Tag Archives: Kazakhstan

Fitch downgrades Kazakh bank

DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Fitch ratings agency downgraded the rating of Kazakhstan’s third largest bank Tsesnabank to B from B+ because of a drop in the quality of its loan portfolio. The downgrade and drop in loan quality are a reflection of the pressures that the Kazakh economy is under. The tenge has lost around half its value in the past couple of years, pressuring households with foreign currency loans and mortgages.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Grain exports rise in Kazakhstan

DEC. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan has exported 7.9m tonnes of grain this so far this year, Kazakh deputy agriculture minister Kairat Aituganov said at a press conference, a 12% increase on 2015. Grain is an increasingly important part of the Kazakh economy. Overall, Mr Aituganov said that agricultural production in Kazakhstan had increased this year by 4.5%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kazakh security forces arrest suspected terrorists

DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh security forces arrested 16 people for allegedly stirring ethnic hatred and belonging to terrorist groups in four coordinated raids across the country. The Kazakh government has blamed radical Islamists for trying to recruit young men into the ranks of IS.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kazakh President’s Syria peace talk offer

DEC. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> So Kazakhstan is hosting peace talks on the war in Syria. This sounds like a major deal.

>> It is and it isn’t. This is actually the third talks in Kazakhstan on the Syria war. The previous two rounds have proved to be more of a talking shop than a forum to find peace. They were only attended by the disparate opposition groups and so were limited. They produced a declaration that called for parliamentary elections and fighting terrorism but little else. Fairly anodyne stuff when there is a vicious civil war going on. There are also other peace talks going on, mainly the UN-backed Geneva talks, to try to sort out the war in Syria that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced many more to flee their homes.

>> When were the previous talks? Who was involved?

>> There were two rounds of talks last year, in May and in October. The only groups to attend were the disparate rebels. The extremist group IS was not invited. The talks generated a lot of headlines for Kazakhstan but no tangible impact to the war in Syria. These next talks also feature Russia, Turkey and Iran and could be altogether more serious if they do go ahead. These are the three powers who are exerting the main influence over Syria at the moment. The US and other Western powers have been left out in the cold. These talks though are more aimed at influencing the main talks going on in Geneva, rather than coming up with a stand-alone solution.

>> Right. So negotiations with the US are happening elsewhere?

>> Yes. They are not officially going to be at the peace talks in January in Astana.

>> So, what is Kazakhstan’s role?

>> It hosts the talks and will also mediate, if needed. It’s a great headline generator for Kazakhstan. President Nursultan Nazarbayev craves more attention. He wants to be taken more seriously and has tried to position Kazakhstan as a neutral venue to solve the world’s problems. He organised a summit of the OSCE member states, something that hadn’t been done since 1999, in Astana in 2010. He has also hosted a meeting of the Iran talks. This involves the US, Russia, Britain, France and China. Next year, Kazakhstan starts a two year posting as a non permanent member of the UN Security Council. And, perhaps most brazenly, Nazarbayev has also created his own peace prize.

>> What do you mean? Nazarbayev has a peace prize?

>> Yes, that’s right. We reported on it when it was announced in October. It comes with a $1m cheque. The first prize went to King Abdullah of Jordan for taking in 1.5m Syrians refugees and for making the Middle East a nuclear free zone. Nazarbayev plans to hand it out every year so it’ll be interesting to see who he gives the prize to in 2017. A Syria connection would be a good bet.

>> Back to these Syria talks. What will come out of them?

>> It’s all very fluid at the moment. Russia and Turkey appear to have given their consent to Kazakhsta-based peace talks but nothing has been heard from the Assad regime and Iran or the rebels. It’s highly unlikely that the rebels and the Assad regime will convene in one place so, even if they do go ahead, you’re likely to get an unbalanced view of things. The government forces may turn up this time but not the rebels.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Israeli PM visits Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan for first time

DEC. 13/14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) –Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Baku and Astana in a high- profile trip aimed at shoring up bilateral support in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region.

This was the first trip to the region by a serving Israeli PM.

Mr Netanyahu’s visit to Baku was particularly important. Azerbaijan borders Iran, Israel’s arch foe, and the two countries have built up an alliance. Azerbaijan buys Israeli weapons and has previously given its air force permission to use its airbases if conflict did break out with Iran. In return, Israel buys Azerbaijani oil.

In comments which gushed with positivity, Mr Netanyahu was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying: “The world sees so much intolerance and darkness, this (Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation) is an example of how the Muslim-Jewish relationship can and should be everywhere.”

