News Roundup

News Roundup - June 19, 2008

By SRI ⋅ June 19, 2008 ⋅

Email This Post ⋅

Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

energy:

KazMunaiGas EP defers acquisitions ahead of Kazakh tax changes (Thomson Financial - Forbes)

Kazakhstan outlines its tax overhaul plans for oil and metals sectors (Mining Journal Online)

Kazakhstan plans natural gas tax

(Silk Road Intelligencer) - Kazakhstan plans to impose a 15 percent tax on natural-gas production from the beginning of next year as the Central Asian country seeks to boost revenue from its mineral resources, said Economy Minister Bakhyt Sultanov in an interview yesterday according to Kazinform.

business and economy:

Sputnik lost

(neweurasia.net) - The first and the only Kazakh satellite, which was launched last year with a great PR and pompous celebrations, is out of control due to a computer glitch and is likely to be lost altogether.

June gold and exchange currency reserves of Kazakhstan increased by 2.2 percent (Kazakhstan Today)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates June 19, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - June 19, 2008

(Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s economic indicators based on data provided by the State Statistics Agency, government institutions, the central bank and exchanges.

politics:

Early parliamentary poll in the cards (EurasiaNet)

Kazakhstan favors settlement of Middle East problem

(Interfax) - President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev met with Tony Blair, the Middle East Envoy for the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia, according to the presidential press service.

society:

Kazakhstan to have another holiday on its calendar – Day of Capital (Interfax)

regional news:

Bush administration seeks to shortchange region in democratization aid

(EurasiaNet) - A leading democracy watchdog group is calling on the US Congress to block budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration that would hamper civil society development in Central Asia.