Kazakhstan Daily News Roundup - June 24, 2009

news roundup

Kazakhstan Daily News Roundup - June 24, 2009

By SRI ⋅ June 24, 2009 ⋅

HEADLINES:

US, Kyrgyzstan reach deal on air base use
(AP) - The United States made a deal Tuesday allowing it to continue using a Central Asian air base that is crucial to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, after agreeing to triple the rent it pays.

Kazakhstan National Fund seeking investment managers
(SRI) - Kazakhstan National Fund is seeking two investment managers to run its global equity and fixed-income portfolios, the industry journal Pension & Investments reported.

Samruk subsidiary to take stakes in mining companies
(SRI) - Tau-Ken Samruk, the metals and mining arm of Kazakhstan’s state investment and holding company Samruk-Kazyna, may buy stakes in local independent mining companies to help them overcome the current economic crisis.

BTA’s trade finance deals to be restructured with other debt (SRI)

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Kazakhstan National Fund seeking investment managers (SRI)

Kazakhstan banking sector: Astana Finance (Crisis Crunch)

Budget revenues fell short of expectations in 2008 (Interfax)

MINERAL RESOURCES:

ENRC expects markets to bounce back in 2010
(SRI) - Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the LSE-listed metals and mining group, expects markets to recover to 2007-08 levels by next year.

Frontier starts production at Naimanjal mine (SRI)

Samruk subsidiary to take stakes in mining companies (SRI)

ENRC to allocate 380 million tenge for implementation of projects in Pavlodar region (Interfax)

SOCIETY:

Kazakh activists protest ban on Journalism Day demos (RFE/RL)

Human rights activists organizing an anti-torture coalition (Interfax)

Kazakh scientologists appeal church closure (RFE/RL)

Bureaucracy, diplomacy and personality cult (Global Voices)