-Kazakhstan alliance; Kazakhstan is a member of Russia’s Customs Union and the two countries are integrating their defence systems.
It also highlights the importance of Kazakhstan’s pipeline infrastructure to China. Without it, China’s oil supply would be weaker.
Media reported that Russia plans, currently, to pump 140,000 barrels per day through Kazakhstan’s pipeline network. This, though, is expected to rise.
The final details have yet to be worked out but this is significant news.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kashagan will not re-start oil production until 2014 because of worse-than-expected repairs to a gas leak, Christophe de Margerie, head of Total, one of the partners developing the Caspian Sea site, said. Over the past month, the consortium developing Kashagan has gradually delayed further the re-start of oil production.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia and Kazakhstan signed a preliminary deal to pump Russian oil through Kazakh pipelines to China. Russia’s pipeline network is full while Kazakhstan has spare capacity.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shymkent refinery re-started fuel production after a month-long planned shut-down for maintenance work, official Kazakh media reported, easing pressure on petrol supplies. Re-starting the Shymkent refinery, one of only three in Kazakhstan, on schedule was important after reports of petrol shortages and price rises.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 8 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a rare case, a court in Astrakhan, northern Kazakhstan, sent two policemen to jail for three year for torturing a farmer into confessing he had stolen cattle. Human rights groups often criticise the authorities in Kazakhstan for turning a blind eye to torture by their police forces.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — En route to the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, next year, the Olympic torch touched down from space in Kazakhstan. A Russian space rocket had flown the Olympic torch to the International Space Station from Russia’s launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, as part of the pre-Games relay.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fuel shortages and a power struggle in Uzbekistan appear to have claimed another major scalp in Shavkat Majidov, the long-serving first deputy chief of Uzbekneftegaz. Although no official information has been made available, media reported Uzbek President Islam Karimov sacked Mr Majidov over continued fuel supply problems.
Mr Majidov was a powerful man, in charge of oil-related affairs in Uzbekistan and closely linked with Gulnara Karimova, Mr Karimov’s elder daughter.
Ms Karimova had once been considered a potential presidential successor but more recently she has come under pressure from rivals. Prosecutors in Europe and Uzbekistan have opened investigations into her business affairs; her supporters are being targeted.
Mr Majidov’s removal, according to a media report, is linked to an investigation into shortages at the Ferghana Oil Refinery. Ms Karimova’s ally Akbarali Abdullayev had controlled the refinery until police arrested him in October. This arrest, it appears, left Mr Majidov vulnerable. It has also allowed outsiders another glimpse of the interwoven world of politics and business in Uzbekistan.
Sultan Alisher, a member of parliament loyal to Mr Karimov, and director of the Shurtangaz chemical plant, has taken over as deputy head of Uzbekneftegaz. He’s a safe pair of hands that Mr Karimov can rely on as the power game in Uzbekistan unfolds.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)