Tag Archives: Uzbekistan

Tethys Petroleum pulls out of Uzbekistan

JAN. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In another blow to Uzbekistan’s image as a place to do business, London-listed Tethys Petroleum said that it is pulling out of the country.

In a statement circulated on Jan. 2, the company said it had pulled out of Uzbekistan “due to recent changes in the business climate and political environment”.

It expects that disengaging from its only project in Uzbekistan, the North Urtabulak oilfield in central Uzbekistan, will take three months.

Last month, Uzbek authorities arrested the head of Tethys Petroleum in Uzbekistan and accused the company of stealing oil worth $30m to $40m.

Tethys’ decision may also be linked to the ongoing political instability in Uzbekistan. Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of President Islam Karimov, is currently fighting to maintain control of her assets and influence. Observers have said that political instability may embroil Uzbekistan for some time.

But Tethys’ withdrawal does highlight the problems for foreign companies of doing business in Uzbekistan.

They complain of interference from the authorities, random tax bills and police visits.

Last year Russian telecoms company MTS pulled out of Uzbekistan after a long-running and very public row with the tax authorities. Oxus Gold, a British gold mining company, quit Uzbekistan in 2011 also after a run-in with the authorities.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Activist breaks in Uzbek president’s daughter house

JAN. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gulnara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, has stashed works of art belonging to the national museum in Tashkent at her home in Switzerland, an Uzbek activist who gained entry to the property said. Embroiled in a power struggle, Ms Karimova is currently in Uzbekistan.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Forced sterilisation is still widespread in Uzbekistan

DEC. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) –The forced sterilisation of women in Uzbekistan is still a widespread practice, media reported quoting a report by the US-based Open Society Foundations. The report, initially presented in New York on Dec. 13, said that doctors in Uzbekistan were under pressure to sterilise women to combat population growth.

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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

The Guardian interviews Uzbek president’s daughter

DEC. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an emailed interview with the Guardian newspaper, Gulnara Karimova said the recent power struggles in Uzbekistan had not affected her close relationship with her father, Uzbek President Islam Karimov. She also said that she thought that she had been the victim of an attempted poisoning in Uzbekistan in 2011.

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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Uzbekistan approves use of foreign currencies in Navoi

DEC. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek government said foreign currencies could be used legally inside the Navoi industrial free zone, media reported. The decision is aimed at increasing interest in one of Uzbekistan’s major business drives. Uzbekistan wants the Navoi industrial free zone to become a transport and industrial hub for Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Uzbekistan signs free trade deal with the CIS

DEC. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — More usually described as unilateral, Uzbekistan has taken a step towards being more collegiate towards its neighbours.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed a law on joining a free trade agreement among nine members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Uzbekistan originally signed a protocol on the free trade deal at a session of heads of CIS governments in Minsk, Belarus, on May 31 2013 and had been waiting for Mr Karimov’s signature to ratify it.

By joining the agreement Uzbekistan will drop import and export fees on goods to and from other member states. Of the eight other countries that signed the free trade deal in 2013 Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine have already put it into operation. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are still waiting to ratify it.

President Karimov has been keen to distance himself from the CIS in general and Moscow in particular but signing the agreement does bring Tashkent closer to the Kremlin.

Uzbekistan is expected to benefit from the agreement. What this move doesn’t mean, and this is important, is that relations with the West have weakened in any way. The free trade deal is important mainly for Uzbekistan’s exports and not for its geo-political trajectory.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Tethys Petroleum leaves Uzbekistan

JAN. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — London-listed energy company Tethys Petroleum said it will quit Uzbekistan because of a change in its political and business environment. Last month, Uzbek authorities accused Tethys of stealing oil. Tethys operates throughout Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Uzbekistan cuts interest rate

JAN. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate to 10% from 12% to try and combat falling inflation, media reported. Uzbekistan’s interest rate had been 12% since January 2011. Analysts expect official inflation in Uzbekistan to fall in 2014 to around 6% from 7% in 2013.

(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)

Uzbek president’s daughter maintain their rivalry

DEC. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Karimov family feud appeared to have deepened after Lola Karimova-Tillayeva, the Switzerland-based youngest daughter of Uzbek Tresident Islam Karimov, wrote on her website that she was considering taking legal action against her elder sister Gulnara Karimova. The two sisters have been locked in a row over Gulnara’s presidential ambitions.

(News report from Issue No. 165, published on Dec. 18 2013)

Uzbekistan reduces child labour

DEC. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Under pressure from the international community, Uzbekistan has reduced its use of students and school children to pick its cotton harvest but instead has increased the number of older professionals forced into fields, the New York Times reported.

(News report from Issue No. 165, published on Dec. 18 2013)