AUG. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Toronto-listed Centerra Gold and the Kyrgyz government began negotiations over the ownership of the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz government holds a 32.7% stake in Centerra Gold, which owns Kumtor, but it says it should own more of the country’s biggest industrial asset.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 149, published on Aug. 26 2013)
AUG. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s four-party governing coalition collapsed, triggering potential long-term political instability. The Ata-Meken and Ar-Namys parties, always tricky partners in the coalition, withdrew their support over corruption allegations against PM Omurbek Babanov and a stalling economy.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 102, published on Aug. 24 2012)
AUG. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the first time on Sept. 13 in Bishkek on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Russia and China led Central Asia-focused group, Iranian media reported.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 148, published on Aug. 19 2013)
AUG. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Kyrgyzstan uncovered an illegal pipeline pumping vodka into the country from neighbouring Kazakhstan, media reported. The discovery of the pipeline under the river Chu, which separates the two countries, highlights Central Asia’s entrenched smuggling networks and thirst for hard alcohol.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 148, published on Aug. 19 2013)
AUG. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Hackers attacked the Kyrgyz foreign ministry website, temporarily plastering it with Turkish language slogans, media reported. It was not clear who was behind the attack, the website of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The attack did, though, show the vulnerability of Kyrgyzstan’s government.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 147, published on Aug. 12 2013)
JULY 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s state gas company Gazprom completed its purchase of Kyrgyzgas, Kyrgyzstan’s gas distributor, for $1. Reuters quoted an anonymous source as saying that Gazprom will invest $600m updating Kyrgyzstan’s dilapidated gas infrastructure network. The deal also increases the Kremlin’s control over Kyrgyzstan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
CHOLPON ATA/Kyrgyzstan, JULY 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A sunny day had turned bad. Rain was sweeping down the valley warning of an impending storm. Just ahead of the storm, a sleek black 4×4 cruised out of the hills bordering Lake Issyk-Kul, the mountain-ringed glacial lake in eastern Kyrgyzstan.
“Do you need a ride?” asked the young Kyrgyz woman in the passenger seat.
Her driver pulled off towards Issyk-Kul, the large clear-blue lake which serves as a summer playground for Kyrgyzstan’s middle class and ruling elite.
The well-dressed lady in the passenger seat picked up the conversation.
“My driver took me to drink the first milk from a horse that’s just had a baby. It’s very good for the skin,” she said.” “I’m staying at Caprice. My husband’s in Bishkek. He’s in the financial police. He is, how do you say, a workaholic?”
Anti-corruption lobby groups accuse Kyrgyzstan’s police of being riddled with bribe-taking officials. Caprice, the hotel where this Kyrgyz lady was staying, lies near the town of Cholpon Ata on the northern shore of Lake Issyk Kul and is Kyrgyzstan’s most luxurious lakeside resort.
The hotel, the 4×4 and the pampered lifestyle spoke of wealth far beyond the reach of the average Kyrgyz civil servant. In a land of shady deals and rampant tax avoidance, a position in the country’s financial watchdog can be lucrative indeed.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 145, published on July 29 2013)
JULY 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At least one Uzbek soldier died in a gunfight with Kyrgyz soldiers on their shared border. Shootings are relatively common along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border but the incident again highlights tension. Analysts have said the issue could destabilise the region.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 145, published on July 29 2013)
JULY 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s economy yo-yos. Last year, it shrank by nearly 1%; this year estimates predict that it will grow by 7%.
The yo-yo effect depends on political stability, Kyrgyzstan has suffered two violent revolutions since 2005, as well as the health of its biggest industrial project, the Kumtor gold mine. Last year Kumtor, owned by Toronto-listed Centerra Gold, had a poor year and dragged down the entire national economy (it accounts for about 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP).
And mitigating this yo-yo effect is one of the main reasons that international donors have pledged $1.7b in grants and loans to Kyrgyzstan over the next five years.
Earlier this year, the Kyrgyz government, led by President Almazbek Atambayev unveiled an ambitious $13b growth plan. Much of this, the government said at the time, relied on the financial might of Western donors and investors underpinning this ambition.
At a conference in Bishkek on July 10, the World Bank, the IMF and others matched this ambition, giving Kyrgyzstan the chance to stabilise and grow its economy. This should improve the investment environment for foreign companies looking for a foothold in Central Asia too.
The alternative for Kyrgyzstan is more economic, and political, instability
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 143, published on July 15 2013)
JULY 3 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan wants to sell its Soviet-era torpedo factory on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, media reported. Russia has previously offered to buy the factory and is still the most likely purchaser. Media quoted a Kyrgyz government official saying the factory was worth $30m and the surrounding land another $180m.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 142, published on July 8 2013)