Archive for February, 2008
News Roundup - February 29, 2008
Reuters: Kazakhstan’s Bank Caspian plans IPO in 2009
Bank Caspian, Kazakhstan’s No.8 bank, plans an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2009, its Chief Executive Mikhail Lomtadze said on Thursday…
Daily News: Kazakhstan invites Pakistani investors
Kazakhstan is keen to further increase bilateral trade with Pakistan as some Pakistani companies have invested and the government encourages more foreign investment…
On 28 February, the Kazakhstan Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the national company KazMunayGaz signed a contract in Astana on hydrocarbon exploration in the Zhambil field located in the northern section of the Caspian Sea…
Forbes: KazakhGold in talks to buy gold mining assets, placing priced at 23 usd
KazakhGold Group Ltd said it is in talks to acquire certain gold mining assets for around 60 mln usd, and that it has placed 2.3 mln shares in the form of global depository receipts with institutional investors at a price of 23 usd per GDR…
Addressing the Cabinet of Kazakhstan on February 26, KazMunaiGaz President Uzakbai Karabalin informed it of the plans to up gas production from 29.6 billion cubic meters in 2007 to 114 billion in 2020…
Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Kazakstan ponders flood action plans
Every year, the banks of the Syrdarya, one of Central Asia’s two great rivers, overflow in Kazakstan, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage. Each year, there is a discussion about how to mitigate the consequences of future spring floods…
Institute for War and Peace Reporting: OSCE pressure unlikely to prompt Kazakh reforms
Although Kazakstan is coming under pressure to live up to the commitments it made in order to chair the OSCE in two years’ time, local human rights advocates say substantive change is highly unlikely…
Interfax: Kazakhstan forging JV with China to service passenger cars
Kazakhstan and China are establishing a joint venture for maintenance of the passenger cars supplied by the latter, president of national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZH) Zhaksybek Kulekeyev announced…
Interfax: Kazakhstan streamlines labor migration rules
Kazakh Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population has drafted new labor migration regulations. These include quotas, conditions and permit procedures for employers to bring guest workers to the country…
Interfax: 60% Kazakh residents back state language policy, Minster of Culture
State language development program drafted for 2001-2010 has been met by 80%, Minster of Culture and Information Yermukhamet Yertysbaev told Kazakhstanskaya Pravda on Thursday…
Reuters: Helicopter crash kills five in Kazakhstan
A Soviet-designed helicopter crashed in southern Kazakhstan on Thursday, killing five of the passengers, state media reported…
International Center for Journalists: Kazakh minister says he is committed to media reform
At a recent roundtable discussion about media legislation reform in Kazakhstan, the nation’s Minister of Culture and Information, Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, expressed his commitment to enacting media legislation in 2008 that will encourage compliance with international standards…
International Herald Tribune: Russia, Hungary sign South Stream pipeline deal
Russia scored another victory Thursday in its push to tighten domination of European energy supplies, signing a landmark deal with Hungary for a new natural gas pipeline…
Kazakhstan Strengthens Its Grip over Key Sectors of the Economy
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov announced that Kazakhstan will set up a national mining and metals company in which all state-owned mining and metallurgical holdings are to be consolidated. According to analysts, this is a consistent with the Kazakh government’s plan to strengthen its control over key sectors of the economy.
“A special mining company is likely to be set up within the framework of [the state holding company] Samruk with similar powers to those of KazMunaiGas, only in the sphere of solid minerals,” Masimov announced in Astana according to Interfax. The need to create such structure was also expressed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in his presidential address on February 6.
Nazarbayev has asked Samruk and the regional development enterprises to spearhead the development of the mining and metallurgical sectors in Kazakhstan. “It is necessary to effectively utilize our mining and metallurgical interests in Kazakhstan, and to regain control over the use of [Kazakhstan’s] mineral resources,” said Nazarbayev.
The government’s stake in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Group (ENRC), a mining group listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and operating in Kazakhstan, is currently its largest holding in the mining and metallurgical sectors. These sectors are among the most developed and significantly contribute to the country’s economy. However, as the most significant state enterprises were privatized in the 1990’s, the government was forced to give up direct control over them.
