Kazakhstan News Roundup - July 28, 2008

energy:

Profitability of oil branch of Kazakhstan after introduction of new Tax Code to be 20 - 25 % (Kazakhstan Today)

Kazakhstan and Russia as energy empires (Kazinform)

Kazakhstan, EU discussed coop development (Kazinform)

Iran, Kazakhstan to boost co-op in power sector (Tehran Times)

mineral resources:

Kazakhmys plans $2 bln production investment
(SRI) - Kazakhmys, LSE-listed copper producer, plans to invest $2 billion in expanding production over the next two years.

Kazakhmys Plc shareholders not objecting to government representative on board (SRI)

Maikainzoloto resumed mining at Alpys (SRI)

Rio looking at Kazakhstan, Jordan
(Calgary Herald) - Rio Tinto Group is pursuing uranium mining opportunities in Kazakhstan and Jordan in a bid to double output in five years.

KazakhGold says AGM rejects redomicile move (Thomson Financial - CNBC)

Extraction Tax estimates for all types of metals almost ready (Interfax)

business and economy:

Bank CenterCredit assets up in H1 (SRI)

Temirbank assets down in H1 (SRI)

Payment cards in Kazakhstan up 35 percent (SRI)

New tax code should cancel stable tax regime under the earlier concluded contracts on subsoil use – Audit Committee head (Interfax)

Scots firms flock to Kazakhstan’s new world of opportunities (Sunday Herald)

Number of internet users in Kazakhtelecom network jumped 2.5 times in H1 (Interfax)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 26-28, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - July 25, 2008 (Reuters)

politics:

Astana diplomat, on hot seat, gives U.S. congressmen an earful
(EurasiaNet) - Facing mounting criticism over its drift away from democratization, Kazakhstan aggressively defended its record at a recent US Congressional hearing.

Israeli-Kazakh cooperation grows (Eurasia Daily Monitor)

Beleaguered lobbyist linked to Kazakh UN ‘passport’ scheme (Times Online)

society:

Prince Andrew, his £15m home and the Kazakhstan connection (Times Online)

Kazakhstan’s Fofonov tests positive on Tour (Reuters)

regional news:

The Iron Silk Road advances further
(Eurasia Daily Monitor) - Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, and Abdullah Gul of Turkey inaugurated on July 24 in Kars the construction work on the Turkish section of the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku (KTB) railroad.

Gazprom says agrees price model with Turkmenistan
(Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said it has reached an agreement with Turkmenistan on key pricing principles for the company’s gas imports from the Central Asian country, but gave no figure.

Kazakhstan Regional News Roundup - July 28, 2008

The Iron Silk Road advances further
(Eurasia Daily Monitor) - Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, and Abdullah Gul of Turkey inaugurated on July 24 in Kars the construction work on the Turkish section of the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku (KTB) railroad.

Gazprom says agrees price model with Turkmenistan
(Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said it has reached an agreement with Turkmenistan on key pricing principles for the company’s gas imports from the Central Asian country, but gave no figure.

Kazakhstan Society Roundup - July 28, 2008

Prince Andrew, his £15m home and the Kazakhstan connection (Times Online)

Kazakhstan’s Fofonov tests positive on Tour (Reuters)

Kazakhstan Politics Roundup - July 28, 2008

Astana diplomat, on hot seat, gives U.S. congressmen an earful
(EurasiaNet) - Facing mounting criticism over its drift away from democratization, Kazakhstan aggressively defended its record at a recent US Congressional hearing.

Israeli-Kazakh cooperation grows (Eurasia Daily Monitor)

Beleaguered lobbyist linked to Kazakh UN ‘passport’ scheme (Times Online)

Kazakhstan Business and Economy Roundup - July 28, 2008

Bank CenterCredit assets up in H1 (SRI)

Temirbank assets down in H1 (SRI)

Payment cards in Kazakhstan up 35 percent (SRI)

New tax code should cancel stable tax regime under the earlier concluded contracts on subsoil use – Audit Committee head (Interfax)

Scots firms flock to Kazakhstan’s new world of opportunities (Sunday Herald)

Number of internet users in Kazakhtelecom network jumped 2.5 times in H1 (Interfax)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 26-28, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - July 25, 2008 (Reuters)

Kazakhstan Mineral Resources Roundup - July 28, 2008

Kazakhmys plans $2 bln production investment (SRI)

Kazakhmys Plc shareholders not objecting to government representative on board (SRI)

Maikainzoloto resumed mining at Alpys (SRI)

Rio looking at Kazakhstan, Jordan
(Calgary Herald) - Rio Tinto Group is pursuing uranium mining opportunities in Kazakhstan and Jordan in a bid to double output in five years.

KazakhGold says AGM rejects redomicile move (Thomson Financial - CNBC)

Extraction Tax estimates for all types of metals almost ready (Interfax)

Kazakhstan Energy Roundup - July 28, 2008

Profitability of oil branch of Kazakhstan after introduction of new Tax Code to be 20 - 25 % (Kazakhstan Today)

Kazakhstan and Russia as energy empires (Kazinform)

Kazakhstan, EU discussed coop development (Kazinform)

Iran, Kazakhstan to boost co-op in power sector (Tehran Times)

Kazakhmys Plc shareholders not objecting to government representative on board

(SRI) - Kazakhmys Plc shareholders have no objections to the Kazakh government having its representative on the company’s board of directors, Interfax reported on Friday.

(more…)

Maikainzoloto resumed mining at Alpys

Maikainzoloto, a Pavlodar oblast-based miner, resumed operations at the Alpys mine after a five-year break, Interfax reported.

(more…)

Payment cards in Kazakhstan up 35 percent

(SRI) - As of July 1, 2008 Kazakhstan’s banks issued a total 6.4 million payment cards, 35.4% more than at the same time the year prior, National Bank of Kazakhstan said in a press release. The number of cardholders in Kazakhstan for the same date was 6 million, a 32.9% increase.

(more…)