Mr Aliyev was equally enthusiastic about bilateral relations, calling Israel an important partner and describing how his government had spent nearly $5b on buying Israeli-made weapons. The visit triggered a series of anti- Azerbaijan demonstrations in Iran. The Iranian government also officially complained and accused the Azerbaijani government of anti-Islamic tendencies.

From Baku, Mr Netanyahu flew to Astana for a meeting with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. He openly said that he wanted to enlist Kazakhstan’s help in supporting Israel for a non-permanent seat on the UN’s Security Council.

“We helped you get accepted as a member of the Security Council and now we are asking you to help us be a member of the council, as well,” he was quoted by media as saying to Mr Nazarbayev.

Kazakhstan starts a two-year position on the UN Security Council in January. It is one of 10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Paris court frees Kazakh President’s enemy Ablyazov from jail

DEC. 9-13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Days after a court in Paris freed former Kazakh banker Mukhtar Ablyazov from jail, the self-styled opposition figure promised to reignite his campaign to topple Kazakhstan’s long-running leader Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Paris court had overturned an order to extradite Mr Ablyazov to Russia because of concerns that he would be tortured and then handed over to Kazakhstan. Mr Nazarbayev has viewed Mr Ablyazov as his number one enemy and wanted to see him tried in a Kazakh court for plotting a coup.

Mr Ablyazov, though, walked out of prison in Paris, three years after his arrest in the south of France. In an interview with the AFP news agency, he was in combative mood.

“My main aim is to bring democratic change to Kazakhstan and that Nazarbayev’s regime falls,” he said.

For Mr Nazarbayev this means a resumption of the well-funded campaign to see Mr Ablyazov in prison. The thought of the former energy minister, turned-billionaire-banker living freely in Paris will anger and irritate him.

In a subsequent Liberation interview, Mr Ablyazov was photographed looking gaunt and thin. As well as promising to continue to fund opponents of Mr Nazarbayev, he also said that he had sponsored a revolution in Kyrgyzstan in 2005.

“It was important for me in order to launch a democratic process in one of the former Soviet republics and they to be able to carry out proper reforms, which would become a model for Kazakhstan,” he said.

Kyrgyzstan’s 2005 revolution overthrew Askar Akayev. He was replaced by Kurmanbek Bakiyev who was also overthrown in a revolution in 2010.

For Kazakhstan’s disparate opposition, Mr Ablyazov is a complicated and at times Faustian character. A member of the Kazakh elite, he fled to Moscow and London after the collapse of BTA Bank, where he was chairman. The Bank had billions of dollars of debt which were exposed during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/9. The government bought the bank, along with other smaller banks, to protect savers.

In the meantime, Mr Ablyazov set himself up as an opposition leader in a leafy area of north London.

The Kazakh government accused Mr Ablyazov of stealing billions of dollars from BTA Bank and prosecuted him through the courts in London. During one of the court sessions he absconded and went on the run in the south of France.

Mr Ablyazov, though, was unrepentant.

“Vladimir Putin is rebuilding a Soviet Union and Kazakhstan is its main ally,” he said, explaining his motivations for trying to overthrow Mr Nazarbayev.

The Kazakh Prosecutor-General’s office has said it will continue to prosecute Mr Ablyazov for the alleged theft of $5b, abuse of office, plotting a coup and various other crimes.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Kazakh President orders pension rise

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a populist show of tenderness towards ordinary Kazakhs, President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered the state pension to be increased by 20% next year. His apparent show of magnanimity coincided with the country’s 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. Pensions are paid in tenge, which has lost half its value since 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Kazakh President’s son-in-law family want re-trial

DEC. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The family of Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s former son-in-law who was found dead in an Austrian prison cell in February 2015, called for an investigation into his death to be reopened. At a press conference the family presented a German expert who said that he thought Aliyev had been murdered. An Austrian investigation ruled that Aliyev had killed himself. Aliyev had been married to Dariga Nazarbayeva, Pres. Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter. He had fallen out with his father-in-law in 2007.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)

Israel to build poultry plant in Kazakhstan

DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Israeli poultry processing company BAL International said it will build a new food chain plant in Kazakhstan. The company, which owns two factories in Israel, plans to install a new production line in the Almaty region. Its business will be mostly geared towards exports to China. The company also plans to kick-start a mutton export line from Kazakhstan to Israel. The deal was signed during Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s official visit to Astana.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f

Kazakhstan-based CAM director’s shares increase

DEC. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed Central Asia Metals said that its deputy chairman Nigel Hurst-Brown had been given 215,000 ordinary shares from an unnamed shareholder, increasing his shareholding to 0.81%. The transaction was completed at no cost. With a stake of 19%, Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev is Central Asia Metals’ largest shareholder.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)