News Roundup - February 28, 2008
Reuters: Chevron-led Kazakh oil venture to boost ‘08 output
A Chevron-led Kazakh oil venture plans to increase its output sharply this year after new production facilities start up, the company said on Wednesday…
Easybourse: ArcelorMittal faces $828 million tax bill in Kazakhstan - report
A Kazakh subsidiary of steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT) must pay 100 billion tenge ($828 million) in back taxes, Kazakhstan Today news agency reports Wednesday, citing a tax committee spokesman…
Interfax: KazMunayGas to explore Zhambyl block in Caspian
Kazakh oil and gas company KazMunayGas will explore the Zhambyl block on the Caspian shelf under a contract signed with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in Astana on Wednesday…
Interfax: South Kazakhstan estimates flood losses
Kazakh Industry and Trade Minister Vladimir Shkolnik has instructed the administration of South Kazakhstan oblast (SKO) to estimate the flood damage in the region by Saturday…
Interfax: Atyrau Financial Police refutes all allegations of illegal property seizure
A group of residents of Atyrau oblast at a press conference on Tuesday in Almaty accused the regional court and financial police of criminal raiding through misappropriating private property of 8 owners and of more than 20 their relatives…
Last year the officers of the Almaty Department of the National Security Committee (KNB) confiscated 285 kg of drugs, Major General Nurzhan Myrzaliev said…
Fox Business: Tethys Petroleum Limited: New appointments
Tethys Petroleum Limited today announced that Piers Johnson would join the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director at the beginning of April of this year. He will also join the Company’s Audit Committee…
RIA Novosti: Russia’s space agency says Baikonur launch site still important
The construction of a new space center in Russia’s Far East should not affect launches at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) said on Wednesday…
Guardian Unlimited: OMV says a challenge to find gas for Nabucco
An alternative pipeline backed by the European Union and United States to reduce European reliance on Russian gas faces a challenge securing supplies, the chief executive of lead consortium member OMV said…
News Roundup - February 27, 2008
RIA Novosti: Kazakhstan to up natural gas output 280% by 2020 to 114 bln cu m
Kazakhstan intends to increase natural gas production from 29.6 billion cubic meters in 2007 to 114 bln cu m in 2020, the president of national oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz said Tuesday…
TREND: Prime Minister agrees on transfer of gas filed in north of Kazakhstan to national company
The transference of the gas field Urikhtau to KazMunayGas should be implemented within a month. This decision was made by Karim Masimov, the Prime Minister, during the meeting…
Interfax: Kazakhstan embarks on construction of Europe-China highway corridor
The Minister of Transport and Communications announced the completion of the feasibility study for the Western Europe-Western China corridor…
Interfax: German journalist attacked in Astana leaves hospital
39-year old Marcus Bensmann of the German ARD channel beaten and robbed in Astana in January has checked out of a hospital in Germany, a relative of the victim told Interfax-Kazakhstan…
newratings.com: Kazakhmys “outperform,” target price raised
Analyst J Gray of Credit Suisse maintains his “outperform” rating on Kazakhmys Plc. The target price has been raised from £20 to £22…
Reuters: Thousands homeless as severe flood hits Kazakhstan
More than 12,000 people have fled their homes in Kazakhstan after rain-swollen rivers swept away houses and bridges, the emergencies ministry said on Tuesday…
Financial Times: Wheat in demand as supply tightens
The restrictions on Kazakh wheat were seen as putting further upward pressure on demand for US supplies, particularly hard red spring wheat which is used for making flour…
Rigzone: New production facility commissioned at Kumkol field in Kazakhstan
Turgai Petroleum, a joint venture with the equal interests of LUKOIL Overseas and PetroKazakhstan (part of CNPC group) commissioned a new modular water injection pump station at the Kumkol field in the Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan…
News Roundup - February 26, 2008
Forum 18: Kazakhstan: Increased pressure to complete intrusive questionnaires
For some years, Kazakhstan has been demanding that non-Muslim religious communities complete highly intrusive questionnaires, Forum 18 News Service has noted…
Kazinform: Kazakhstan to prolong ban on vegetable oil export till June 1, 2008
“Kazakhstan will extend ban on export of sunflower seeds and vegetable oil till June 1, 2008,” Agriculture Minister Akhmetzhan Yessimov has stressed at today’s telephone conference in Astana…
