Tag Archives: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan gives Centerra Gold until mid-March to negotiate

FEB. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz parliamentarians threatened to nationalise the Kumtor gold mine by the end of March unless its Toronto-listed owner, Centerra Gold, agreed to a new joint-venture to run it.

The ultimatum increases the stakes in the long-running battle for control of the gold mine — Kyrgyzstan’s single biggest economic asset.

“We should finally end this epic,” Reuters quoted parliamentary speaker Asilbek Zheenbekov as saying after the parliamentary vote. “Today we adopted a tough resolution.”

The row over Kumtor has dented both productivity at the gold mine based in the eastern mountains of Kyrgyzstan and the country’s GDP as well as its image as a place for foreign investors to set up businesses.

Centerra Gold has accused Kyrgyz nationalists of wiping up public anger against Kumtor through bogus environmental infringements. Kyrgyzstan has said Centerra Gold needs to run and manage Kumtor more effectively.

The Kyrgyz government wants to swap its 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold for a 50:50 joint venture with the company directly in Kumtor. Commenting on Centerra Gold’s full year results last month, its CEO, Ian Atkinson, said he was studying the proposal. This non-commitment may be the source of the frustration felt by Kyrgyz lawmakers.

Now, the issue of Kumtor’s ownership will once again move to the foreground, potentially destabilising the country and damaging for its reputation further.
-ENDS-

(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)

Kyrgyzstan says IS has increased recruiting drive

MARCH 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – IS and other radical Islamic groups have turned southern Kyrgyzstan into a rich recruitment grounds, the head of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee, Rakhat Suleimanov, said. Some Western analysts, though, have questioned the veracity of these claims saying that they allow the security services to clamp down on dissent.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)

Kumtor gold production falls

FEB. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In its annual report, the Toronto-based Centerra Gold said that its Kumtor mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan produced 10% less gold in 2014 than it did in 2013.

Kumtor is not only important to Centerra Gold, which also has other assets, but is also vital to the economic health of Kyrgyzstan. It is the country’s largest single asset and contributes around 10% of its total GDP.

Already reeling from the fallout from Russia’s sanction-hit economic slowdown, the news from Centerra Gold that, although expected, gold production at Kumtor had fallen will be a another big blow to Kyrgyzstan.

Centerra Gold said gold production in 2014 was around 620,000 ounces, down from 690,000 ounces.

Kumtor has been a headache over the past few years. Kyrgyzstan wants to assume more control over the gold mine, while Centerra Gold has been fighting to retain its share.

Strikes and protests caused part of the drop in production at Kumtor.

Centerra Gold CEO, Ian Atkinson said of negotiations with the Kyrgyz government over Kumtor ownership: “We are in the process of negotiating the definitive agreements to implement the restructuring as described in the Heads of Agreement signed on January 18, 2014 and are continuing discussions with the Kyrgyz Government in this regard.”

Kyrgyzstan wants to swap its 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold for a 50:50 joint venture in Kumtor directly.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)

Kyrgyz CBank leaves rates unchanged

FEB. 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 11% despite inflationary pressure from a devaluing currency and falling remittances from workers based in Russia. In February, Kyrgyzstan’s inflation was measured at 10.9%.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)

Russia to strengthen Kyrgyz military base

FEB. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s military will equip its Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan with up-to-date fighter-jets, media quoted Colonel Jaroslav Roschupkin, a Russian army spokesman, as saying. Russia has, generally, been looking to beef up its military deployments in Central Asia, especially at the Kant airbase.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)

Kyrgyzstan puts Jerooy up for sale

FEB. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz government said it was once again putting its second largest gold mine, Jerooy, up for sale by tender despite a failed attempt to sell it in 2013 for $300m. The Jerooy mine is also the subject of a $549m arbitration suit filed by its former owners, the Kazakh investment fund Visor Holdings.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)

Kyrgyzstan stops more IS recruitment

FEB. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s security services have uncovered 30 more attempts by the radical group IS to recruit young disaffected Kyrgyz men for their army in Syria, the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported quoting the government. The authorities also said an imam at a large mosque had been arrested for supporting IS.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)

Russia slow on Kyrgyz projects

FEB. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s energy minister, Kubanychbek Turdubayev, has accused Russia of working too slowly on upgrades to hydropower projects, eurasianet.org reported. Upgrades to the Kambar-Ata 1 dam and the Upper-Naryn Cascade were part of a 2012 deal that saw Moscow secure an extension to leases on military bases in Kyrgyzstan.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)

Inflation likely to climb in Kyrgyzstan

>>Economy minister warns of more price rises>>

FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s economy minister, Temir Sariev, said that inflation could hit 13% this year, double the rate the government is aiming for.

Mr Sariev said that a combination of events had forced a large price jump in Kyrgyzstan — the falling Russian rouble, a slowdown in the economy and joining the Kremlin-steered Eurasian Economic Union.

In December annualised inflation measured over 10%, sharply up from the beginning of the year.

Last month the Kyrgyz Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 11%, its highest rate since 2012.

But alongside the rouble devaluation and entry to the Eurasian Economic Union, Mr Sariev said that other problems had also weighed on the economy and had made the start of 2015 difficult.

“Seasonal water shortage has brought two big problems for us. Firstly, agricultural products produced in fewer amounts. Second, less energy produced. As a result, we had to buy it in Kazakhstan,” he said according to media reports.

The problem for the government is a weak economic outlook triggers resentment.

Opposition parties have already said that intend to hold a series of rallies in Bishkek this spring themed around what they described as a new economic crisis.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)

Kyrgyz Central Bank spends heavily

FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan has spent around 10% of its currency reserves this year defending its currency from devaluing, media quoted the chairman of the Central Bank, Tolkunbek Abdygulov, as saying. The Kyrgyz som is closely linked to the Russian rouble and has devalued against the US dollar by around 20%.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)