News Roundup - December 11, 2007

EurasiaNet: Officials pledge to act as OSCE bridge connecting North Atlantic, Eurasia states

President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration is casting the OSCE’s decision to designate Kazakhstan as the 2010 chair of the 56-state organization as an endorsement of Astana’s economic and political policies…

RIA Novosti: Kazakhstan, Russia to increase bilateral trade by 25% in 2007

The Russian-Kazakh bilateral trade will hit a record $16 billion in 2007 against last year’s $13 billion, Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Monday…

Reuters: Severstal gets 81.1 pct acceptances for Celtic bid

Russian steel maker Severstal, which is expanding into gold, moved a step closer to acquiring Celtic Resources on Monday after winning acceptances for 81.1 percent of the shares in the miner…

Reuters: Kazakh bank BTA says deposit drain over

TuranAlem (BTA), Kazakhstan’s number two bank, said on Monday its customer deposits grew in November after declining between August and October…

Forbes: KazMunaiGas EP 9-mth profit jumps on higher output

KazMunaiGas Exploration Production, the Kazakh oil and gas producer, reported a 53 pct rise in net profit in the nine months to September, reflecting increased output mainly brought about by the acquisition of a 50 pct stake in Kazgermunai…

Reuters: Kazakh banks may be over worst of credit woes - EBRD

Kazakhstan’s banking sector could be over the worst of credit problems sparked by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, Erik Berglof, chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said on Monday…

Financial Times: Central Asia: $19bn plan provides new threads for Silk Road

About 150km north of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, workers were recently putting the final touches to a bridge that is part of a new stretch of road linking the country to Kyrgyzstan…

Xinhua: President: Kazakhstan to pursue plural foreign policy

The priority of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy has not changed, Nazarbayev said at a meeting with delegates of diplomatic missions in the Central Asian nation, according to the president’s official website…

Xinhua: Kazakhstan hopes for completion of talks on WTO membership early next year

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Monday that his country hopes to complete talks on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) early in 2008…

EnerPub: Production Sharing Agreements in Putin’s Russia

The dynamics of the Russian energy industry have changed in the past fifteen years. Under Putin, the government has reasserted its control by restricting private and foreign investment in strategic sectors, particularly energy…