Gazeta.KZ: About 9.5 mln oil tones were extracted in RK during 2 months
During two months in Kazakhstan there were extracted about 9,5 mln of tones of oil. This was said today during a selectoral meeting in the government by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Sauat Mynbayev…
Neweurasia.net: European parliament drafts resolution on EU policy in Central Asia
Late last year the European Parliament has prepared a draft resolution on the EU Strategy in Central Asia, which was adopted last summer under the German presidency in European Union…
AP: Wheat jumps on supply concerns
Wheat futures shot up 60 cents a bushel Monday after Kazakhstan said it would slow grain exports by imposing customs duties, adding to concerns over tightening global supplies…
Financial Times: Top-quality wheat price soars to new high
Prices of top-quality wheat jumped 25 per cent to a record high on Monday in their largest one-day increase as Kazakhstan, one of the largest grain exporters, said it would impose export tariffs to curb sales…
Press TV: Iran to start Caspian oil drilling
Iran will begin oil exploration in the sixth block of the Caspian Sea by the homemade Iran-Alborz semi submersible drilling rig soon…
AP: Turkmen president says he want to step up efforts to export energy resources to Europe
The announcement offers a glimmer of hope to the European Union, which has struggled to gain firm assurances of direct access to the natural gas-rich Central Asian nation’s gas supplies…
News Roundup - February 25, 2008
EurasiaNet: Kazakhstan to foreign investors: It’s our way, or the highway
The Kazakhstani government’s no-nonsense approach toward foreign investors is expanding beyond the energy sector. And there are signs that Astana’s assertiveness is intimidating even major international energy conglomerates…
Reporters without Borders: Kazakhstan - annual report 2008
As well as the usual problems journalists get when they expose corruption or criticise President Nazarbayev, the media was the victim of power struggles inside the regime. Three opposition journalists died in suspicious circumstances and coverage of the August 2007 parliamentary elections was biased…
Chicago Tribune: Astana: A skyline transformed
At the top of the “Tree of Life” Tower in the heart of this remote capital, visitors can put their hand in the large, gold handprint of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a gesture locals say brings luck…
New York Times: A wandering Kazakh, before Borat
And you thought Genghis Khan was just the scourge of nations, the slayer of millions. Little did you know that he was, as a young man, a sensitive, enlightened husband and doting father…
Eurasia Daily Monitor: Winter shows need for Central Asia energy coordination
An unusually cold winter has gripped Central Asia, causing severe energy shortages in all countries for almost two months. Throughout the region the lack of electricity and gas has revealed the urgent need to develop inter-state energy cooperation that would allow a coordinated response to crisis situations…
Reuters: Major energy pipelines in central/southern Europe
Here are some key facts on major oil or gas pipelines in central and southeastern Europe…
The Carmi Times: Local couple adopts boy from Kazakhstan, recommends adoption to anyone interested
A Carmi couple, Brian and Sandra Bryant, recently adopted an 18-month-old boy from Kazakhstan and are sharing their story of the adoption process to encourage others who may be interested in adoption to go through with the process…
News Roundup - February 22, 2008
Kazakhstan will ban agreements that give foreign energy companies investors rights to large portions of the country’s natural resources under favorable terms, the government said Thursday…
Reuters: Kazakhstan oil blocks offered to investors
Kazakhstan announced on Thursday it would abandon subsoil contracts favoured by oil companies due to their liberal tax regime but keep existing production sharing agreements intact. Below is a list of key offshore oil blocks that Kazakhstan, a Caspian nation of 15 million, may offer investors in the near future…
Asia Times: Black, white knights eye Kazakh banks
Two major-size and one mid-size bank in Kazakhstan have already fallen into the hands of foreign rivals. Whether remaining ones can evade the globalization wind blowing across the steppe depends to a large extent on whether they can make international loan repayments…
CACI Analyst: Kazakhstan’s banking problems
Kazakhstan’s banks have been considered one of the country’s major successes, but are currently facing serious difficulties. Foreign loans have to be repaid, but bank assets are tied up in loans with longer maturities. The government has begun to help the banks, but at the cost of fuelling inflation…
Itar-Tass: Kazakhstan introduces moratorium on audit of small businesses
