MARCH 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — TALCO, the Tajik aluminium smelter and the country’s largest single industrial asset, has denied an earlier ministry of finance statement that accused it of being on the brink of bankruptcy, local media reported. TALCO is controversial because of its links to Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
DEC. 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — ArcelorMittal will cut hundreds of jobs at its steel plant in Temirtau, central Kazakhstan as it attempts to stem loses from declining global demand.
A Conway Bulletin correspondent in Almaty said the local trade union had estimated that 2,500 jobs would be lost, roughly 17% of the workforce. Although the numbers were not confirmed by ArcelorMittal, the management did agree that jobs would be cut.
Temirtau is a classic monogorod, the Russian term given to cities that survive on one industry, and the job losses will deal a heavy blow economically and psychologically.
The Termirtau steel plant is one of the biggest non-energy projects in the country and also where Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev worked before moving into politics.
In a statement on the company’s website, Vijay Mahadevan, CEO of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, said orders for the company’s products had fallen by 12.5% in the last two years triggering the cuts.
General global demand for steel products remains weak and one of the factory’s key clients, Iran, has been suffering from heavy sanctions that have undermined its economy further.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
SEPT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A steel plant owned by ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, in Kazakhstan has introduced a shorter working week because of a drop in demand for its products, local media quoted Reuters as reporting. ArcelorMittal’s plant at Temirtau, near Karaganda, has seen demand drop because of Western sanctions against Iran, a major client.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 152, published on Sept. 18 2013)
JUNE 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A 90m-high chimney at Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal’s steel factory in the town of Temirtau, central Kazakhstan, was damaged in an accident, media reported. The Temirtau factory is the largest steel making plant in Kazakhstan. There were no casualties in the accident although production will be slowed to repair the damage.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
MAY 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Due to Western sanctions against Iran and a sluggish world economy, steel production, an important part of Kazakhstan’s economy, continued to drop in the first four months of 2013, media reported quoting official data. Kazakhstan produced 22% less steel between Jan. and April 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 136, published on May 27 2013)
APRIL 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Production of steel, one of Kazakhstan’s most important exports, continued to fall, official statistics showed. In Q1 of 2013, Kazakhstan produced 22% less steel than in the same period in 2012. Analysts blamed the fall on a drop in global demand and sanctions imposed on Iran.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 132, published on April 22 2013)
DEC. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp sacked three executives for their role in alleged bribe paying in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to win contracts, media reported. The news once again highlights a culture of corruption that still exists in Central Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)