Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Tajikistan reports on transparency in mining sector

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an intergovernmental organisation set up to improve transparency in mining and oil sectors, published its first report on Tajikistan which the authors said shone some light on the murky Tajik extractive sector.

Anti-corruption lobby groups have previously criticised the Tajik government for siphoning off cash from its metals sector and while the report was considered a step forward for transparency in Tajikistan, there were still many blank spots.

And the authors of the report made this clear.

“Three of the 14 companies in the EITI Report are partially state owned. Considerable details related to these companies are missing from the report due to the currently weak government systems for recording all company payments,” they wrote in the EITI report.

Tajikistan had been supposed to present its first report to the EITI in February, a deadline it missed.

A presentation on the report will be made in Dushanbe on Nov. 25.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Tajik plane crashes in S. Sudan

NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Tajik registered Antonov-12 cargo plane crashed in south Sudan, killing 40 people. The plane had been owned by a Tajik company called Asia Airways but operated by an Armenian company called Ala International. (See page 8 for more)

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Kerry visits Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

OCT.31/NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of a tour of Central Asia. In Bishkek, Mr Kerry wanted to persuade the government that despite quitting its airbase, the US was still interested in Kyrgyzstan. In Dushanbe, Mr Kerry told the government to ease up on its crackdown of opposition parties.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Tajik government requests media to refrain

OCT. 31 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Tajik authorities asked media to refrain from reporting on the now banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). According to officials, the IRPT had planned to overthrow the Tajik government before its leaders were arrested in September. They have said foreign media has been duped into painting them as victims of repression.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

Tajik-Japanese joint venture to build factory

OCT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Avvalin, a joint-venture between Japan’s Cokey Systems and the Tajik government, wants to build a factory to produce liquorice root-based medicines. Tajikistan produces liquorice in the south-west of the country. The Tajik government owns 51% of Avvalin. Cokey owns 49%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Tajikistan ups coal output

OCT. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) -Tajikistan has increased coal output by 22% in the first nine months of 2015, compared to the same period last year. Coal production stands at 858,000 tonnes. Coal burning power stations are important for electricity generation and household heating.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Currency: Kazakh tenge, Kyrgyz som

OCT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In this current regional economic crisis, when currencies are stable it has to be positive.

The US Federal Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged, giving some more breathing room to currencies across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

This was one of the first stable weeks for currencies in the region after heavy turbulence shook, ravished even, the markets.

The three free-floating currencies followed a similar pattern this week, weakening only marginally.

The Kazakh tenge lost just 0.5% of its value against the US dollar, ending at 279.2/$1 on Friday. The Kyrgyz som followed suit losing 0.7% of its value at 69.4/$1. The Georgian lari was stable at 2.39/$1.

In Tajikistan, the Central Bank said the somoni lost 30% of its value in the year to Sept. 2015. On Friday, it was stable at 6.62/$1.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Markets: Remittances from Russia to South Caucasus and Central Asia fall

OCT. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Remittances from Russia to Central Asia and the South Caucasus keep falling, a major problem for countries which are heavily reliant on cash sent back by workers in Russia. Think Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in particular.

Fresh data from the Russian Central Bank shows a fall of 12% in Q3 2015 compared to the same period last year for all countries in our region, except Georgia, which lies outside the Russian data.

For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, remittances from migrant workers are vital, accounting for around half of their GDP. Uzbekistan and Armenia are also heavily reliant on money transfers from Russia.

Remittances to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan showed a first sign of recovery in Q3, although their overall balance for 2015 remains negative, compared to 2014. According to the Kyrgyz Central Bank, the value of remittances this year has dropped by around $400m to $1b.

Similarly, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have lost as much as 35% of their remittances in the first nine months of 2015.

From rock bottom, it can only get better. Figures from the next two quarters will likely show a growth in the value of remittances, because the benchmark they will be measured against is the nadir of the crisis of last winter.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Business comment: IMF’s reforming zeal

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The South Caucasus and Central Asia might be looking at a long term economic crisis, the IMF said, sending a chill down the spines of the region’s investors.

After the shock of the 2008/9 financial crisis, countries across the region picked up pace and restored the steady growth pattern they had witnessed in the early 2000s.

But the current crisis, which Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev called worse than the 2008/9 financial crunch, could linger on for longer than expected because of its ripple effects on the Russian economy, the IMF said.

Lower oil prices have affected hydrocarbon exporters from the region – big and small, private and state. Several exploration and production projects have become unprofitable and revenues have lost value. The IMF forecast a break- even price of around $60/barrel or higher for both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. If oil prices are lower, debt will grow and reserves will shrink.

Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, had been forecasted to be better off due to lower oil prices, but the fall in the rouble has reduced the value of their remittances and pressured currencies.

And the IMF had a message. Reform is the only option, it said.

“The long-lasting nature of the shocks means that deeper and more durable policy changes will be needed,” Juha Kähkönen, deputy director of the IMF in Almaty said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan attempt to resolve border dispute

OCT. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to meet on Nov. 5 in Bishkek to try and resolve the long running issue of border demarcation. Border disputes have strained relations between the two countries since independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)