A moratorium on inspections of small and medium-sized businesses enters into force in Kazakhstan on Thursday, Prime Minister Karim Masimov has told a forum of tax inspectors…
Interactive Investor: Eurasian Natural Resources says Daulet Yergozhin resigns as non-exec director
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp PLC (ENRC) said Daulet Yergozhin, a representative of the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has resigned as the company’s non-executive director with effect from Feb 20…
Global Voices: Kazakhstan: State of the Nation
The main event in the country’s politics never passes by the bloggers’ attention. This week it was the time of presidential State of the Nation address. All TV stations and state-controlled newspapers provided its aggressively propagandistic coverage, that bloggers were unhappy with…
Neweurasia.net: Kazakhstan Threatens to Delicense Arcelor Mittal
Finally, it happened - after series of tragedies, when dozens of miners were killed in blasts on the coal mines of Arcelor Mittal’s Kazakh subsidiary in Temirtau - the government took a firm stance…
News Roundup - February 21, 2008
Reuters: Kazakhstan keeps up pressure over Chevron project
Kazakhstan’s Environmental Protection Ministry kept up pressure on a Chevron-led oil venture on Wednesday, urging the company to come up with a quick plan to utilise its sulphur stocks…
Houston Chronicle: Kazakhs say foreign oil contracts not in jeopardy
Kazakhstan has no plans this year to annul energy contracts with European and U.S. companies after the government warned producers they must honor exploration commitments, a deputy energy minister said…
EurActiv.com: The Caspian oil export puzzle
The Caspian region is on the verge of becoming a “significant” source of oil supply to rival Iran and further developments in the area are “eagerly awaited” by Western and Asian consumers, argues Julia Nanay of PFC Energy in an analysis for Total Energies magazine…
Total Energies: The Caspian oil export puzzle
With growing volumes of oil from two non-OPEC producers, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, now flowing to international markets, the Caspian is on the brink of becoming a significant supply source, rivaling Iran and eagerly awaited by Western and Asian consumers…
Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on an EU strategy for Central Asia. While the report welcomes the EU’s increased focus on Central Asia, of which the adoption of the Central Asia strategy is the clearest expression, it notes, however, the slowness of implementation of the projects for the five countries of the region…
CorpWatch: Kazakhs warn Mittal over safety
Kazakhstan has warned ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company, that it could be forced to close one of its coal mines if it does not improve safety following an explosion last month that killed 30 people…
Rigzone: Caspian’s Zhengeldy field production suspended
The company is currently awaiting approval of its Supervision of Development Plan (SDP) from the Central Commission of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan (MEMR)…
Neweurasia.net: Kempinski, Kazakhstan
Multinational group Kempinski – born in Germany 110 years ago – manages and owns luxury hotels in many countries of the world and in the best locations of world capitals, took its first contract in Central Asia…
News Roundup - February 20, 2008
Reuters: EBRD to support Kazakh banks amid credit woes
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD.UL] plans to earmark up to half a billion dollars in much-needed funding for Kazakh banks as they struggle to borrow internationally, it said on Tuesday…
CNN Money: Global liquidity squeeze seen impacting Kazakh banks’ asset quality - S&P
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said as the global market turmoil stretches on, Kazakhstan banks’ asset quality is increasingly threatened by an expected slowdown in economic growth and the tight domestic credit and liquidity conditions, which are likely to persist through 2008 and possibly into 2009…
Arabian Business: Banking system in Kazakhstan loses momentum as global markets suffer, says S&P
The global liquidity squeeze has put Kazakh banks and regulators to their toughest test in years, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in a report, “Bank Industry Risk Analysis: Tightened Liquidity Makes Banks In Kazakhstan Slam On The Brakes.” …
RIA Novosti: Kazakhstan plans to double oil production by 2015
Kazakhstan intends to double oil production by 2015 up to 120-130 million metric tons (about 880-950 million bbl) per year, a Kazakh energy and mineral resources vice minister said on Tuesday…
Reuters: Kazkommertsbank says unaware of RenCap purchase
