JULY 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan will use $5b from its sovereign wealth fund to help young people get mortgages, a senior official from the presidential administration said. The announcement, coming shortly before a presidential election, could help young people buy a house or an apartment in Baku, an increasingly expensive property market.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 143, published on July 15 2013)
MAY 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — It certainly sounds grand. Baiterek, the name for the new Kazakh national holding company, means earth-tree, a mythological tree connecting the inner Earth, the human-inhabited surface of the planet and the heavens.
On May 27, the Kazakh government said it planned to set up a new company, Baiterek, to hold some of the nation’s assets. It’s still, though, not entirely clear what specific role Baiterek will play.
According to media reports, Baiterek will hold stakes in various national companies and work with foreign investors on innovation projects.
Names are important in Kazakhstan and the symbolism of calling the new company Baiterek is difficult to miss.
Baiterek also holds greater resonance in Kazakhstan as the name for the tower at the centre of Astana, a symbol of a growing, proud nation.
Baiterek, the holding company not the tower, is probably one to watch.
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(News report from Issue No. 137, published on June 3 2013)
MAY 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Alongside the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Norway and the China Construction Bank, Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) bought part of a $3.3b stake in Russian bank VTB, the bank told local media. The deal again shows just how much wealth Azerbaijan has at its disposal.
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(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — SOFAZ, Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund, aims to spend $1b on property in Australia and Asia this year as it diversifies away from Europe, Shakhmar Movsumov, a senior director, told Reuters. SOFAZ made a splash in the international property market in December when it spent $600m in London, Paris and Moscow.
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(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
DEC. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state oil fund, SOFAZ, bought a $285m building in central London, its first significant purchase for its new international property portfolio, media reported. Azerbaijan’s wealth fund is worth an estimated $33b.
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
DEC. 26 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to impose his authority after the riots, Mr Nazarbayev sacked his son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev, as head of the sovereign wealth fund. Most of the rioters had been ex-oil workers and, as head of the fund, Mr Kulibayev had been in charge of the state energy company. He was seen as a potential successor to Mr Nazarbayev. Umirzak Shukeyev, a deputy PM, replaced Kulibayev as head of the fund.
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(News report from Issue No. 71, published on Jan. 5 2012)
OCT. 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Timur Kulibayev, head of the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, said Kazakhstan would pay up to $1b for a 10% stake in the oil and gas project Karachaganak. His statement raised hopes that the state and the Karachaganak investors were nearing an end to their long-running dispute.
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(News report from Issue No. 60, published on Oct. 11 2011)
JUNE 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian gas monopoly Gazprom appointed Timur Kulibayev, the favoured son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, as one of its directors. Mr Kulibayev was appointed head of Kazakhstan’s $80b sovereign wealth fund earlier this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JUNE 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian gas giant Gazprom nominated Timur Kulibayev, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, to be one of its directors, media reported. Mr Kulibayev has become increasingly powerful. He is considered a potential successor for Mr Nazarbayev and this year he became head of Kazakhstan’s $80b sovereign wealth fund.
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(News report from Issue No. 43, published on June 6 2011)
APRIL 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s government named President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law Timur Kulibayev as head of the country’s $80b sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. Mr Kulibayev had previously been deputy head. The move secures Mr Nazarbayev’s hold over the most important elements of the economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 36, published on April 18 2011)