News Roundup - April 15, 2008

energy:

Kazakhstan: a haven for petroleum industrialists

(New Europe) - The new initiatives of the Kazakh government to tighten the tax burden will affect, first of all, oil-producing companies. But the industry intends to fight for its rights…

Max Petroleum provides strategic and operational update

(OilVoice) - Max Petroleum Plc has announced its strategic plan outlining its corporate strategy for the three-year period ended 31 December 2010, as well as an operational update of the Company’s activities through the quarter ended 31 March 2008…

Max Petroleum to invest $300 mln to $400 mln in three-year strategic plan

(Thomson Financial) - The budget is expected to be funded using operating cash flow, the company’s existing credit facility with Macquarie Bank Ltd., anticipated farmout or other joint venture arrangements, and other forms of debt or equity financing and will cover the three-year period ending Dec. 31, 2010…

business and investment:

Kazakhstan Kagazy buys rival logistics firm

(Reuters) - Kazakh industrial group Kazakhstan Kagazy said on Monday it would buy a 90 percent stake in rival logistics company Astana Contract for $57.6 million, using money raised in last year’s IPO…

Kazakh bank CenterCredit 2007 profit up 44 pct

(Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s sixth-largest bank CenterCredit said on Monday its 2007 net profit rose 44 percent to 14.5 billion tenge ($120 million), but projected a slowdown in asset growth this year…

Kazakhstan may boost crop yield to 26 ml tons – Minister of Agriculture

(Interfax - Kazakhstan) - “The way to boost exports is to get an access to the Caspian and Black Seas. We are building grain terminals there to create shortcuts to Europe, Northern Africa, Asia and Arabic countries,” he said…

Kazakhstan implements RFID tech at borders

(UPI) - Kazakhstan-based Science Technical Center says it will implement radio frequency identification cargo monitoring technology at Kazakhstan border checkpoints…

Kazakhstan’s GDP growth made 105.3 % in 1st quarter of 2008

(Kazinform) - “Kazakhstan’s GDP growth hit 105.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2008,” Minister of Economy and Budget Planning of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov has made it public at today’s governmental meeting…

Kazakh President received CEO and Chairman of Chevron

(Kazinform) - President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev received CEO and Chairman of “Chevron” Corporation David O’Reiley on Monday, Kazinform has learnt from the presidential press service…

Berlin to host Kazakh-German economic forum

(Kazinform) - A Kazakh-German economic forum is to be held in Berlin on May 6. Kazakh Embassy in Germany and Deutsche Bank are the organizers of the event, Kazinform has learnt from the press service of Kazinvest Kazakhstan Investment Promotion Centre…

Arawak Energy “sector outperform,” target price reduced

(newratings) - Analysts at Peters & Co maintain their “sector outperform” rating on Arawak Energy Corp (AHW). The target price has been reduced from C$4.50 to C$4.10…

politics:

Medvedev to visit Kazakhstan

(Itar-Tass) - President-Elect Dmitry Medvedev will visit Kazakhstan shortly, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday after a telephone conversation of the foreign ministers of the two countries…

«Kazakhstan-American dialogues» to brainstorm new ideas to strengthen strategic partnership

(Kazinform) - For the first time in the history of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the United States the new form of dialogue – “second track diplomacy” was established in Washington on April 9, 2007…

Kazakhstan, Germany to discuss coop in agricultural sphere

(Kazinform) - Kazakhstan and Germany will discuss issues of cooperation in the field of agriculture. Yerzhan Ashikbayev, official representative of the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry, has made it public at a briefing today…

Kyrgyz republic ratified agreement with Kazakhstan on mutual recognition of tourism visas of both countries, granted to the citizens of the third countries

(Kazakhstan Today) - The corresponding draft was signed by the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev, agency reports with the reference to press service of the head of the state…

Kyrgyz President to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan

(Kazinform) - “President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev will make an official visit to Kazakhstan on April 17-18,” official spokesman of the Kazakh MFA Yerzhan Ashikbayev has said at a weekly briefing today…

Kazakhstan, EU elaborating new coop document

(Kazinform) - Kazakhstan and the European Union jointly elaborate a document on cooperation New partnership strategy: priorities for Kazakhstan…

Caspian Sea littoral states to discuss legal regime in Tehran

(ISNA) - Tehran is due to host the 22nd meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states beginning from 15 of April for formulating the convention of the sea legal regime…

society:

Running short of land? Kazakhstan’s calling

(Telegraph India) - This could be Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s dream project to solve his land problem. Send farmers unwilling to part with their plots to the vast plains of a former Soviet region. Not Siberia, which would have been CPM icon Stalin’s choice, but Kazakhstan…

regional news:

Azerbaijan: Baku hesitates on Nabucco pipeline project

(Budapest Business Journal) - A recent decision by the Russian energy giant Gazprom to increase prices for Central Asian natural gas will damage construction prospects for the Nabucco pipeline, some Azerbaijani analysts believe…