Kazakhstan’s top bank, Kazkommertsbank , said on Tuesday it had no information about a large purchase of its shares by a Russian investment bank which was reported by Russian media earlier this week…
Forbes: Kazkommertsbank says has no information on any large-scale share purchase
JSC Kazkommertsbank responded to recent media speculation by saying it has no information about any large-scale purchase of its shares…
Reuters: GE, Kazakhstan in joint locomotive project
General Electric Co. will start production of new diesel-powered locomotives in the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan before the end of the year, its local partner said on Tuesday…
Eurasia Daily Monitor: Nazarbayev’s message to his people fuels controversies
The most salient features of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s February 6 address to the nation, presented at a joint session of government and parliament and broadcast on two national television channels, were its brevity and poor delivery…
UPI: Analysis: Kazakhstan rules oceans
Awash in oil revenues, the Kazakh government is now to spend some of its lucre on a pressing defense need that its military planners have overlooked since independence in 1991 — a navy…
Financial Times: Mittal could lose Kazakh mine rights
Kazakhstan has warned ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company, that it could be forced to close one of its coal mines if it does not improve safety following an explosion last month that killed 30 people…
RIA Novosti: ArcelorMittal Temirtau could lose mining license in Kazakhstan
ArcelorMittal Temirtau, owners of the Abaiskaya mine, where 30 miners died in a methane blast in January, could lose their license over safety violations, the Kazakh emergency minister said Tuesday…
Sydney Morning Herald: Corporate and exploration update
The directors of Augustus Minerals Limited are pleased to provide an update of recent exploration activities from the Dostyk Partnership Entity (Dostyk Project) and the Mt Palmer Project. These initial results are considered highly encouraging…
Forbes: Frontier Mining to begin pre-feasibility study at Benkala Copper in Q2
Frontier Mining Ltd said the pre-feasibility study on its Benkala copper porphyry deposit in north-western Kazakhstan will begin in the second quarter, and that it will begin a Conceptual Study for the deposit, which will form the basis for pre-feasibility study…
easier travel: Air Astana invest in Kazakhstan regional airports
“Air Astana” JSC has started realization of the huge investment project aimed at aircraft anti-icing services improvements at the RK airports. The total cost of the project is almost 2 million USD…
Guardian Unlimited: Russian company wins Turkmen China pipeline tender
A top Russian engineering company has won a tender to built a segment of a new natural gas pipeline that will take Turkmenistan’s gas to China while bypassing Russia, the government and the company said…
News Roundup - February 19, 2008
The Financial Times: Kazakhstan pursues strategy of enrichment
The existence of Ulba, a metallurgical plant in remote north-east Kazakhstan, was a state secret in Soviet times, fabricating nuclear fuel and casings for atomic bombs…
Reuters: Russia’s RenCap acquires stake in Kazkommerts - paper
Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has built up a 10 to 15 percent stake in Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan’s largest bank, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported on Monday…
Guardian Unlimited: Backing Kazakhstan’s ‘great game’
Those who oppose western rapprochement with Kazakhstan cite the country’s lack of political and human rights. But, while Kazakhstan has not gone down the “colour revolution” route to democracy that other post-Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia have followed, its timidity about reform does not justify isolation…
MarketWatch: Transparency International to probe of UniCredit’s ATF deal
Berlin-based Transparency International, a global civil society organization, Monday said it has started its own investigation into UniCredit SpA’s acquisition of Kazakhstan’s ATF Bank…
AgriMarket.Info: Kazakhstan plans to expand the areas under grain
According to the Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Ahmetzhan Esimov, they plan to increase volumes of grain production in connection with growing world demand on it…
RIA Novosti: Russia bans grain exports to Belarus, Kazakhstan until Apr. 30
Russia banned on Monday grain exports to Belarus and Kazakhstan until April 30 in an apparent effort to stabilize domestic bread and flour prices…
The Editors Weblog: Kazakhstan: controversial newspaper shuttered
An Astana court has ordered independent newspaper Law and Justice to close, invoking errors in the newspapers’ registration. The newspaper’s owners say the forced closure is a reponse to their reporting on corruption in Kazakhstan’s judiciary…
